Hariharpur music college to carry forward 600-year-old musical legacy

LUCKNOW: ‘Thumri’ has been reverberating the air in Hariharpur village for over three-and-a-half centuries now. The learning of this semi-classical but extremely popular form, along with its other versions, is all set to get formalized with the Uttar Pradesh government deciding to start a music college in the village.
Promised by CM Yogi Adityanath in August 2022, the foundation stone for the project will be laid on Friday in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah.
Principal secretary, culture, Mukesh Meshram said that the music college would be affiliated to the Bhatkhande Deemed University of Lucknow – another prominent centre of Hindustani classical music in north India. “The legacy of Hariharipur is not only rich but is is vast and spread across many parts of the country,” he said.
The music college will help in consolidating this intangible heritage of the state which also offers immense potential for tourism,” Meshram further said. The news has come as a delight for the disciples of Hariharpur gharana – the home to Pt Jagdeep Maharaj – one of the pioneers in ‘thumri’ singing.
“This is a great opportunity for the children of Hariharpur and its neighbouring areas who love music,” said Prof Namrata Mishra, daughter of Pt Chhannulal Mishra, whose ancestors were the first settlers of Hariharpur. A faculty member(vocal music) at KP College in Mirzapur, Prof Namrata feels that the college will also help in preserving the dying tradition of semi-classical Hindustani music.
“Over the years, Hariharpur was witnessing an exodus of young talent and students for further learning. The music college will help in retaining them,” said Ajay Mishra, a vocalist who also heads the Hariharpur Sangeet Academy.
A young artist from Hariharpur, Anjali Mishra, hoped that the music college would help in addressing a peculiar problem associated with her ‘gharana’. “Due to the lack of a formal training centre, many talented women singersand artists fail to pursue music. Hope that the college will give wings to their dream,” she said. Local residents of Azamgarh are also happy as they feel that in the days to come, the music college will script a new identity of their district by putting an end to its infamy crafted by musclemen-turned-politicians, dons and terror links.
Besides being home to exponent Pt Chhannulal Mishra, the gharana has gems like Pt Dinanath Mishra (vocalist who lives in Kolkata), Pt Ambika Prasad Mishra (tabla maestro) who worked closely with Pt Birju Maharaj, Pt Kalinath Mishra (tabla) who is among the most sought after ‘sangat’ artists of Mumbai.