Thumri icon Kameshwar Pathak passes away

GAYA:

Kameshwar Pathak

, the iconic

thumri

exponent and torchbearer of the

Gaya gharana

of classical music died on Thursday. He was 90. Nationally acclaimed for his rendition of thumri and kajari, Pathak was hospitalised a few days after he suffered a stroke.

The Gaya gharana of music has made vital contribution to the evolution of classical music in the country. Till early 1950s, Gaya used to be a hub of cultural activities and Nakphophaji, one of the great patrons of music in Gaya, frequently organised night-long musical sessions in which great maestros like Gangubai Hangal, D V Pulaskar, Omkarnath Thakur, Alla Rakha, Begum Akhtar and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan participated. Jaddan Bai, an exponent of Indian classical music, was patronised by the Nawab of Gaya.

Gaya developed as a centre of thumri. The Awadhia thumri of Benares was improvised and presented in a new and more pleasant manner. The greats of the Gaya gharana thumri include Dhela Bai, Soni Maharaj, Balram Singh, Ram Prasad Mishra alias Ramuji and Jay Ram Tiwari. Pathak inherited classical music from his father Ram Prasad Mishra.

The tradition was carried forward by the likes of Pathak and Govardhan Mishra. “Pathak’s death signals end of an era in the Gaya gharana music,” said Renaissance Cultural Centre chief Sanjay Sahay.