I am elated to get this recognition: Pt Chhannulal Mishra on Padma Vibhushan

Flooded with congratulatory messages, noted vocalist

Pt Chhannulal Mishra

, who has recently been conferred with

Padma Vibhushan

award, says, “I am really elated to get this recognition. It is an honour to be selected for this award. Though I feel that I should have received this award a trifle earlier, at the same time, as the popular adage goes, der aye durust aaye. I am happy that it has eventually happened,” says the artist who is already a recipient of Padma Bhushan award.
However, Pt Mishra believes that classical music needs to adapt itself to the changed times in order to attract the younger audiences. “In this fast-paced world, the artistes should perform accordingly. Pehle ek dhun se doosare dhun tak jane mein ek din beet jata tha, which is not acceptable now. Audience no longer have the patience for this. Raag utna hi gayein jab tak usme anurag rahe. Raag se logon ko bairag ho jaye, kalakar ko aisa nahi gaana chaiye,” he says.

Pt Chhannulal Mishra (BCCL/ Arvind Kumar)
Having lent his voice in films like the Prakash Jha directed Aarakshan and Dr Chandra Prakash Dwivedi’s

Mohalla Assi

, Pt Chhannulal says, “I have turned down several film offers on account of bad poetry in the songs. The level of film music has gone down. Music is just being created to mint money,” he says.
He even has a piece of advice for the various singing reality shows on television. “To bring out the real talent, more focus should be on raag-based singing. The participants should be selected on the basis of their knowledge of ragas rather than their high pitched singing,” he says.

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