Strains Of A Fade-Out

The 70-something representative of thumri gayaki is struggling to come to terms with the passing of an era

Girija Devi is sick of it all. Perhaps the best-known living representative of thumri gayaki has been there, done that and then seen it rapidly wither beyond recognition. Like most classical and semi-classical musicians, she is deeply disappointed, if not quite incensed with the passing of an era.

The musical world she grew up and spent a lifetime in, is crumbling right before her eyes, but at 70-something she is going through the motions all right. Last week, it was the inauguration of the two-month-long festival, Virasat-2002, to mark SPIC MACAY