'Siddh' in her art

Recognised as the Queen of Thumri singing, the 113th birth anniversary of this musical doyenne provides a fitting opportunity for us to learn about her story.

The reigning queen of thumri singing; Image Source: Veethi

Regarded as one of the four greatest pillars of Hindustani ‘Light’ Classical Music, Siddheshwari Devi enchanted her audience with melodious and heart-touching singing skills. Even though all her singing performances were equally captivating, it was the khayal, thumri, and tappas that created magic.

Orphaned at a young age, Siddheshwari was brought up by her aunt, Rajeshwari Devi, who was a known singer herself. Although in the same house and of roughly the same age, Kamleshwari Devi, Rajeshwari’s daughter and Siddheshwari’s cousin, was provided with formal training in music while Siddheshwari was to do house chores. While there are numerous stories as to how Siddheshwari started her journey as a singer, the one that’s been handed down the most is this one.

Once, Kamleshwari was taking her singing lessons with Siyaji Maharaj at her house who repeatedly rebuked her for not singing the tappas correctly. Rajeshwari, her mother, who was overseeing the practice, lost her patience and started to beat her daughter. Hearing her cousin cry for help, Siddheshwari ran to save her and took all the beating on her own self but later told Kamleshwari that the tappas she was unable to deliver was in fact not very difficult and then sung it to perfection leaving everybody awestruck. Siyaji Maharaj was extremely impressed and offered to take Siddheshwari as his daughter and train her in music himself.

While her training in music began with Siyaji Maharaj, she attributes most of her musical training to Bade Ramdasji of Varanasi. She was also briefly trained under Ustad Rajab Ali Khan of Dewas and Inayat Khan of Lahore.

Although from a family of known singers and artists, Siddheshwari recalls that they did not have a lavish childhood. She would go to her neighbour’s house to listen to the mellifluous singing of her favourite Gauhar Bai and Janaki Bai on the gramophone as they didn’t have one at their place. How tables turned a few years later, when, at a conference, Ustad Faiyaz Khan or more popularly known by his title Aftab-e-Mausiqi stated that after Gauhar Malika, only Siddheshwari was worthy of holding the crown of thumri singing.

This conference in Calcutta was memorable for Siddheshwari for more than one reason. After she performed her emotional rendering of the bhairavi thumri- Kaahe ko daari re gulal brajlal kanhayi, the audience and other artists were left so spellbound that the singers in queue refused to perform after her mesmerizing performance.

From royal durbars to stage performances, from national programmes to international concerts, from music conferences to radio programmes, Siddheshwari’s singing reached far and wide.

She also sang on the overnight boating expeditions for the Maharaja of Darbhanga.

For her contributions to the world of singing, she was awarded with the Presidential Award in 1966, Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1966, and the Padma Shri in 1967. Additionally, she was conferred a D.Litt. degree from Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta as well as the title of “Desikottama” from Vishwa Bharati University.

Much to one’s disbelief, even after garnering recognition and appreciation for her work across the globe, she did not want her daughters to take up singing as a career because of the stigma that is attached to the profession. She found it demeaning when her singing was associated with tawaifs and court culture.

But as destiny would have it, like mother like daughter, her younger one, Savita Devi became a renowned sitarist and a popular vocalist in India.

In her later days, Siddheshwari seemed to have shifted her audience from theatres full of people to a private devotion for God and would spend her time singing bhajans in praise of Him.

Her passion for music has been immortalized through Siddheshwari Devi Music Academy, established by her daughter, that takes her legacy forward. In popular culture, she will be remembered through Mani Kaul’s 1989 film Siddheshwari and several biographical accounts of her life and story.