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Pt Rajan Mishra (1951-2021): Benaras gharana’s precious ‘nagina’ is lost
Indian Classical vocalist Pt Rajan Mishra, of the famous musical duo Rajan-Sajan Mishra, passed away in Delhi, on April 25, after he developed heart complications along with Covid-19. Many musicians from the fraternity posted on social media when trying to find a ventilator for him, but couldn’t succeed.
On Sunday, popular classical singer Padma Bhushan Pandit Rajan Mishra, of the famous musical duo Rajan-Sajan Mishra, passed away in Delhi due to a heart attack, after his health became critical due to Covid 19. Many from the music fraternity were seen tweeting desperate appeals on social media, to help the 70-year-old get a ventilator on an urgent basis, but apparently their efforts couldn’t succeed. And in the evening, musician Salim Merchant tweeted about his tragic demise on Twitter: “Heartbreaking news – Padma Bhushan Shri Rajan Mishra ji left us today. He died of Covid in Delhi . He was a renowned classical singer of the Benaras Gharana & was one half of the brother duo pandit Rajan Sajan mishra. My condolences to the Family. Om Shanti.”
Condolences immediately started pouring in on social media, and PM Narendra Modi called it an “irreplaceable loss”, whereas music composer Jeet Gannguli, wrote: “Sad news.... Padma Bhushan Pandit Shree Rajan Mishra ji is no more..! It’s a great loss to Indian classical music world.....Om Shanti (sic).”
Folk singer Malini Awasthi, who looked up to Pt Rajan Mishra as her guru says it’s a “big loss to the Indian music”! “Me and Sajan were in touch. We came to know that he was unwell in the day time. It was already late. We tried to reach out to the authorities, too. The director of the hospital shared with us that it’s beyond control now. The cardiac arrest was fatal. It is so unfortunate. Even to accept the reality that he’s no more and we won’t be seeing him again...it’s such as terrible loss to the classical music industry and Benaras. He had been a flagbearer of Indian classical music for over five decades now, and thousands of music lovers looked up to him!”
Shubha Mudgal, renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, says, “As the torchbearer of a great legacy, we have lost a great artiste and a leading representative of the Hindustani music tradition. Personally, for me, I have lost an elder brotherly figure whose blessings and good wishes I was fortunate to get. The fact that we as a nation failed to provide him a ventilator bed, when he so needed one as indeed we have failed so many others, remains a painful realisation for me that I cannot ever sweep aside.”
“He was the most precious nagina of our country,” says musician Rita Ganguly, who couldn’t believe the news of his tragic demise. She says, “He was an important representative of Benaras gharana. He had received his musical training under his father Pt Hanuman Prasad Mishra, their grandfather’s brother Pt Bade Ramdas Ji Mishra, and their uncle, sarangi virtuoso, Gopal Prasad Mishra. He developed his own style over years. I have seen him grow slowly. I have known when he was a beginner under Gopal ji. I can’t believe that he had got to go like this. High time something is done for this kind of terrible accidents.”
Sharing his grief, sarod exponent Ustad Amjad Ali Khan says it’s a “personal” loss, and tells us: “It is very sad to hear about the suffering he had to go through in that St. Stephen’s Hospital. I believe he could not get a ventilater... He was like a family member to us. My sincere condolences to his younger brother, and his talented two sons. I hope their family will be taken care of by the government. Such classical musicians are often referred to as national tressure, and he was Padma Bhushan, the representative of Benaras gharana of music. But what is the future of the Padma awardees? Some of them are suffering on account of financial crisis. We are all praying to God. This planet should heal fast.”
Author tweets @Nainaarora8
