Anokhelal Mishra (; 1914.. 10 March 1958) also spelled as Anokhe Lal Misra and commonly known as Pandit Anokhelal-ji was an Indian Tablā Artist who belonged to the Banaras Gharana of

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

Early life

Anokhelal was born in a very poor family of Kashi (

Banaras Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

), now known as

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

(State –

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

). Anokhelal learnt tabla under Bhairow Prasad Mishra (Bhairow is also spelled as ''Bhairav'' or ''Bhairon''). Bhairow prasad Mishra detected his talent and enrolled him as a student of the Tabla in the Banaras Gharana of Ram Sahaiji at the age of 5 or 6 years. Anokhelal Learnt Tabla for about 15 years from Bhairow Prasad Mishra. Bhairow Prasad Mishra was disciple of Bhagat-ji. Bhagat-ji was disciple of Ram Sahai, the founder of The Banaras-Bāj (aka Banaras Gharana). According to ''The Banaras Bāj-The Tablā Tradition of a North Indian City'' by David Roach, Anokhelal was the most famous disciple of Bhairav Prasad Mishra among Maulvi Ram Mishra, Mahavir Bhatt, Mahadev Prasad Mishra, Anokhelal Mishra, and Nageshvar Prasad. He lost his parents as teenager. After that he was brought up by his grandmother. As a child, Anokhelal had to suffer poverty and deprivation.

Musical journey

Anokhelal put in unremitting ''riyaaz'' (practice) under the guidance of ''Guruji'' (Master), which went on for hours together, every day.

Special abilities

He was called the ''Jadugar'' (wizard) of ' ''Na Dhin Dhin Na'' ' (''theka'' of Teen Taal- 16beats) and ' ''Dhere Dhere Kite Taka'' ' (particular tabla syllables). He used to play these and many more syllables with clarity even at extreme speed. He was skilled at fast playing ' ''Na Dhin Dhin Na'' ' with his 1st finger.

Performances

Pandit Anokhelal was a soloist as well as an accompanist. Anokhelal performed a number of solo concerts during his career and also gave ' Sangat' (accompany) to many famous musicians and classical dancers. Some of them are Ustad

Allauddin Khan Ustad Allauddin Khan (8 October 1862 – 6 September 1972), was a Bengalis, Bengali sarod player and multi-instrumentalist, composer and one of the most notable music teachers of the 20th century in Indian classical music. For a generation many ...

, Ustad

Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player, considered by many to be the greatest sitarist of his age. Along with Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, and Imrat Khan, he is credited with the creation a ...

, Ustad

Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was an Indian Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod. Trained as a classical musician and instrumentalist by his father, Allauddin Khan, ...

, etc. Within his short span of life he performed regularly, throughout India. At a time, when performing in the 'National Programme of Music' on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

was a matter of prestige, Pandit Anokhelal figured in the same, a number of times. In the late 1950s (after 1950), his programmes were broadcast by the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

as well.

Legacy and critical acclaim

He is also known as the ''Samrat'' (king) of Tabla Playing. All together he is known as Tabla Samrat Pandit Anokhelal Mishra. According to many, Anokhelal goes the credit of making the audience familiar with the Banaras style of Tabla. His Disciple Chandra Nath Shastri has written about Pandit Anokhelal Mishra in his web article: :"He had a very simple livelihood. He knew only '' Sadhana'' (practice) of rendering Tabla." Tabla Player Pandit Samta Prasad Mishra said in an interview that: :" I am playing only one fourth of Pandit Anokhe Lal Mishra's style and they glorify my name. In the next life I will produce half of his sound quality, then they will really be floored!"The Hindu: In memoriam – Pandit Samta Prasad Mishra – Friday, Jun 02, 2006
/ref> Tabla Player Sadanand Naimpalli written in his book about Anokhelal. He said: :"Apart from his skills as an accompanist, his Solo-recitals were also proof of his excellent ''Taiyaari'' and tonal sweetness."

Nature and personality

He used to maintain a sober and normal life profile rather than showing off and behaving like a celebrity. He never publicised himself of what he was.

Disciples

Anokhelal trained many musicians of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Ramji Mishra, Mahapurush Misra, Ishwarlal Mishra (alias Lallu), Chhotelal Misra, Chandra Nath Shastri, Radhakanta Nandi, Kashinath Mishra (son), Bityut Banerjee, Partha Nath Shastri, Sanjay Mishra(Grandson),Sundar Lal Mishra and Chakkan Lal Mishra are some of the prominent pupils of Pt. Anokhelal Mishra.One of the notable disciple was Pt.Chhotelal Mishra.

Death

He was afflicted by

Gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

of his left footPage no. 100, Theory And Practice of Tabla, by Sadanand Naimpalli, Popular Prakashan
in 1956 and for this disease he expired on 10 March 1958, at a young age of 44.

Inspiration

According to Sandip Bhattacharya (Disciple of Iswarlal Mishra): :"Pandit Anokhelal Mishra has been, and will continue to be, an inspiration to many tabla players from this generation, as well as future generations."

Discography

"Samrat" Rare Gems, Tal: Teental, Duration: 45.27mins
Accompanied in

Harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

by Jnanprakash Ghosh. This recording dates back to 26 December 1957 at a concert attended by artists like Ahmed Jan Thirakwa, Habibuddin Khan, Maseet Khan, Karamatulla Khan etc. A short video of Anokhelal Ji has been made available by the Huntley Film Archives .

References

External links

Indian classical instrumental music in varanasi through the ages
* Benares Gharana Characteristics, Wikipedia Article. * Varanasi: Art and Literature, Wikipedia Article. *

Gopal Shankar Misra Gopal Shankar Mishra (born 13 August 1957-1999) was an Indian musician and music teacher, who played the vichitra veena. Early career Mishra was invited to join the 1998 UK touring and Real World recording project made by State of Bengal and A ...

, Wikipedia Article.
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