Shanti Hiranand (Hindi : शान्ती हीरानंद) (1932 – 10 April 2020) was an Indian vocalist, classical musician and writer, known for her proficiency as a

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

singer. She was the author of the book ''Begum Akhtar: The Story of My Ammi'', a biographical work on

Begum Akhtar Akhtari Bai Faizabadi (7 October 1914 – 30 October 1974), also known as Begum Akhtar, was an Indian singer and actress. Dubbed "Mallika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazals), she is regarded as one of the greatest singers of ghazal, dadra, and thum ...

, a renowned Ghazal singer. Shanti Hiranand

Biography

Born in 1933 in a Sindhi business family based in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divisio ...

(now in the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

), Shanti Hiranand studied at the

Bhatkhande Music Institute Bhatkhande Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (BSVV), formerly Bhatkhande Music Institute Deemed University, Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music and Marris College of Music, is a state university in Lucknow. Established in 1926 by Vishnu Narayan Bhatk ...

, when her father had relocated his business in 1940s. Her debut music performance was on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

Lahore in 1947 and she continued her music training in Lucknow, under the tutelage of Ustad Aijaz Hussain Khan of Rampur, when her family returned to India after the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947. In 1952, an official at a radio station suggested her to train under

. In 1957, she started training in

thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dr ...

dadra Dadra is associated with the Hindustani classical music of the Indian subcontinent. Dadra tala This is a Hindustani classical ''tala'' (rhythmic cycle), consisting of six beats in two equal divisions of three. The most commonly accepted theka ...

and ghazal singing under Begum Akhtar and the relationship continued till Akhtar's death in 1974; the story of the relationship is documented in Hiranand's book on Akhtar, ''Begum Akhtar: The Story of My Ammi'', published in 2005. The Government of India awarded her its fourth highest civilian honour, the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...

, in 2007, for her contributions to

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, si ...

. Some of her renditions have been compiled and brought out as an audio CD, ''Expressions of Love'' by Music Today. She lived in Lucknow and was associated with the efforts of ''Begum Akhtar Admirer's Group'' (BAAG Trust) in converting Akhtar's house in Lucknow into a museum in memory of the singer. She taught music at

Triveni Kala Sangam Triveni Kala Sangam is an important cultural and arts complex and education centre in New Delhi. Founded in 1950, by Sundari K. Shridharani, who was also its Founding Director, Triveni, as it is commonly referred, contains four art galleries, a ...

, Delhi in her last decades. Shanti Hiranand died on 10 April 2020 in

Gurugram Gurgaon (pronunciation: �ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: �ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...

, India.

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiranand, Shanti Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 1932 births Singers from Lucknow Indian women ghazal singers Indian ghazal singers Thumri Hindustani singers 2020 deaths Women musicians from Uttar Pradesh Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links