Date:04/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/04/stories/2009010459050400.htm

New Delhi

Vocalist’s death mourned

Staff Reporter

Ramashrey Jha

NEW DELHI: Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate organisations have mourned the death of Hindustani vocalist Ramashrey Jha, winner of an Akademi award, who passed away in Kolkata on New Year’s Day. He was 80.

Jha was honoured with the fellowship of the U.P. Sangeet Natak Akademi and the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2005.

Born in 1928 at Khajura in Madhubani district of Bihar, Ramashrey Jha received his initial training from his father, Sukhdev Jha. Having worked as a musical composer with a theatre company at the start of his career, he later moved to Allahabad to teach at a music school. He eventually joined the Department of Music in Allahabad University as professor and head.

Credited with the creation of a number of khayal compositions as well as new ragas, Jha also published a critique of new and old ragas, Abhinav Geetanjali, and a Sangeet Ramayana presenting the epic through his own draupad and khayal compositions.