Anokhelal Mishra ( hi, अनोखेलाल मिश्रा; 1914.. 10 March 1958) also spelled as Anokhe Lal Misra and commonly known as Pandit Anokhelalji was an Indian Tablā Artist who belonged to the

Banaras Gharana Benares gharānā (Hindi: बनारस घराना) is one of the six most common styles of playing of the Indian tabla. History The Benares tabla gharana was developed a little over 200 years ago by Pandit Ram Sahai (1780–1826). At ...

Hindustani classical 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, sita ...

Early life

Anokhelal was born in a very poor family of Kashi (

Banaras Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and 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 tra ...

), now known as

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and 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 t ...

(State –

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 ...

). 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

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 Allauddin Khan, also known as Baba Allauddin Khan ( – 6 September 1972) was an Indian 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 ...

, Ustad

Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player.Ali Akbar Khan Ali Akbar Khan (14 April 192218 June 2009) was a 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, he ...

, 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 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 a ...

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 the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

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 Pandit Chandra Nath Shastri ( bn, চন্দ্রনাথ শাস্ত্রী, hi, चंद्रनाथ शास्त्री, 23 December 1948), is a tabla (Indian hand percussion) musician from India, currently based in Kolka ...

has written about Pandit Anokhelal Mishra in his web article: :"He was very simple livelihood. He knew only '' Sadhana'' (practice) of rendering Tabla." Tabla Player Pandit

Samta Prasad Samta Prasad (Hindi : पण्डित सामता प्रसाद; 20 July 1921 – 31 May 1994) was an Indian classical musician and tabla player from the Benares gharana. He played tabla in many Hindi films including, ''Meri Sur ...

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 (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Ramji Mishra, Mahapurush Misra, Ishwarlal Mishra (alias Lallu), Chhotelal Misra,

, 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 is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

by Jnanprakash Ghosh. This recording dates back to 26 December 1957 at a concert attended by artists like

Ahmed Jan Thirakwa Ustad Ahmed Jan Khan "Thirakwa" was an Indian tabla player, commonly considered the pre-eminent soloist among tabla players of the 20th century, and among the most influential percussionists in the history of Indian Classical Music. He was kn ...

, Habibuddin Khan, Maseet Khan, Karamatulla Khan etc. A short video of Anokhelal Ji has been made available by the

Huntley Film Archives John Frederick Huntley (18 July 1921 – 7 August 2003) was an English film historian, educator and archivist. Huntley was born in Kew, London and entered the film industry as a teaboy at Denham Studios around 1938.Kevin BrownloObituary: John ...

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, Wikipedia Article.
Google Books results on Anokhelal MishraGoogle Scholar results on Anokhelal Mishra