Mahadev Prasad Mishra

Mahadev Prasad Mishra (1906 – 13 December 1995) was an Indian thumri singer from Benares (Varanasi).

Early life

Mishra was born in 1906 in a temple in Allahabad. He first started learning under Bhairon Mishra and continued then under the great Bare Ram Das of the Benares Gharana.

Career

His father Dwarka Prasad Mishra also a renowned singer, lived in Kashi (the old name for Varanasi). He was an expert in many music styles form Benares such as thumri, tappa, khyal, dadra, kajri, chaiti, and birha. Along with Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Rasoolan Bai, Begum Akhtar, Girija Devi and Shobha Gurtu he was one of the greatest thumri singers of the 20th century. He was accompanied many times by Baccha Lal Mishra on sarangi and Ishwar Lal Mishra on tabla.

Disciples

His well-known disciples included tabla player Ananda Gopal Bandhyopadhyay, shehnai player Anant Lal, thumri singer Purnima Chaudhary and violin player N. Rajam.

Family

He had two nephews Amar Nath Mishra and Pashupathinath Mishra which were both renowned singers of Benares. He had one son Gnesh Prasad Mishra, who is also a renowned singer and a grand nephew the tabla player Kuber Nath Mishra.

Death

Mishra died on 13 December 1995 at the age of 88.