Calcutta: Girija Devi, the queen of thumri, passed away at BM Birla Heart Research Centre on Tuesday. She was 88.

A spokesperson for the hospital said she had been admitted in "a very critical condition" in the evening and died of cardiac arrest around 9pm.

Girija Devi sang in the Banaras gharana and received many awards, including the Padma Vibhushan. She used to be a faculty member of the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in south Calcutta, where she lived on campus.

AMJAD ALI KHAN, the sarod maestro, paid tribute to his rakhi sister.

I just got the news of her demise. She was the only lady in my life who used to tie a rakhi on my hand. She was not only an institution in thumri but also a great human being, very hospitable, very kind and generous.

She had invited me to perform at Varanasi to celebrate her 80th birthday. It was such a memorable concert. When I finished my concert, she came up on stage and sang while I played the sarod with her. We also have an album together that we had recorded for Navras, a London-based record company. Just like that evening, she is singing thumri and I am playing the sarod with her. In Calcutta, too, I have performed with her.

On my wife's 50th birthday, we organised a surprise party for her (Subhalakshmi), and the greatest surprise was Girija Devi's performance. She came all the way to Delhi and sang for all the guests. She was like a family member.

The world will miss her as a great thumri singer. But for me, it's a personal loss. I will always miss her, her smile. How she managed to smile so beautifully, while eating paan all day!

There is something magical in the Banarasi paan I think... all the great artistes - from Pandit Kishan Maharaj, Pandit Samta Prasad, Bismillah Khan sahab and Girija Devi - all used to have paan.

Thumri is not easy to sing. It is quite different from dhrupad or khayal. Thumri singing is the fastest dying art. It is almost like poetry. In music, we have grammar, we have literature. Some musicians are only involved with grammar, some musicians come up to the level of literature, and very few musicians achieve this status and stature of poetry. Very few musicians in India can sing thumri or play thumri on the sarod or sitar. So it is a great loss.

Fortunately, she has taught many disciples, both in Bengal and Varanasi. I hope all her students and disciples will follow the legacy of Girija Devi.