Rasoolan Bai

Rasoolan Bai of Banaras was a great exponent of Poorab Ang Thumri and Tappa genre. She was born at Kachhwa Baazar in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh in a poor family. She learnt music under her Adalat begum and later under Ustad Shammu Khan and Sarangiyas Ashiq Khan and Ustad Najju Khan. After her first performance in Dhananjaygarh court, she continued singing in other royal courts and patron and later on dominated the world of Hindustani art music for next five decades. She stopped performing 'Mujra' in 1948 and moved out of her kotha after marrying a local Banarasi Sari dealer. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Hindustani music in 1957. Her house of burnt during 1969 communal riots in the city. She often sang on Lucknow and Allahabad stations of All India Radio and Doordarshan till 1972. She also taught noted classical singer Nainna Devi and her style influenced many artists such as Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, etc. She died at the age of 72 in Banaras.