Classical music maestro Pandit Chhannulal Mishra passed away

Classical singer Pandit Chhannulal Mishra has passed away. Pandit Chhannulal Mishra was mainly a classical singer and also played the Swarmandal, a one-stringed instrument. In 2014, Pandit Mishra became one of the four proposers during Narendra Modi’s nomination from Varanasi as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.

• On October 2, 2025, classical singer Pandit Chhannulal Mishra passed away. Raised from a humble background, Pandit Mishra found his voice on the ghats of Banaras, and his raucous melodies represented the sacred confluence of Lord Shiva’s cosmic drumbeat and the serenity of the Ganga.
• Pandit Chhannulal Mishra was mainly a classical singer and also played the Swarmandal, a one-stringed instrument that resembles the sitar. His main profession was Hindustani classical music, where he was a renowned singer of genres such as Khayal, Thumri, and Bhajan.
• This blend of Kirana and Banaras gharanas stirred and soothed the soul with its natural expression of the rigor of Hindustani classical music and the poetic subtleties of semi-classical styles.
• Along with Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Mishra represented the syncretic culture of Varanasi. Honored with the Padma Vibhushan, Mishra was a powerful embodiment of Indian classical music.

Pandit Chhannulal Mishra

• His ability to recite the entire Ramcharitmanas by heart filled his bhajans with classical authenticity. From the balance of Ram to the mischievous charm of Krishna, Pandit Mishra carved out the emotional truths of cultural icons through his singing.
• Born on August 3, 1936, in Hariharpur village of Azamgarh district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh into a musical family, Pandit Mishra was introduced to music by his father, Badri Prasad Mishra.
• His grandfather Shanta Prasad was a distinguished tabla player and another tabla artist, Pandit Anokhelal Mishra, was his father-in-law.
• Training under Kirana gharana’s Ustad Abdul Ghani Khan and exposure to the musical philosophy of musicologist Thakur Jaidev Singh enabled him to transcend the boundaries of gharanas and schools, weaving poetic nuances into the framework of Hindustani classical music.
• In his seventies, Pandit Mishra found a large base of young listeners when he sang “Saans Albeli” for Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in Prakash Jha’s film Aarakshan (2011).
• In 2014, Pandit Mishra emerged as a symbol of cultural nationalism when he became one of the four proposers during Narendra Modi’s nomination from Varanasi as a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate.