Nirmala Devi: A singer with a difference
Nirmala Devi aka Nirmala Arun was born on June 7, 1927 in the Benares State of British India. Her father was a renowned table player, Sri Vasudev. Nirmala grew up in a house filled with music and with the support of her father who wanted her to become an artiste. She began her musical training at the age of seven under the guidance of Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan of the Patiala Gharana and continued it till the age of fourteen. Nirmala Devi chose to migrate to Bombay and work there. She entered Hindi Cinema and acted and sang for more than 20 films. It is interesting to note, all the women singers who came from the courtesan tradition, surely dabbled in cinema, even if for a brief stint. Her noteworthy films are ‘Savera’, ‘Sharda’, ‘Gaali’, ‘Chaalis Karod’ and ‘Janmashtami’. Nirmala Devi got married to actor Arun Kumar Ahuja with whom she
worked too. She supported her family single-handedly after the death of her husband.
After a decade in films, Nirmala Devi once again turned her attention to music and returned under the tutelage of Ustad Rahman Khan. With her devotion and sincere practice,
very soon she developed a new form of singing. Combining the beauty of the Benaras style of thumri and the fastpaced novelty of the Punjab style, she reinterpreted thumri exclusively as her own. Gradually, she came to be known as one of the foremost semi-classical
SHE COMBINED THE BEAUTY OF THE BENARAS STYLE OF THUMRI AND THE FASTPACED NOVELTY OF THE PUNJAB STYLE...
singers of the country. Her singing was inspired by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Amir Khan in musical intonation.
‘Maine lakhon ke bol sahe’, ‘Ro ro nain ganwaye’ and ‘Ehi thainya motiya heray gaeli’ are some of her landmark bandish. In the film ‘Bawarchi’ (1972), her voice is used in the song ‘Bhor aayi gaya andhiyara’ with Lakshmi Shanker, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. Owning to her immense popularity she was a favourite with HMV and other
Records Companies of the time. Her duet LP record ‘Sawan beeta jaye’ with Lakshmi Shanker was a big hit. Her sons Kirti Kumar (film director) and Govinda (actor) are established artistes. She passed away in Mumbai in 1996.