Anokhelal Mishra Biography 
Anokhelal Mishra was a renowned musician and tabla artist from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He followed by Banaras Gharana of Hindustani classical music. His name is also spelled as Anokhe Lal Misra. He was most commonly addressed as Pandit Anokhelalji by his disciples and fans. He had many disciples across North India, who includes Chandra Nath Shastri and many more. Mishra always kept a low profile and never glorified his talent, despite being a great artist of this genre. He died at a young age of 44 in 1958. He was suffering from Gangrene of his left foot. Mishra is always regarded as one of the great inspirations to newer generations of tabla artists, even today.
He was born in 1914 in Varanasi. He belonged to a very poor family in the holy city, and struggled with poverty during his younger days. He was initiated to tabla by Bhairow Prasad Mishra during his early childhood. It was his guru who identified the real talents of this young musician. So he started the musical classes under Banaras tradition when Misra was only 5 or 6 years. Misra trained under his guru for long 15 years. In fact Bhairow Prasad Mishra was a disciple of Bhagat-ji, who learnt Banaras tradition of tabla from its founder Ram Sahai. During his teens he lost both his parents, and was brought up by his grandmother.
He was called the Jadugar of ' Na Dhin Dhin Na’, as he was skilled at fast playing this phrase using first finger. Apart from accompanying other vocalists and musicians, he also performed as a solo musician in musical concerts. Though his life was short, he performed across India.
Published: October 08, 2018
Updated: October 08, 2018
