New Delhi: Pandit Chhannulal Mishra, doyen of the Kirana Gharana whose voice carried both the majesty of a raga and the tender devotion of the Ramcharitmanas, passed away at 4.15 am in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur. Often described as the very voice of the Ramayan Katha, at 89, his ashes were immersed in the Ganga at Manikarnika Ghat—the sacred river he sang of all his life.

A Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, he was celebrated for blending the majesty of khayal, the delicacy of thumri, and the devotion of Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas with equal brilliance. His unique gift lay in weaving music with storytelling, turning every raga and bhajan into an experience of history, scholarship, and devotion. For Banaras, he was not just an artist but its soul, giving voice

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