Anokhelal Mishra also spelled as Anokhe Lal Misra and commonly known as Pandit Anokhelalji was an Indian Tablā Artist who belonged to the Banaras Gharana of Hindustani classical music.
Early life
Anokhelal was born in a very poor family of Kashi, now known as Varanasi. Anokhelal learnt tabla under Bhairow Prasad Mishra. Bhairow prasad Mishra detected his talent and enrolled him as a student of the Tabla in the Banaras Gharana of Ram Sahaiji at the age of 5 or 6 years. Anokhelal Learnt Tabla for about 15 years from Bhairow Prasad Mishra. Bhairow Prasad Mishra was disciple of Bhagat-ji. Bhagat-ji was disciple of Ram Sahai, the founder of The Banaras-Bāj. According to The Banaras Bāj-The Tablā Tradition of a North Indian City by David Roach, Anokhelal was the most famous disciple of Bhairav Prasad Mishra among Maulvi Ram Mishra, Mahavir Bhatt, Mahadev Prasad Mishra, Anokhelal Mishra, and Nageshvar Prasad. He lost his parents as teenager. After that he was brought up by his grandmother. As a child, Anokhelal had to suffer poverty and deprivation.
Musical journey
Anokhelal put in unremitting riyaaz under the guidance of Guruji, which went on for hours together, every day.
Special abilities
He was called the Jadugar of ' Na Dhin Dhin Na ' and ' Dhere Dhere Kite Taka '. He used to play these and many more syllables with clarity even at extreme speed. He was skilled at fast playing ' Na Dhin Dhin Na ' with his 1st finger.
Performances
Pandit Anokhelal was a soloist as well as an accompanist. Anokhelal performed a number of solo concerts during his career and also gave 'Sangat' to many famous musicians and classical dancers. Some of them are Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, etc. Within his short span of life he performed regularly, throughout India. At a time, when performing in the 'National Programme of Music' on All India Radio was a matter of prestige, Pandit Anokhelal figured in the same, a number of times. In the late 1950s, his programmes were broadcast by the Voice of America as well.
Legacy and critical acclaim
He is also known as the Samrat of Tabla Playing. All together he is known as Tabla Samrat Pandit Anokhelal Mishra. According to many, Anokhelal goes the credit of making the audience familiar with the Banaras style of Tabla. His Disciple Chandra Nath Shastri has written about Pandit Anokhelal Mishra in his web article: Tabla Player Pandit Samta Prasad Mishra said in an interview that: Tabla Player Sadanand Naimpalli written in his book about Anokhelal. He said:
Nature and personality
He used to maintain a sober and normal life profile rather than showing off and behaving like a celebrity. He never publicised himself of what he was.
