Renowned folk artiste Master Giriraj passes away

Jaipur Feb 3 (UNI) Renowned folk artiste and ''nautanki'' expert Master Giriraj passed away at the SMS Hospital here last night.

He was 92 and is survived by wife Vimla Devi, five sons and three daughters.

The late artist, pairing with co-artist Manohar had made laudable contribution in popularising the ''nautanki'' mode of folk stage play shows and given series of perfromances in different parts of the country including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal.

Master Giriraj, who hailed from Kaman town in Bharatpur district in Rajasthan, had lived in Kanpur for four years and performed a series of Kanpur styled ''nautanki'' shows in Kanpur and other towns of Uttar Pradesh.

He also worked for Lucknow's Bhartendu Natya Academy and imparted training to budding artistes in ''swang'' mode of folk plays.

He was conferred with several prestigious awards which included state awards by the Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Governments.

UNI SS SHB ht157