Legendary thumri singer Girija Devi breathed her last in Kolkata yesterday after succumbing to a heart attack. She was 88. She passed away around 9.30 pm last night, hours after she was rushed to hospital with chest pain. Santoor legend Pandit Satish Vyas, who was to meet Girija Devi last afternoon, said, "Whenever I visited Kolkata, meeting Appaji was a must. I tried speaking to her on Monday, but her daughter responded to the call and mentioned that she was unwell. When I called yesterday, I learnt that she was being taken to the BM Birla Heart Research Centre hospital for a check-up and that she had suffered a heart attack on the way. She was to travel to Jaipur and Pune this week."

Girija Devi