India, June 8 -- Her deep, focussed voice could mine myriad images from the folds of a vibrant 'dadra' or a soulful 'thumri', thus celebrating the beauty and timelessness of folk music, which defines India's ethos and raison d'etre. Needless to add, Shobha Gurtu, the 'thumri' queen, remained peerless both as singer and performer.

A musical soiree was recently held at the Swatantrya Veer Savarkar auditorium at Shivaji Park by the cultural directorate of the state government to commemorate Gurtu's birth centenary; and more such concerts are being planned through the year, a directorate official told HT on Friday.

According to experts, to Gurtu goes the credit for having brought the richly nuanced music of the Indo-Gangetic plains down the...