Gavri Devi (14 April 1928 – 11 June 2026) was an Indian folk singer from Rajasthan renowned for the Mand style of folk music. She received major honors including the Rajasthan Ratna and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for her contributions to art and music.
Early life
Gavri Devi was born on 14 April 1928 in Rajasthan, India. At the age of 20 she married Mohanlal Gameti of Jodhpur and they had a daughter. She received encouragement from Umaid Singh, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, to pursue music.
Life and work
In 1957 Gavri Devi began broadcasting Mand singing on Radio and Doordarshan, gaining popularity. She performed across India, including in Orissa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In 1983 she gave a special performance of “Kesariya Balam Aavo Hamare Des” at the Festival of India in Moscow, Russia, and she was listed in Who's Who in Asia in 1980.
Legacy and memory
The Government of Rajasthan posthumously honored her with the Rajasthan Ratna in 2013, the state's highest civilian award. In 1986 she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, presented by President R. Venkataraman, recognizing her contribution to folk music. She was also known as Rajasthan's Maru Kokila and regularly presented Mand singing at the Department of Tourism's annual ceremony.
Based on: the Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0) — facts from that source; edited and translated by Times of Rajasthan.