By admin 
Anurag Kashyap, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi and Sonu Nigam were among the prominent film personalities who condoled the death of popular folk singer Sharda Sinha, fondly called ‘Bihar Kokila’ by her fans.
Sinha, who underwent treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi after a health complication due to multiple myeloma, died on Tuesday evening. She was 72.
The Padma Bhushan recipient lent her voice to songs prominently featured in Maithili, Bhojpuri and Magahi languages such as ‘Chhathi Maiya Aayi Na Duaariya’, ‘Ho Deenanth’, ‘Dwar Chekai’ and ‘Patna Se’, but also had Hindi film songs sung. such as “Taar Bijli” (“Gangs of Wasseypur”), “Kahe Toh Se Sajna” (“Maine Pyar Kiya”) and “Babul” (“Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!”).
Kashyap, who directed “Wasseypur”, shared Sinha’s picture on his Instagram Stories with the caption of “Taar Bijli”.
“Sharda Sinha,” he captioned the post with a broken heart emoji.
Bihar-born Bajpayee, who played the role of Sardar Khan in the 2012 film, said he was saddened by the news of the singer’s death.
“I pay my respects to the great singer Sharda ji who took Bhojpuri music and singing to the national and international level with her singing! May God grant peace to her soul,” he wrote on X.
In the revenge drama “Wasseypur”, “Taar Bijli” is set as part of the pre-wedding celebrations of Faizal Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and Mohsina Hamid (Huma Qureshi), with the matriarch of the Khan family Nagma Khatoon (Richa Chadha) song sings.
Chadha said the news of Sinha’s death came as a shock.
“The world of folk songs and music will miss a natural and trained singer like Sharda ji… We are grateful to her. My respect,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories.
Varun Grover, who wrote “Taar Bijli”, in his tribute, recalled how Sinha came into the lives of non-Biharis like him as the voice of “Kahe Tohse Sajna”, the song from 1989’s “Maine Pyar Kiya”, and subsequently stayed here. .
“As we developed an understanding of folk music, her true status was revealed to us. It was a great happiness that I got the opportunity to create a song with her. Tea, laughter, stories and paan continued and the song kept sounding created,” the lyricist wrote on X.
“My respect. Your voice is and always will be the background music of every Chhath festival,” he added, sharing the link of Sinha’s Maithili song “Mohi Lelkhin Sajni Mor Manwa”.
In a video about the making of the music of “Wasseypur”, composer Sneha Khanwalkar described Sinha’s voice as “pure wine” and recalled how they first met.
“Anurag suggested, ‘Do you want to try Sharda ji?’ So I went to her house and sang a few lines for her. She took out her harmonium and sang those lines, so I thought this was the best one…,” Khanwalkar recalled.
Sinha also sang the song “Nirmohiya” for the second season of the Bihar-set web series “Maharani”, helmed by Qureshi.
The actor, who plays the lead role of Rani Bharti in the Sony LIV show, shared a snippet of the song on Instagram. “RIP@shardasinha_official ma’am,” Qureshi wrote.
Born in Supaul in Bihar, Sinha rose to fame not only in her home state but also in parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.
A devotee of Chhath Puja, dedicated to the sun god, the singer released a song every year to celebrate the festival. She did the same this year, despite her poor health. Sinha also died on the first day of the four-day festival.
Popular playback singer Sonu Nigam said it was extremely saddening to lose “respected Sharda Sinha ji during the grand festival of Chhath Puja”.
Bhojpuri actor and politician Ravi Kishan said that without Sinha’s voice, every festival seemed empty, especially the festival of Chhath, and hence “chhati maiya” called her back during this time.
“The untimely death of popular singer Bihar Kokila, Swar Samrajni and respected Padma Bhushan awardee Sharda Sinha ji is very sad. Chhath in UP and Bihar was incomplete without her music,” wrote Bhojpuri actor-politician Dinesh Lal Yadav, popularly known by his stage name Nirahua.
“I can’t deal with this. I hope this is fake news. She gave me so much love, I can’t forget any of it. Irreparable loss. I’m speechless,” singer Kavita Seth said in an Instagram post.
Former Bhojpuri actor and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, who visited the grieving family after Sinha’s death at AIIMS-Delhi on Tuesday, shared a heartfelt post on the microblogging site.
“Today I had my last darshan of elder sister Sharda Didi, who spread the sweetness of Bhojpuri across the country and the world through Chhathi Maiya and devotional music, at AIIMS Delhi. The demise of Didi Sharda is an irreparable loss to the Bhojpuri world and the country,” he wrote on X.
Sinha will be cremated with full state honors in her native Bihar on Wednesday. Her body is likely to reach Patna from Delhi in the afternoon.