LOVE-LYRICS 409 surpassed. Sridhar remains, therefore, a poet great by snatches. We pass brietly over the name of Kalidas Chatto- padhyay (better known as Kali Mirja) a tappa-writer of tolerable power and musician of great repute, who flourished in the early years of the 19th century. His songs, both for their substance and their music, had হে obtained such instant and merited dhyay (EAI MIGh), currency that when Krsnananda Byas Ragasagar compiled his enor- mous eyclopedia of songs in 1845 (1252 B.S.),' he thought it fit to include more than 250 songs of Kali Mirja’s composition. He was the son of one Bijayram Chattopadhyay, a native of Guptipada which was at one time the seat of Hindu learning. Kalidas is said to have learnt music in Benares, Lukhnow and Delhi ; and his appellation »7/rja is said to betoken his high skill and proficiency in that art. After residing for some time with Pratapchandra of Burdwan, he came to Caleutta where he lived thereafter under the magnificent patronage of Gopimohan Thakur. He passed his last days in the sacred city of Benares and died there, before 1825. Kali Mirjé composed songs on a_ variety of topics, secular as well as religious, of which his tappas and syamahisayak songs obtained considerable reputation. In his devotional songs, he follows Character of his the tradition of Ram-prasad and in songs. : one or two pieces he has been able to
t The entire work, Satgit-raga-kalpadrum was published between 1842-49 ; the volume containing Bengali songs was printed in 1845. The date given in the introductory portion of Kali Mirja’s Gitalahari, published by Amrtalal Bandyopadhyay in 1904, is incorrect. See preface to Satigit-raga-kalpadrum (Sahitya Parigat edition, vol. iii, p. 2). 52
