Suchitra Mitra Bids Her Last Adieu

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KOLKATA, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- It came up as a shock to several lovers of Rabindra Sangeet, as one of the most renowned and celebrated Rabindra Sangeet exponent, Suchitra Mitra left for the heavenly abode, due to a cardiac arrest today in the afternoon. The 86 year old singer is survived by her son.

The unfortunate incident took place at about 1:30 pm, in her South Kolkata home, while she was having lunch. Suchitra Mitra has immortalized herself through her melodious voice. She is especially remembered for her rendition of “Amar Sonar Bangla Ami Tomai Bhalobasi” during the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. She took music lesson at Visva-Bharati, shortly after the death of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941. She got a scholarship at scholarship to Sangeet Bhavan in Santiniketan, where she learnt music from some of the most famous contemporary musical legends like Indiradevi Chaudhurani, Pankaj Mullick, Shantidev Ghosh and Shailajaranjan Mazumdar. She made her first recording in the year 1945, and in the following year, she received a degree in Bengali literature from Scottish Church College. She was also the founder of ‘Rabitirtha’, that was maned by Professor Kalidas Nag. Her father Saurindra Mohan Mukherjee, had close ties with the Tagore family. Her talent was first recognized by Pankaj Mullick.

Suchitra Mitra has also been the proud recipient of several awards like the Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1986, HMV Golden Disc Award, Deshikottam Award, Padmashri award in 1973. In 1945, the London Tagore Hymn Society regarded her with the Tagore Hymn Prize. In 2001, she became the sheriff of Kolkata. She has also been the head of Rabindra Sangeet department, at the Rabindra Bharati University for several years. She has been featured by several biographic documentary films based on the life, one of which, directed by Raja Sen, bagged National Film Award for Best Cultural Film.