Suchitra Mitra to remain in the hearts of millions

Eminent exponent of Tagore songs Suchitra Mitra died at her south Kolkata residence today after protracted illness, according to her family.

She was 86 and is survived by a son. Mitra's rendition of Tagore's Amar Sonar Bangla Ami Tomai Bhalobasi during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, won hearts of millions.

Mitra took music lessons at the Visva-Bharati where she joined shortly after the demise of Rabindranath Tagore in 1941.

She a received a scholarship to Sangeet Bhavan in Santiniketan, where she had the rare privilege of learning from some of the greatest exponents of Rabindra Sangeet - Indiradevi Chaudhurani, Shantidev Ghosh and Shailajaranjan Mazumdar.

After obtaining her diploma from Santiniketan, Mitra returned to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1945. In 1946, she received her Master's degree in Bengali from the Scottish Church College.

In the same year, her love and commitment to Tagore's music encourage her to found the 'Rabitirtha', which was named by renowned historian and Tagore scholar Professor Kalidas Nag.

Recipient of the Padmasheree award in 1973, Mitra won the Tagore Hymn Prize in 1945 from the London Tagore Hymn Society, Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1986, and the HMV Golden Disc Award, among numerous others which include Deshikottam of Visva-Bharati.


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