Singer Sumitra Sen passes away

KOLKATA: Veteran singer Sumitra Sen, whose unique rendition style popularized Tagore's songs without compromising on the original notations, died at her Ballygunge residence on Tuesday. The 89-year-old singer was suffering from age-related ailments and was admitted to a private hospital with bronchial-pneumonia complications on December 21. She was discharged from the hospital on Monday evening.Sen is survived by her daughters, well-known singers Indrani and Sraboni.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee expressing grief at Sen's demise, said. "One of the foremost artists of Rabindrasangeet, she has been enthralling the audience for decades. I had a close bond with Sumitra Sen for a long time. Her death is an irreparable loss to the music world."
Sraboni's Facebook post announcing "Maa left us this morning" left her countless admirers heartbroken on Tuesday morning. The octogenarian was like a banyan tree for many who remember her rendition of 'Jokhon porbe na mor', 'Shokhi bhabona kahare bole', 'Tumi sandhar meghomala' and 'Mone ki dwidha'. "Her rendition of 'Mago tobo bine sangeeto premo lalito' for Pankaj Mullick's 'Mahisashuramardini' created history. I can't imagine anyone capable of such a melodious rendition," said singer Jayati Chakraborty.
According to singer Soumyojit Das of the Soumyojit-Sourendra duo, Sen was a perfect example of a professional with a great life-and-career balance. "She brought up her two daughters while doing so much of work so quietly," Das said. Though she started her singing career in 1951 with two Nazrulgeetis ('Gother rakhal bole de re' and 'Bedonar bedi tole'), Sen has cut records in folk music too. One of her famous songs was 'Aamtalay jhamur jhumur' with Pratima Banerjee. But it was her Rabindrasangeet renditions that carved a niche for her. In her entire career, Sen had recorded over 150 Tagore songs. She also lent her voice to various stage productions including 'Shyama', 'Shaapmochon', 'Balmiki Pratibha', 'Barshamangal', 'Basanta' and 'Mayar Khela'. Sourendra Mullick of the Soumyojit-Sourendra duo believes that Sen was "one of the early ambassadors of Rabindrasangeet who understood that Tagore songs should not be limited to a particular stylization".
Two of her most famous films songs were picturised on Supriya Devi. While 'Ghorete bhromor elo' was in Ajoy Kar's 'Suno Baranari', 'Aaj jyotsna raate' was in Ritwik Ghatak's 'Komal Gandhar'. Her immensely popular song was 'Tui phele esechhis kare' from Bijoy Bose's 'Nabarag' starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen that had Hemanta Mukhopadhyay as the music director. The likes of Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, V Balsara and Salil Chowdhury have also used her voice in playback. "Sumitra-di could sing in a way that her voice exactly matched with that of the heroine. Only a very versatile singer can do this," Chakraborty added. Yet, Sen herself had rued that Tollywood had not used her enough in playback.