News Desk :
Legendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukhopadhyay has died in hospital care at the age of 90, according to Anandabazar Patrika.
She passed away on Tuesday after being hospitalised last month with complaints of breathlessness and lung infection, the Kolkata-based daily reports.
Earlier, the veteran singer was admitted to a Kolkata hospital on Jan 27 with COVID-19 infection and other health complications, reports bdnews24.com
Speaking to a local channel, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Mukhopadhyay.
“She was recovering well and we thought of appointing a senior specialist to look after her. But she left us all. I consider her Bharat Ratna and her loss cannot be fulfilled. This is a loss to Bengal’s culture,” Benerjee said.
Her body would be kept at Kolkata’s Rabindra Sadan from 12 PM onwards on Wednesday and her funeral will be accorded with state honour after the West Bengal CM returns from north Bengal in the evening.
On Jan 25, the 90-year-old singer refused to accept Padma Shri, saying “the award was more deserving of a junior artist and not someone of her stature”.
Mukhopadhyay received Banga Bibhushan, the highest civilian honour of the Indian state of West Bengal in 2011.
She also won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her songs in the films Jay Jayanti and Nishi Padma in the year 1970.
Born and brought up in Kolkata, she was a student of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. A classical musician, she began her career in Bollywood and has sung for 17 Hindi films. Later, she moved back to Kolkata and married Bengali poet Shyamal Gupta in 1966, who wrote the lyrics for many of her songs. She had worked with leading music directors like S.D. Burman, Naushad and Salil Chaudhury.
In her career spanning over several decades, Mukherjee won several awards, including National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She has thousands of songs in Bengali to her credit. She also lent her voice as a playback singer in 17 Hindi films.
She was awarded Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian awards of the neighbouring country in January.
However, the artist reportedly had refused to accept the award after the central government contacted her over phone. Sandhya Mukherjee, also known as Sandhya Mukhopadhyay received the “Banga Bibhushan” – WB’s highest civilian award, in 2011 – and a National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1970.
She was also one of the leading foreign artists who performed at the Paltan Maidan in Dhaka for the first time after the independence of Bangladesh on 21 February, 1972.
