Rabindra sangeet exponent Dwijen Mukhopadhyay passes away

Veteran Rabindra Sangeet singer Dwijen Mukhopadhyay passed away on Monday at his residence in Salt Lake around 1.30 pm, family sources said. He was 91.

The maestro, who was suffering from various age-related ailments, is survived by son and daughter.

Born in 1927, Mukhopadhyay, one of Bengal's revered singers, recorded over 1,000 songs of Tagore during his lifetime, the first being 'Tumi kyamon kore gaan koro hey guni' in 1951.

His rendition of 'Jaago Durga' on All India Radio (AIR) was widely acclaimed by his contemporaries.

The Rabindra Sangeet exponent, who was honoured with Padmabhushan and Banga Bibhusan, also composed music for Bengali films in his career spanning over six decades.

He was admitted to a government hospital in September with severe lung infection, but was later discharged as his condition slightly improved. Mukhopadhyay, however, did not recuperate completely.

Condoling the maestro's death, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said it was a personal loss for her.

She also said that the singer's last rites will be performed with full state honours.

"I am at a loss for words. Dwijen Da's (Mukherjee) death marks the end of an era a huge loss for the music industry. I shared a very cordial relationship with Dwijenda. I consider this to be a personal loss," Banerjee said.

The CM maintained that Mukhopadhyay always attended musical concerts hosted by the state government.

"In the past two months, he had given the state-hosted events a miss owing to his ill health. I extend my condolences his family and fans," she said, adding that veteran singer's body will be taken to Rabindra Sadan complex for the public to pay their last respects," she added.