Bengali singer-songwriter Pratul Mukhopadhyay passes away at 83

Renowned Bengali singer Pratul Mukhopadhyay, known for social issue songs, passes away at 83 in Kolkata hospital.

Veteran Bengali singer-songwriter Pratul Mukhopadhyay passed away in a Kolkata hospital after suffering from age-related ailments at the age of 83. He breathed his last on Saturday (February 15). The singer is survived by his wife.

Mr. Mukhopadhyay was known for his songs on social issues and protests, which he mostly sang without any instrumental accompaniment. His companions, who have known him through his long journey in Bengali modern music, remembered him as an “artiste with a cause”. 

The singer was suffering from pancreatic ailments and was being treated at Kolkata’s SSKM Medical College and Hospital where Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met him recently. Videos of him singing one of his famous compositions Ami Banglay Gaan Gai (I sing in Bengali) for Ms. Banerjee inside the hospital were widely circulated on social media. A dedicated medical board was formed to oversee his treatment. After his condition deteriorated, he was put in critical care, but he did not recover. 

Mr. Mukhopadhyay was bid farewell with State honours and gun salutes; hundreds showed up, including the Chief Minister.

West Bengal Sports and Youth Affairs Minister, Aroop Biswas, said, “The Chief Minister had been taking constant updates of his health.” 

Governor Ananda Bose fondly remembered the late singer and said, “We are saddened by his demise. His profound contributions to Bengali music will forever resonate in our hearts.” 

Mr. Mukhopadhyay was born in 1942 in Barisal, now in Bangladesh. The family later moved to West Bengal.