Suchitra Mitra

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POSTED ON: 02/24/07 10:59:27

Suchitra Mitra is a well respected exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore. She studied at the Scottish Church College , the University of Calcutta and at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, India.

Early life
Her father, the celebrated litterateur, Saurindra Mohan Mukherjee, was a close associate of the Tagore family of Jorasanko. Suchitra Mitra's natural aptitude in music was recognized by Pankaj Mullick, who gave her her first lesson in Rabindra Sangeet. From her childhood as the youngest member of her family, Suchitra cultivated her love for the songs and poetry of Tagore. She had an unerring ear for music and had a natural gift of voice and expression.

Musical career
In 1941, Suchitra Mitra 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. Having obtained her Diploma from Santiniketan, Suchitra Mitra returned to Calcutta in 1945. Later in her life, she received her Master's degree in Bengali from the University of Calcutta. Her inherent 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), which today stands out significantly as one of the leading schools of Rabindra Sangeet in Kolkata, and which was named in honor of the Nobel laureate. Founder and Principal, Suchitra Mitra is still an active figure and inspiration behind this establishment. Her dedication, sincerity and comprehension of the subtle nuances underlying Tagore's songs is indeed praiseworthy.

She proved herself equally successful as an exponent and an interpreter of Tagore's musical compositions. Her other interests include performing arts including theatrical performances, film-acting, painting etc. She has also been producing Rabindra Nritya Natyas (or Tagore's dance dramas); she has acted and danced in many of them. She has also acted in stage-plays and in films. Her other intellectual pursuits include reciting poetry, writing short stories, poems and children's rhymes, publishing essays and books on more thought provoking subjects such as the grammar and techniques involved in rendering Rabindra Sangeet or on the aesthetics of the music of Tagore. She is the author of many books in Bengali on Rabindra Sangeet, and has recently directed her efforts towards compiling an encyclopedia of Tagore's songs for students and researchers. Suchitra Mitra's repertoire and expertise, coupled with her ability to inculcate in others the love of Rabindra Sangeet is unparalleled and establishes her as one of the greatest names in the world of performing arts in India.

Her versatile personality is projected when she sings songs of different moods. Her songs evoke visions of beauty and wonderment, color and fragrance, love and pain, memories and longing, joy and freedom. Suchitra is considered as one of the most versatile exponents of Rabindra Sangeet and in recognition thereof she was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India in 1974.

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