Ramkumar Chattopadhyay (1921 — 18 March 2009) was an eminent

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

singer, composer and music director. He was well known as a classical singer with a unique repertoire of ''Puratani'' (old Bengali) songs, devotional songs and

Tappa Tappa is a form of Indian semi-classical vocal music. Its specialty is a rolling pace based on fast, subtle and knotty construction. Its tunes are melodious and sweet, and depict the emotional outbursts of a lover. Tappe (plural) were sung mostly by ...

Early life

Ramkumar was born in 1921 at Darjipara of

North Kolkata North Kolkata encompasses the northern part of Kolkata, including the city's oldest neighbourhood. Shyambazar, Bagbazar, Kumartuli, Shobhabazar, Posta, Jorasanko, Rajabazar, Phoolbagan, Maniktala, Kankurgachi, Ultadanga, Chitpur, Belgac ...

in a family with musical background. His grandfather was a classical singer from whom Chattopadhyay learned

Tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

. He took lesson on Classical music from Jatin Chatterjee, a singer of Bishnupur gharana.

Music career

Chattopadhyay first got an opportunity to accompany

Kazi Nazrul Islam , pseudonym = bn, ধূমকেতু, Dhūmketu , image = Nazrul.jpg , image_size = , caption = Nazrul in Chittagong, 1926 , birth_date = 11 ''Joiṣṭhyô'', 1306 '' Bônggabdô ...

during a public meeting held by

Subhash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. He learned

from ''Kolobabu'' alias Jitendranath Bandopadhyay.

Sarat Chandra Pandit Sarat Chandra Pandit (27 April 1879 – 27 April 1968), better known as ‘Dada Thakur’ (দাদাঠাকুর), was a well-known composer of humorous rhymes, writer, publisher and social critic. He had his ancestral house at Dafarpur ...

appointed him as a regular artist of Akashbani Kolkata and after that Chattopadhyay was established as a professional singer. His unparalleled skills lay in giving humorous, quirky twists to traditional forms of music, which were appreciated by classical music lovers. He composed music in two Bengali movies named Strir Patra in 1972 and Parikrama in 1996. He gained much popularity for

Shyama Sangeet Shyama Sangeet ( bn, শ্যামা সঙ্গীত ) is a genre of Bengali devotional songs dedicated to the Hindu goddess Shyama or Kali which is a form of supreme universal mother-goddess Durga or parvati. It is also known as Shaktagiti ...

and Bengali Puratani Song or ''Baithaki Gaan''. In his career he worked as a playback singer in number of Bengali films. Chattopadhyay died at 89 due to

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and multi organ failure at a private hospital in Kolkata. His son, Srikumar Chattyopadhyay is also a Bengali Classical Singer. On 1 June 2017 a statue of Chattopadhyay was inaugurated in Kolkata by Mala Roy, the then Chairperson of

Kolkata Municipal Corporation Kolkata Municipal Corporation (abbreviated KMC; also Calcutta Municipal Corporation) is the local government of the Indian city of Kolkata, the state capital of West Bengal. This civic administrative body administers an area of . Its motto, ' ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chattopadhyay, Ramkumar 1921 births 2009 deaths Bengali musicians Bengali singers Indian male classical musicians Indian classical composers Singers from Kolkata 21st-century Indian singers Bengali playback singers 21st-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian male singers 20th-century Indian singers