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 ...
in
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
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 ...
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
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{{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