Sarajubala Devi (1912-1994) was a

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 ...

actress and singer.

Early life

Sarajubala was born in 1912 in

24 Parganas 24 Parganas district (''cabbiś pargaṇā jēlā'') is a former district of the Indian state of West Bengal. The district was split into two districts — North 24 Parganas district and South 24 Parganas district, with effect from 1 March 1 ...

. She lost her father at a young age. In order to contribute to her family's income, she started working as an actor at the age of nine.

Career

Sarajubala's first role was in the stage play ''Kumar Singha'', where she played a role of a boy. For her performance in the play, she received the gold medial and a monetary reward of 5 Rupees. She became a regular at the New Manomohan Theatre of Nirmalendu Lahiri. She performed in the play

Mirabai Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...

, where she played the role of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

. She received widespread acclaim for her performance. Her performance was compared to notable contemporaries such as Kusum Kumari and Tara Sundari. After Mirabai, she joined the acting troupe Dani Babu. She played the role of Sati with Dani Babu when she was 14 years old in the play ''Daksa-Yajva''. She also played Kunda Nadini in the play ''Bisbrksa'' when she was 14 and which got her widespread acclaim. She co-starred with notable contemporaries, for example Shishir Kumar Bhaduri and Durgadas Banerjee in plays such as ''Chandra Sekhar'', ''Gairik Pataka'', ''Mrgaya'', ''Karagar'', ''Mahuya'' and ''Shyamoli''. Her notable roles include playing Jahanara in the play ''Shah Jahan'' by Dwijendralal Roy, and Lutfa in the play ''Sirajuddaula'' by Sachindra Nath Sengupta. Besides acting in plays, she also acted in movies. She had roles in movies such as ''Rasir Prem'' and ''Krishvankanter Will''. She also used to sing and trained under Krishan Chandra Roy and the future National Poet of Bangladesh, Kazi Nazrul Islam. Throughout her career, she won many awards and prizes. She was awarded the title "Empress of Acting" for her performances. In 1970, she won an Indian Academy Award and the gold medal from the University of Calcutta.

Death

Sarajubala died in 1994.

References

{{authority control 1912 births 1998 deaths Bengali actresses Bengali singers People from North 24 Parganas district Bengali women artists Women musicians from West Bengal Indian stage actresses 20th-century Indian actresses 20th-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian singers Singers from West Bengal Actresses from West Bengal Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award