Amiya Tagore ( (12 February 1908 – 13 November 1986) 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 ...

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Li ...

singer. She was amongst the few singers to learn directly from

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. She played the role of Pramada in Tagore's dance drama ''Mayar Khela'' which was directed by the composer himself. Later she became a member of the Tagore family through her marriage to Tagore's elder brother's grandson.

Early life

The daughter of Surendranath Roy, barrister, she was born at Calcutta on 12 February 1908, and was educated at Bethune School and

Bethune College Bethune College is a women's college located on Bidhan Sarani in Kolkata, India, and affiliated to the University of Calcutta. It is the oldest women's college in India. It was established as a girls' school in 1849, and as a college in 1879. ...

. She had early training in music from a Muslim ''ostad'' and subsequently had training in classical music from Nagendra Kishore Bandopadhayay. She learnt Rabindra Sangeet directly from the poet himself. She had such a melodius voice that the poet used to teach her the most difficult tunes. She was married to Hridindranath Tagore.Bose, Anjali (editor), 2004, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol 2, , p 22, (set) and (Vol 2).

Later life

Amiya Tagore used to give public performance after her wedding only on Tagore's birthdays. She sang 'E parabase rabe ke hay' for

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

in the film Kanchenjungha (1962). Towards the end of her life, in 1979, she enthralled the audience with her rendering of songs at Rabindra Sadan in Calcutta.

Sailajaranjan Majumdar Sailajaranjan Majumdar (19 July 1900–24 May 1992) was a distinguished exponent and teacher of Rabindra Sangeet. Early life The son of Ramanikishore and Saralasundari Majumdar, Sailajaranjan was born at Baham, Netrokona, now in Bangladesh, on ...

, the universal teacher of music at Santiniketan writes in his memoirs that once when he expressed his desire to go to Calcutta to learn the song ''Mori lo mori amay banshite dekechhe ke'' from Amiya Tagore.

Early life

Later life

References

Further reading