Renuka Dasgupta

Renuka Dasgupta née Sengupta(B : 22 Aug 1910 Konnagar, WB D: 1 Jan 1991, Calcutta,WB ) was a Bengali

Bengali people

The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...

singer, considered one of the best-known exponents of the songs of Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen was an Bengali composer, lyricist and singer. He is principally remembered as a musician and composer. His songs centred around three broad subjects- patriotism, devotion and love...

. She was amongst the few singers to learn directly from Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen was an Bengali composer, lyricist and singer. He is principally remembered as a musician and composer. His songs centred around three broad subjects- patriotism, devotion and love...

, Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...

and Dilipkumar Roy

Dilipkumar Roy

Dilipkumar Roy was a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist.In 1965, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him its highest honour for lifetime achievement, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.-Background and...

.
In 1932, three Indian recording companies were born in Calcutta out of a nationalistic urge to compete with the British-owned Gramophone Company of India. One of these was Hindusthan Records. The owner C.C.Saha requested Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

to record some songs and recitations. From those recordings was published the first record H1. Atulprasad Sen recorded two songs which were published in the second record H2. The third record H3 had the songs 'Jodi gokulachandra braje na elo' (kirtan) and 'Pagla montare tui bandh' (Atulprasad) sung by Renuka Sengupta. Sale for this record reached an unprecedented high mark, such was the popularity of these songs..Her repertoire ranged from AtulPrasad, Rabindrasangeet, Nazrulgeeti, Bhajan, Kirtan, Shyamasangeet to even Bhatiali.
Contrary to popular, belief "Jodi gokulachandra braje na elo" is not written by Atul Prasad Sen. She was also trained by Kazi Nazrul Islam

Kazi Nazrul Islam

- recorded 2 songs under his tutelage, Krishna Chandra Dey - the recorded song was "Aye Bhikharin Premnagar Ke Pritam Pritam Bole".In 1935 Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

wanted her to sing couple of his songs and instructed Dinendranath Tagore

Dinendranath Tagore

Dinendranath Tagore was a Bengali musician and noted singer, a grandson of the eldest brother of Rabindranath Tagore who codified many of the tunes that would appear impetuously to Rabindranath...

to train her. However this project suffered a big blow with the untimely death of Dinedranath in the following week. The task was taken up by Sailajaranjan Majumdar, who trained and guided her through the recordings of the 5 Rabindrasangeets she sang in her career.
Born in Konnagar, West Bengal Renuka Dasgupta lived in Gaya till the age of 5. Her family then moved to Tikatuli, Dhaka where she remained based till her marriage to Hirendra Chandra Dasgupta a graduate engineer of Bengal Engineering College which was then affiliated with the University of Calcutta

University of Calcutta

The University of Calcutta is a public university located in the city of Kolkata , India, founded on 24 January 1857...

in the early 1930s. Post marriage she moved and settled permanently in Calcutta. She had 2 children. She was a cousin of Sahana Devi

Sahana Devi

Sahana Devi was an Indian singer, she was a widely listened to singer of Rabindra Sangeet.-Career:She was amongst the few singers to learn directly from Rabindranath Tagore and Dinendranath Tagore...

, Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen

Atulprasad Sen was an Bengali composer, lyricist and singer. He is principally remembered as a musician and composer. His songs centred around three broad subjects- patriotism, devotion and love...

, Kanak Biswas(née Das).

Renuka Dasgupta taught Music in Kamrunnesa Girls High School at Tikatuli, Dhaka in the late 1920s. She also owned and managed a small civil engineering firm for 3 decades.

It is a pity that through biographers' efforts, the performers who inspired Albert Einstein are well-known, but people have forgotten this singer who inspired the two greatest physicists of Bengal, Meghnad Saha

Meghnad Saha

Meghnad Saha FRS was an Indian astrophysicist best known for his development of the Saha equation, used to describe chemical and physical conditions in stars.-Early life:...

and Satyendranath Bose.

Recorded Rabindrasangeet

Diner Pore Din Je Gelo (1935)
Aamaar Ki Bedonaa (1935)
Basante Basante Tomar Kobi Re Dao Dak
Koto Katha Tare Chilo Bolite
Tomaro Shurer Dhara

Recorded Songs of Atul Prasad (list incomplete)

Pagla Monta Re Tui Bandh
Emono Badole Tumi Kothay
Nid Nahi Akhi Pate
Esho Dujaney Kheli
Ki Aar Chaahibo Bolo
Ohe Jagatkaron
Chaa(n)dni Raatey
Amaar Chokh Be(n)dhey Bhober Khelay
Jodi Tor Hrid Jamunaa
Ke Go Gaahiley
Ki Roop Dekhinu Kaalaa
Ogo Saathi Momo Saathi
Shuktara Tomar Chholo Chholo Akhi

Recorded Songs of Other Genre (list incomplete)

Jodi Gokulochandra Braje Na Elo
Aye Bhikarin Prem Nagar Ki

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.