InstaNews at 01:20, 6 April 2026

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{{Short description|Bengali poet, singer and composer (1815–c.1890)}}
{{Notability|1=Biographies|date=February 2026}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Roopchand Pakshi
| native_name = Roopchand Das Mahapatra
| birth_date = {{circa}} 1815
| birth_place = [[Odisha]], India
| death_date = {{circa}} 1890 (aged 74–75)
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], India
| education = [[Hare School]], Kolkata
| occupation = Poet, singer, composer, satirist
| notable_works = ''Sangeet Rasakallol''
}}

'''Roopchand Pakshi''' ([[Bengali language|Bengali]]: রূপচাঁদ পক্ষী; {{circa}} 1815 – {{circa}} 1890) was a Bengali poet, singer, composer, satirist, and performer of ''[[Panchali (narrative form)|panchali]]'', ''[[Tappa|tappā]]'', and ''[[Dhap kirtan|dhap]]''{{Clarify|date=January 2026|What is it?}} songs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Rupchand Pakshi|url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Rupchand_Pakshi |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=en.banglapedia.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghosh |first=Nabaparna |title=A Hygienic City-Nation: Space, Community, and Everyday Life in Colonial Calcutta |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9781108489898 |publication-date=October 29, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=In conversation with Prof. Kunal Chakrabarti on Sriramapa(c)alī |url=http://www.sahapedia.org/conversation-prof-kunal-chakrabarti-sriramapacal%C4%AB |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Sahapedia |language=en}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=February 2026}}<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The 'Songhs' of Old Calcutta were not just mere entertainers, but also social commentators |url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/the-songhs-of-old-calcutta-were-not-just-mere-entertainers-but-also-social-commentators |website=GetBengal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Samsad Bangla Sahitya Sangi |publisher=Sahitya Samsad |year=2003 |isbn=9788179550076 |editor-last=Das |editor-first=Sisir Kumar |edition=1st |language=bn |trans-title=Samsad Companion to Bengali Literature}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=Dynamics of Dissent: Theorizing Movements for Inclusive Futures |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |editor-last=Clammer |editor-first=John |publication-date=July 26, 2019 |language=en |editor-last2=Bussey |editor-first2=Marcus |editor-last3=Chakravorty |editor-first3=Meera |editor-last4=Banerjee |editor-first4=Tanmayee}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first= |title=Journal of the Indian Musicological Society |publisher=A.R. Mehta for the Indian Musicological Society |year=1986 |volume=17-18 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Roopchand Pakshi was born Roopchand Das Mahapatra ([[Odia language|Odia]]: ରୂପଚାନ୍ଦ ଦାସ ମହାପାତ୍ର) in 1815 to Gourhori Das Mahapatra. His ancestral home was situated near [[Chilika Lake]] in what is now [[Odisha]].<ref name=":5" /> The family migrated from Odisha to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] (now Kolkata) during Pakshi's early years;<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Long |first=James |url=https://ignca.gov.in/Asi_data/58875.pdf |title=Calcutta and Its Neighbourhood: History of People and Localities from 1690 to 1857 |publisher=Indian Publications, Calcutta |editor-last=Sen Gupta |editor-first=Sankar |publication-date=June 1974 |language=en}}</ref> he grew up and spent the rest of his life in the city. He studied at the [[Hare School]] at [[College Street (Kolkata)|College Street]]. He trained under local music teachers, such as Golam Abbas Tabalchi, Chhotey Miah, and Ramchandra Banerjee.<ref name=":0" />

== Musical and literary contributions ==
Pakshi's musical and literary output frequently included satirical narratives and social commentary. He composed songs on a wide array of subjects. He routinely sang about contemporary topics, including the introduction of the railways, widow marriage, ''[[Kanyadana|kanyādāna]]'', and other things.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=মানুষ হয়েও তাঁরা ছিলেন পাখি! পুরনো কলকাতার রূপচাঁদ পক্ষী ও তাঁর দলের কথা জানেন? |url=https://www.sangbadpratidin.in/entertainment/event/memoirs-of-famous-song-writer-and-singer-rupchad-pakkhi/ |website=[[Sangbad Pratidin]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lahiri |first=Durgadas |title=বাঙ্গালীর গান |year=1905 |language=bn |trans-title=Bengali Songs}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dutta |first=Utpal |title=Girish Chandra Ghosh |publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]] |year=1992 |isbn=9788172011970 |pages=9 |language=en}}</ref> Outside of his ''panchali'', ''tappā'', ''dhap,'' and ''[[baul]]'' compositions, Pakshi also performed [[Devotional song|devotional music]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Subodh Chandra |title=সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান |publisher=Samsad – Shiksha Sahitya Kendra Limited |year=1960 |editor-last=Basu |editor-first=Anjali |language=bn |trans-title=Samsad Bengali Biographical Dictionary}}</ref> He called himself ''pakshi'', literally meaning 'bird' in Bengali. He formed a troupe of performers called ''Pakshir Dal'' ({{literal translation}} 'association of birds'), and was colloquially known as the "bird king."<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book |title=Retrieving Bengal's Past: Society and Culture in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century |publisher=[[Rabindra Bharati University]] |year=1995 |isbn=9788186438039 |editor-last=Roy |editor-first=Ranjit Kumar |pages=23 |language=en}}</ref> Pakshi and his group were ''ganjika'' drinkers; [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] was central to their craft and identity.<ref name=":3" />

Pakshi was also noted for often combining Bengali and English in some of his compositions.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghosh |first=Pika |title=Making Kantha, Making Home: Women at Work in Colonial Bengal |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295747002 |editor-last=Sivaramakrishnan |editor-first=K. |publication-date=July 15, 2020 |language=en |editor-last2=Kaimal |editor-first2=Padma}}</ref> An oft-cited lyric from a song of his in praise of [[Krishna|Lord Krishna]] goes:<blockquote><poem style="float:left;"> 
''Let me go, o he dvārī''
''I visit to vaṃśīdhārī''</poem>
<poem style="margin-left:2em; float:left;">
(all English)
[Let me go, O gatekeeper
I'm going to visit the flute-bearer <small>(Krishna)</small>]</poem>{{clear|left}}</blockquote>

Pakshi died in around 1890.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sarkar |first=Kamala |title=Middle Class Bengali Flaunts and Despairs his Colonial Self: A Dilemma in Nineteenth Century Bengali Mind |journal=[[Indian Literature (journal)|Indian Literature]] |volume=56 |issue=6 |pages=206-217 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>

== Notable works ==
* ''Sangeet Rasakallol (A Wave of Musical Delight)''
* ''Kalikātā Barnan'' ''(A Description of Calcutta)''
* ''Helay Hāy Jāy'' ''(The Day Slips by Casually)''
* ''Kāṭāli Kāl Hoyē Nākāl'' ''(Broken and Ruined by Time)''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakshi, Roopchand}}
[[Category:1815 births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Odisha]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali musicians]]
[[Category:Bengali poets]]
[[Category:Bengali singers]]
[[Category:Indian composers]]
[[Category:Musicians from Kolkata]]

Roopchand Pakshi - Revision history

InstaNews at 01:20, 6 April 2026