Dwijen Mukhopadhyay: Difference between revisions

'''Dwijen Mukhopadhyay''' (12 November 1927 – 24 December 2018) was an Indian composer and singer whose musical career spanned  six decades. He was a performer of [[Rabindrasangeet]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]] basic songs, Bengali and [[Hindi]] film songs. He recorded more than 1500 songs, of which about 800 are songs of [[Rabindranath Tagore]]. He also directed music in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] feature films and composed music for popular [[Bengali language|Bengali]] basic songs. He died on 24 December 2018

In 1944 Mukhopadhyay made his debut as a professional singer. In 1945 he made his first recording of basic Bengali songs from Megaphone Record Company. In 1946 he started to act as an artist of [[All India Radio]] (AIR) and also started recording with [[HMV]]-Colombia Recording Company. In 1956 he entertained the soldiers of the [[Indian Army]] with his songs at [[Ladakh]].{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Mukhopadhyay received his training in music from singers of [[Bengal]] including Shri Sushanto Lahiri, [[Pankaj Mullick]], Santidev Ghosh, Santosh Sengupta, Anadi Ghosh Dastidar and Niharbindu Sen.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Mukhopadhyay was introduced to the folk music of [[Bengal]] and [[Hindi]] film music by the film-music composer [[Salil Chowdhury]]. His friendship with [[Salil Chowdhury]] started in the late '40s through their common association with IPTA. The duo gave the [[Bengali people|Bengali]] audience songs like "Shyamal Barani Ogo Konya", "Klanti Name Go", "Ekdin Phire Jabo Chole", "Pallabini Go Sancharini" and many others. They worked on two poems of [[Michael Madhusudan Dutt]], "Rekho Maa Dashere Mone" and Ashar Cholone Bhuli". Later Mukhopadhyay went to [[Mumbai]] to work with [[Salil Chowdhury]] and recorded duet songs with [[Lata Mangeshkar]] for Hindi films like 'Honeymoon' (1960), 'Maayaa' (1961), 'Sapan Suhaane' (1961) and solo playback in '[[Madhumati]]', {This song did not find place in the film, but was released on LP}.

He was an exponent of [[Rabindrasangeet]] which he has performed [[Rabindrasangeet]] in Bengali films like 'Kshudita Pashan' (1960), based on a short story by [[Rabindranath Tagore]], and 'Sandhya Raag' (1977) under Music Directors [[Ustad Ali Akbar Khan]] and [[Pandit Ravi Shankar]], respectively, as well as [[Rabindrasangeet]] in 'Kancher Swarga' (1963), ''[[Bon Palashir Padabali]]'' (1973), and 'Wheel Chair' (1994).{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Mukhopadhyay had also performed the devotional song 'Jaago Durga' as a part of the musical play 'Mahisasura Mardini' (The Annihilation of the Demon), which is a radio programme broadcast by [[All India Radio]] (AIR), [[Kolkata]], every year on the day of 'Mahalaya' marking the beginning of the autumn festival of '[[Durga Puja]]'.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

He sang before dignitaries such as [[Josip Broz Tito]] (President of Yugoslavia), [[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan]] (President of India), Pandit [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] (Prime Minister of India), [[Indira Gandhi]] (Prime Minister of India). As a member of 'Indian Cultural Delegation', he toured the [[Soviet Union]] and East European countries like [[Poland]], [[Romania]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Yugoslavia]]. He also was invited to perform in the US, the UK, France, [[Switzerland]], Australia, Canada, Singapore and [[Bangladesh]].{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

Mukhopadhyay was a member of the "Experts Committee" and the "Selections Committee" at Visva-Bharati Music Board in Kolkata, which was responsible for certifying the purity and authenticity of Tagore songs, sung by any artist anywhere in the world. {{citation needed|date=January 2012}} He was a member of the 'Expert Committee' of [[All India Radio]] (AIR), New Delhi that held a national level audition of senior singers to promote them to 'Top grade Artists (Singers)' of [[India]].{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} Mukhopadhyay was the 'External Examiner' of the Post Graduate Course in Visva Bharati University, Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}

He created a cultural organisation named 'Uttarayani', [[Kolkata]], [[India]] to impart training on [[Rabindrasangeet]]. {{citation needed|date=January 2012}} Mukhopadhyay was also the President of 'Bani Chakra College of Music', [[Kolkata]], India.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}} He also celebrated the Birth Centenary of [[Rabindranath Tagore]] in 1961 and took active part in the celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary held in 2011.{{citation needed|date=January 2012}}