Rabindra Sangeet exponent Swapan Gupta no more
West Bengal Rabindra Sangeet artiste Swapan Gupta has passed away after battling cancer for a long time. He was 77.
The singer was initially suffering from liver cancer and then was diagnosed with Leukemia. He was under treatment at Tata Medical Centre, New Town, Kolkata.
Born in the Barishal district of Bangladesh, Swapan Gupta's family migrated to Kolkata after the partition. Being visually impaired, the legendary musician did not have the opportunity to pursue formal training in the art form in his early days.
He met Debabrata Biswas in 1965 at a concert, which the established singer was running late to. Gupta was asked to take over the stage, setting his fingers on the piano to keep the audience calm while Biswas made his way to the venue.
After a couple of instrumentals, Gupta started getting song requests and the singer gracefully responded to it with "Akash Bhora Shurjo Tara".
Biswas was left awestruck after listening to Gupta's soothing and melodious voice and inquired who his guru was. Gupta informed that he had never pursued professional training and the radio was his muse when it came to his musical taleem.
Diswas soon took him under his tutelage, and Gupta went on to become one of the most loved voices on the radio. A few years later, the record of his first song was released from HMV under the supervision of Maya Sen.
Swapan Gupta's two songs were used in director Shaibal Mitra's film 'Chitrakar'. It is said that Swapan Gupta's life changed after he came in contact with Biswas, making his way towards Rabindra Sangeet.
Many renowned artistes and noted personas offered their condolences to the family of this celebrated singer. He has left behind his wife and a daughter.
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