Legendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee passes away following massive cardiac arrest
She was admitted to hospital two weeks ago after she complained of breathlessness. She tested positive for Covid-19 in the hospital.
FollowLegendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee passed away in Kolkata on Tuesday. She was 90. Mukherjee had been unwell for the past few days. As per hospital sources, the veteran singer suffered a massive cardiac arrest today, and despite extensive efforts to revive her, she passed away.
She was admitted to hospital two weeks ago after she complained of breathlessness. She tested positive for Covid-19 in the hospital.
Also known as Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Mukherjee had recently grabbed headlines as she turned down the Padma Shri award from the Indian Government. The awards were bestowed on January 26, on Republic Day.
Also read: Why did Sandhya Mukherjee refuse Padma Shri from Government? Read on
Soumi Sengupta, daughter of the veteran playback singer, said that her mother declined the honour because “To confer a Padma Shri to a legend like her at the age of 90 is extremely demeaning”.
Reportedly Sandhya Mukherjee wasn’t keeping well when she received a call from Delhi and she rejected the honour saying, “It’s a big humiliation for me. I don’t want to receive an award after such humiliation.” The singer also said that the people who called her from Delhi didn’t know about the work she did over eight decades, and they didn’t know about Indian music.
Mukherjee added that they reached her without even basic knowledge, which hurt her. Also, they called her at the last moment of the announcement. The singer also mentioned that they want to give her the award when she can’t even stand on the stage. Hence, she didn’t want to take it.
Considered one of the sweetest voices of playback singing in the 60s and 70s, Sandhya Mukherjee has thousands of songs in Bengali and nearly a dozen other languages to her credit. Her duets with legendary singer Hemanta Mukherjee are particularly revered by music lovers.
Also read: Author Balan Putheri receives Padma Shri amid news of wife's demise
