The singer-composer and a maestro extraordinaire of Mass Songs Pratul Mukhopadhyay passed away on 15 February 2025. He was 83. He was admitted at SSKM hospital, Kolkata with lung infection, underwent emergency surgery and later was detected to have had cancer. Following his pledge his eyes and body were donated to the hospital for research and teaching purposes. Comrade Kartick Pal, member, Politburo of CPIML along with other state members paid revolutionary tribute to the memory of Pratulda. He was a council member of Gana Sanskriti Parishad at its initial days. Both the GSP and its cultural organ Nabanna paid red salute to his mortal remains.
Revolutionary mass songs discovered a new doyen way back in the tempestuous 70's. In those potent days of political ferment one of Pratul Mukhopadhyay's popular songs was a Bengali adaptation of Mao's poem, The days are not far away, when our beloved motherland would be free/ Look! How the lights of the Red Sun turns the red eastern sea so gloriously ablaze. This song used to reverberate the prison walls, sung severally by the Naxalite inmates across Bengal jails. Mukhopadhyay studied at Presidency College and was involved with the Naxalite movement. Another inspiring song adaptation from the days of Chinese Long March was May there be thousands of obstacles on a long journey/ What fear does the brave minds of the Red Army have?
Pratul Da, as he was known across the national frontiers, only became a name among the aficionados of Bengali modern songs much later at the beginning of the new millennium when he earned immense fame by composing the iconic number I sing in Bengali/I sing about Bengal. This song, though a tribute to Bengali ethnicity, was in no way parochial or provincial. It speaks of assimilation in a language of humility, devoid of arrogance.
While rendering any song at any place or moment, his thin body would be electrified by his absorption in the moment, a spectacle to behold even in retrospect. His entire body with inimitable movements of hands and facial expressions would reflect a total absorption, mesmerizing the listeners by his magical perfection. And this aural perfection used to be achieved by unique voice modulation as he shunned any accompanying musical instruments.
Pratulda amazed his audience as always with a slice of endearment and his total lack of vanity.
Its quite apt to quote from the words of the singer-songwriter-archivist Moushumi Bhowmik, “Pratulda was so naturally gifted as a singer he could make anything into a song. He had turned so many poems of Sankha Ghosh, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Arun Mitra and Birendra Chattopadhyay into songs.”
His demise left a huge vacuum in Bengal's cultural space.
The Central Committee of CPIML remembers with pride our close association for decades and pays revolutionary tribute to Pratul Mukhopadhyay's unique contribution to revolutionary culture.
