Sahana Devi Biography 
Sahana Devi was a famous singer of Rabindra Sangeet. She was the niece of Chittaranjan Das and a cousin of Atulprasad Sen. Since 1928 she lived in Aurobindo Ashram at Pondicherry till her death in 1990. It was Dilip Kumar Roy who brought her to Ashram. 'Smritir Kheya' (1978) is her autobiography work. She was a student at Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan and closely connected to Tagore. She learnt directly from Tagore, sang for Tagore and has composed many songs as well. She was one of the two lucky singers who got permission from Tagore to improvise his songs. She was deeply influenced by Dilipkumar Roy’s singing style.
She was born in Bengal in 1897 into a distinguished family. Her paternal grandfather Kali Narayan Gupta was a social reformer and Brahmo Samaj leader. Her father Dr. Pyare Mohan Gupta was a district civil surgeon. Atulprasad Sen was her first cousin (aunt’s son). Chittaranjan Das was the younger brother of Sahana’s mother Tarala Devi. She was a student at Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan and got opportunity to learn directly from Tagore. She got refuge in Shantiniketan when her family deserted her. Later Dilip Kumar Roy brought Sahana Devi to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram where she spent her entire life. She developed tremendous love and devotion for Sri Aurobindo as soon as she reached Ashram. Tagore was very upset when she left Shantiniketan.
A singer of the highest order, she won admirers through her glorious voice. She also got opportunity to learn one song directly from Dilip Kumar Roy, whom she admired a lot for his singing talents. She was a supreme authority on Tagore compositions, especially devotional ones. She was also known as a great personality and dignity. People respected her a lot. She had a long life of 103 years. She passed away in 1990.
Published: N/A
Updated: April 03, 2016
