Nirmalendu Chowdhury Biography 
Nirmalendu Chowdhury was a Bengali musician, composer, lyricist and singer, who lived in the 20th century. He is credited to reviving different forms of Bengali music in the 20th century, such as Bhatiali, Bhaoaiya, Dhamail, Jhumur, Sari and Tusu. He focussed on folk music of of Bengal, Assam and Tripura. For his overall contributions towards folk music, government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan. He was also a playback singer too, rendering many popular Bengali film songs. Apart from India, he has also performed in grand Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1955, and won an international singing competition at Warsaw.
Nirmalendu Chowdhury was born on 27 July 1922 in Syllet, Bengal (now a part of Bangladesh). He was born at his maternal home at Shukhair. Nalini Nath Chowdhury and Snehalata Chowdhury were his parents. He completed matriculation and pursued graduation. His parents, ardent music lovers inspired a lot right from childhood to pursue a career in music. During his childhood his family shifted from Sylhet to Mymansing, where he got exposure to folk music. He also took music lessons from folk musicians, Abdul Majid and Abdur Rahim. Later he joined Shantiniketan, where he learnt Rabindra Sangeet from Ashokbijay Raha and Suresh Chakraborty.
While doing his graduation he got involved with politics and communist activities. He joined the party as a young member in 1941. After partition, in 1953 he moved to India, and as a singer his fame spread far wide. He was a member of Indian Cultural Delegation sent to Eastern European countries by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. He was also involved with Indian People's Theatre Association, and wrote songs for dramas. He has also appeared as a stage actor for a few plays, in association with IPTA.
Published: May 23, 2019
Updated: May 23, 2019
