Top Bengali elocutionist Pradip Ghosh dead, tests COVID-19 positive

Kolkata, October 16

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Pradip Ghosh, a veteran Bengali elocutionist who gave a new dimension to recitation of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems, died here on Friday and tested coronavirus positive after his death, family sources said.

Ghosh was 78.

He was running fever since Saturday and was under treatment, his daughter said.

Ghosh died in his sleep at his residence Friday morning and his swab tests later confirmed that he was COVID- 19 positive, she said.

Son of elocutionist Chinmoviban Ghosh, he came into his own in the late 1960s and gave a new dimension to the recitation of Tagore’s poems, especially those for children.

He was a pioneer in popularising recitation of poetry in public. This spurred the common people to buy tickets to listen to Bengali poetry recitation and buy records by elecutionists like him.

His was a well-known name at cultural programmes organised by expatriate Bengalis in the USA, Australia and the UK.

Ghosh, known for his inimitable style, had to his credit scores of albums.

Expressing grief over his death, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement that he was a “bright star in the world of elocution” and had made the state and Bengalis proud.

She recalled his contributions as a joint director of information and cultural affairs department where he gave valuable guidance and inputs for its functioning.

Ghosh was the recipient of Kazi Sabyasachi Puraskar in 2017.

Banerjee offered her condolences to the bereaved family and his countless admirers.

The social media saw an outpouring of grief over Ghosh’s death by artistes and fellow elocutionists who called it “the end of an era”. PTI