Amita Sen—affectionately was called Khuku by Tagore. Life of Khuku, too was short like her name. She was born in Dhaka (now in Bangladesh) on 19 May 1914 and died on 24 May 1940, at the age of 26, just over a year earlier than Tagore. She joined Shantiniketan at the age of 9 years in the year 1923. Then there was another Amita Sen who was senior and later became friend of Amita Sen (Khuku). Senior Amita Sen (who is the mother of Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen) recalls Khuku’s arrival at Shantiniketan in 1923, of an unsophisticated but charming nine-year-old girl. Khuku was black complexioned but having sharp features. She possessed a natural, with a clear, open voice. She used to be the one whom Tagore used to try his songs in her voice. She used to sing such songs in open throated in the open of Shantiniketan. শান্তিনিকেতনের মাঠে ঘাটে সে উদ্দাত্ত কন্ঠে খালি গলায় সেই গানগুলি গেয়ে বেড়াত। Keeping her in mind, Tagore composed a song: “আমি তোমার সঙ্গে বেঁধেছি, আমার প্রান, সুরের বাঁধনে…..“I have entwined my life with yours through the bonds of music.” Although Sen was much younger than Tagore—by over half a century—and his acolyte, the emotional bonds between them were strong.
2023-12-27