Pranab Mukherjee’s wife passes away

President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife, Suvra Mukherjee, passed away on Tuesday morning at 10.51 am. She had been ill for sometime and had complained of respiratory problems recently.

Ms Mukherjee was born on September 17, 1940 in Jessore (now in Bangladesh) and married Mr. Mukherjee on July 13, 1957. A graduate, Ms Mukherjee was an ardent fan of India’s national poet, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

She was a vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and performed in the poet’s dance-dramas for long years not only in different parts of India, but also in Europe, Asia and Africa. Ms Mukherjee founded the Geetanjali Troupe, whose mission is to propagate Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy as expressed through his songs and dance-dramas. She was the guiding force behind all productions of the Troupe.

The late first lady was also a highly talented painter who had many group and solo exhibitions to her credit. She considered her mother who was herself a painter as the source of her creative inspiration and her works won critical acclaim.

Ms Mukherjee has written two books: Chokher Aloey which is a personal account of her close interaction with Smt. Indira Gandhi and Chena Achenai Chin – a travelogue recounting her visit to China.

She is survived by her husband, the President of India and three children – Abhijit Mukherjee, Indrajit Mukherjee and Sharmistha Mukherjee.