Nirmala Mishra was a gem of the golden age.

Nirmala Mishra was a gem of the golden age.

Singer Nirmala Mishra was a gem of the golden age, that includes the 50s and 60s. During that period, Bengal produced a number of female singers most of whom were stalwarts in their own specialization. Sandhya Mukherjee, Geeta Dutt, Shipra Basu, Krishna Ganguly, Ila Basu, Pratima Banerjee, Alpona Banerjee, Bani Ghoshal, Arati Mukherjee, Basabi Nandi, Sabitri Ghosh, Gayatri Basu all adorned the firmament of Bengali music during the golden age.

Nirmal Mishra faced the stiff competition and kept her mark with unique style of classical singing. She dominated both Bengali music as well as Oriya Music.

Her notable songs included “o tota pakhire” composed by Probir Majumdar, “emon ekta jhinuk khuje pelam na” composed by Nochiketa Ghosh, to name a few. She brought tears in the eyes of the audience with her feeling in the song “ei banglar matite mago janmo amay diyo”. She was sublime in the song “keu kotha bolonago, ei taraghera madhusondhay,” and “boloto arshite”, etc.

She made notable contribution in Bengali film music as well. She sang important film song in the film Bhranti Bilas, where music was composed by Shyamal Mitra. Her other notable songs included “sabuj pahar dake ayre chute aye”, “abeshe much rekhe”, “pashan hridoy”, etc.

One article is too small to highlight the contribution of Nirmal Mishra. She had played notable role in shaping Bengali modern songs of the 50s and 60s. Articles after articles can be devoted to the talented singer. Her songs should be preserved and restored.