Fondly called as Botukda, the late maestro still manages to evoke memories among his close ones and fans.
One of the capital's oldest social-cultural organisations, Karolbagh Bangiya Samsad celebrated the birth centenary of Jyotirindra where the Bengali community got an opportunity to relish his works that spanned across various genres.
Born in 1912, Jyotirindra came into prominence during the Bengal famine of 1942 when he came together with like-minded associates and composed songs in protest against the countless deaths due to starvation.
His contemporaries were no less than the illustrious Suchitra Mitra, Salil Chowdhury and Benoy Roy among others.
"My father was trained by Sarla Devi, Indira Devi...They were related to Rabindranath Tagore's family. Our grandfather had good ties with the Tagores. Tagore had himself used the houseboat of Moitras on many occasions," Jyotirindra's daughter Susmita Roychodhury said.
Among the many movies in which Jyotirindra gave music direction include "Meghe Dhaka Tara", "Putul Nacher Itikatha", "Kancher Swargo", "Kumari Mon" and "Komol Gandhar".
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Commenting on his father's remarkable experiment with sounds, Siddhartha Moitra said, "It was perhaps a unique experiment he did with a simple object like whip in 'Megha Dhaka Tara'. He used the 'whipping' sound as a score for the background music to bring an edge to the film's scene."
Nostalgia loomed large among Jyotirindra's family members who remembered him as a 'Medusa' haired character having dedicated but yet unique approach to music.
He had many first to his credits, his son Siddhartha said. "He brought Rabindra Sangeet to the masses. His inclination towards Western music was also remarkable. As a social activist, he was among the first members of the anti-Fascist movement in Bengal in 1942," Siddhartha said.
Asked about his father's association with master director Satyajit Ray, Jyotirindra's eldest son Santanu said, "Ray had mentioned that one of the characters of his film 'Kanchenjungha' was based on my father." (More)