Veteran Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer Vibha Sengupta has died at the age of 94. She passed away on Tuesday morning while receiving medical treatment, following a period of illness and age-related health complications.

Sengupta had been in hospital for several days before her death. Singer Shrabani Sen confirmed the news and recalled that Sengupta had generally remained fit and healthy despite her age. She said the veteran singer had occasionally needed blood transfusions, possibly because of low haemoglobin levels.

Her death came only days after she received an honour at her home from Lokbharati, an organisation involved in cultural activities. The event on 29 September has now become one of the final public tributes to the singer, whose career was closely associated with Rabindra Sangeet.

Singer Alok Raychaudhuri, who was present at the gathering, remembered Sengupta as being lively and spontaneous that day. He said he had visited her home on behalf of Lokbharati to honour her and that they spent time talking and sharing stories. The memory has taken on a particularly poignant significance following her death.

Sengupta maintained a long association with Rabindra Sangeet but was known for keeping largely away from the limelight. Her public profile grew during the final 10 to 12 years of her life, when a wider audience came to know her work. Yet, according to Raychaudhuri, recognition and publicity were never her main concerns.

Her greater commitment was to music and teaching. She devoted considerable attention to her students and played a role in passing on the discipline and traditions of Rabindra Sangeet to younger learners. Her approach was rooted in regular practice and careful instruction rather than public acclaim.

Sengupta also maintained a strong connection with her guru, Debabrata Biswas. Raychaudhuri recalled that she observed Biswas’s birth anniversary with great dedication, reflecting the importance she attached to her musical lineage and to the people who shaped her artistic journey.

Born in Tripura, Sengupta moved permanently to Kolkata in 1959. Her introduction to music came under the guidance of Maya Sen. She later became associated with a music education centre, where she also taught students.

Over a long musical career, Sengupta established a distinctive identity through her practice and teaching of Rabindra Sangeet. Her contribution was not confined to performing songs. Through teaching, she helped sustain a musical tradition and encouraged younger students to engage with Tagore’s repertoire.

Her relatively private life meant that she remained less visible in the public sphere than many other performers. Even after gaining wider recognition in the later years of her life, she continued to place greater value on music and education than on publicity.

The fact that she was honoured at her home only days before her death has added poignancy to the tributes now being paid to her. Those who met her at the time remembered her as engaged, warm and full of conversation.

Sengupta’s death marks the passing of a veteran figure whose life was closely tied to the study, performance and teaching of Rabindra Sangeet. Her dedication to music, her students and her teachers leaves behind a lasting impression on those who knew and learned from her. The wider musical community has mourned the loss of an artist who spent much of her life serving the tradition away from the glare of publicity.