Ratula Sen (1945-2020), a popular architect from KGP, passes away
Information provided by Avijit Banerjee ('68), Jayant (Bordy) Bardalai ('70), and Ron Gupta ('70)
Ratula Banerjee Sen (1945-2020) was a popular architect, an art historian and a musician, who passed away on April 13, 2020. Ratula grew up in Kharagpur, as the daughter of IIT Prof. B.R. Sen, and was very popular due to her interest in music. She was a singer with the yearly campus Spring Festival. According to Jayant (Bordy) Bardalai's recollection:
'Ratula approached the Orchestra Band with a request to sing. In the performance at the Spring Festival, the Orchestra performed with Robert Roy playing the guitar, Abhijit on drums, Jacob Chacko on clarinet, Ranen Datta on piano, Bordy on the trumpet, and Ratula became the star with her rendition of "Satin Doll", in a jazz standard format. Since then, Ratula became a permanent member of the Band at IIT Kharagpur.'
She also had at least two records to her credit: Ghazals-A Journey in Love, 2004; and Bhajans-Songs of Devotion, 2006; both produced by Darpan Records.
An on-line memorial was organized by Parvati Dev (see the YouTube recording below) on April 25, 2020, where numerous of her classmates, her husband and other friends were able to participate.
Also, below is a link to an obituary/biography by Avijit Banerjee, her husband. The photo used with this article is a recent photo of Ratula.