This news really feels like one quiet chapter closing in Indian folk music . Mangala Kanti Roy,the iconic Sarinda player from Jalpaiguri,is no more,and honestly,104 years old or not,loss of such artist still feels heavy.
He passed away at his ancestral home in Jalpaiguri early Friday morning . His death on May 29,2026 has brought grief across artistic community in West Bengal and beyond,because this was not just one old musician passing away . This was someone who carried sound of almost forgotten tradition for decades.
Roy was known as master of Sarinda,traditional string instrument with history going back nearly five centuries . And that is not small thing ah. In time when many young people do not even know names of such instruments,he kept playing,teaching and keeping it alive from rural pockets of North Bengal to national stage.
His work got recognition too. Narendra Modi government conferred Padma Shri on him in 2023,after he had already received Banga Ratna from state government in 2017 . These awards matter because folk artists often spend whole life preserving culture without much noise around them.
Few things standing out clearly here:
- Roy preserved a 500-year-old musical tradition from extinction.
- He was awarded Padma Shri on India's 74th Republic Day.
- He was treated at Jalpaiguri Medical College before his passing .
According to his son,Umakanta Roy,the artist had recently returned home after extensive treatment at Maynaguri Rural Hospital and Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital . But his health kept worsening,especially because of persistent throat issues and other age-related health complications.
And tbh,that part feels especially painful for singer or instrumental artist . He was reportedly struggling to consume food because of acute throat pain,and despite medical efforts,condition deteriorated . His wife,three sons and several grandchildren were present during his final moments.
Local artists feel that with demise of Mangala Kanti Roy,a living connection to Bengal's musical heritage has been broken . In Dhaulagiri village and across Maynaguri block,his Sarinda was not just music,it was memory,emotion and identity.
But now question is what happens to this art after him . Awards came,people are mourning rn,but will Sarinda actually find enough young hands to carry it forward…
