Musician Tapas Das, Part Of Legendary Bangla Band 'Mohiner Ghoraguli', Dies

West Bengal lost a music legend today after the death of a member of the legendary Bangla rock band 'Mohiner Ghoraguli'.

Tapas Das, lovingly known as Bapi Da, died at the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. He was suffering from cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled his death and said, "I mourn the death of Tapas Das ( Bapi da), who was a part of India's first rock band in Bangla, Mohiner Ghoraguli. He was diagnosed with terminal illness, and our government bore his full treatment costs at SSKM hospital for months as our humble support to the talented artiste's family. My condolences to the artiste's wife Sutapa, and the bereaved family and his admirers," she said in a tweet.

The iconic rock group from Kolkata was established in 1975. The original band members included Gautam Chattopadhyay (vocals, lead guitar, voice, saxophone, folk instruments and lyrics), Pradip Chatterjee (bass guitar and flute), Tapas Das (lyrics, vocals and guitar), Ranjon Ghoshal, Biswanath Bishu Chattaopadhyay (drums), Abraham Majumdar (piano, violin) and Tapesh Bandopadhyay (vocals, guitar).

'Mohiner Ghoraguli' is considered India's first rock band and was known for being ahead of its time. It was also known for its unorthodox musical compositions and songs that experimented with musical styles like Jazz and Baul music.

In 2006, the original 'Mohiner Ghoraguli' song 'Prithibi ta naki' was remade as 'Bheegi Bheegi' by the music director Pritam Chakraborty for the Hindi film 'Gangster' which became a chartbuster. The hit Bollywood song was sung by Bangladeshi singer, James.