NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife Suvra Mukherjee passed away here on Tuesday morning. The First Lady had been admitted to the Army Referral Hospital for the last 11 days and remained critical for a while.
“It is informed with deep sorrow that First Lady Suvra Mukherjee passed away this morning (Tuesday). She left for her heavenly abode at 10.51 am,” said an official statement from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
She is survived by two sons — Abhijit and Indrajit — and daughter Sharmistha, besides the President.
Her body was kept at the Rashtrapathi Bhavan for a few hours and a large number of people paid tributes. The cremation will take place at the Lodhi Road crematorium on Wednesday.
Those who paid their last respects include Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and CM Arvind Kejriwal. In the evening, her body was moved to 13-Talkatora Road, Abhijit’s residence. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and many foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral.
Suvra, who was born on September 17, 1940, in Jessore, now in Bangladesh, married Mukherjee on July 13, 1957. An arts graduate, she was a vocalist of Rabindra Sangeet and founded Geetanjali Troupe, whose mission was to propagate Tagore’s philosophy as expressed through his songs and dance dramas.