Hasina going to New Delhi to attend funeral of President Mukherjee’s wife

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will travel to New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the funeral of President Pranab Mukherjee’s wife Suvra Mukherjee, her press secretary says.

Mukherjee’s wife died on Tuesday morning at the age of 74.

Suvra Mukherjee’s ancestral home is in Bhadrabila village in Narhail district.

She was suffering from respiratory problems and had a cardiac arrest about a fortnight ago, according to India media reports.

Former West Bengal Congress leader Pranab has close ties with Bangladesh’s founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s family.

President Md Abdul Hamid and Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, mourned Suvra’s death.

Hasina, in a statement, said she was profoundly shocked at the demise of Suvra Mukherjee and offered condolences.

She will return to Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon after the funeral, Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said.

Her sister Sheikh Rehana and Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will accompany the prime minister.

An ardent Rabindranath Tagore fan and a talented painter, Suvra was born on Sept 17, 1940 and spent the first five years at Bhadrabila.

She studied up to second grade at local Chachrha Primary School before settling in India with her family.

One of her brothers still lives at Bhadrabila village.

She married Pranab on July 13, 1957 when studying at the University of Calcutta.

The couple had been married for 58 years and had three children - Abhijit Mukherjee, Indrajit Mukherjee and Sharmistha Mukherjee.

Suvra was a vocalist of Tagore songs and founded the ‘Geetanjali Troupe’. She was also a talented painter who had many group and solo exhibitions to her credit, the Rastrapati Bhaban tweeted.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi described her as a lover of art, culture and music.

Her warm nature endeared her to everyone she met, he tweeted.