Celebrated fashion designer Sharbari Datta (63) was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her house at Broad Street in Kolkata on Thursday night. Her family members found her body in her washroom, around 11:30pm. Police officials did not detect any foul play during primary investigations and the doctors, too, diagnosed a stroke as the reason of death. However, police have registered a case of an unnatural death as the body was found in the washroom. The authorities will hand over the body to family members after a post mortem is conducted today.
As per Hindustan Times, Datta’s son, Amalin Datta, also a fashion designer, said that he had not seen his mother throughout Thursday and had last met her on Wednesday. He added, “I thought she was busy and had gone out for work. It is nothing unusual. Both of us remain so busy that we don’t get to meet every day.” Other family members also told PTI that the late designer was not reachable on her phone since Thursday morning.
According to her daughter-in-law, Kalakanta, Datta was on medication. "We generally met during breakfast on the ground floor and then everyone left for their work. Since it was Vishwakarma Puja yesterday, we were busy with it on the first floor. My mother-in-law would often leave for work and we thought she must have gone out. But when she did not respond to our calls and message till evening, we got worried. Late in the night, we entered her room, switched on the lights and found her lying in the bathroom," she told India Today.
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A Fashion Pioneer
Sharbari Datta is the daughter of notable Bengali poet Ajit Datta. Her father was most famous for his novel literary ideas in the post-Rabindranath era. Datta graduated from Presidency College and pursued a Master's Degree in Philosophy at Calcutta University. During her days as a student, she took part in a large number of dance dramas.
A true fashion pioneer, 63 year old Datta contributed fusionist trends to ethnic menswear. A popular name in the fashion industry, she introduced multi-coloured Bengali dhotis and embroidered Punjabi kurtas to mainstream mens’ fashion. The pioneer also ventured to alter prevalent notions about machismo by starting her own range of male accessories. The same range of was once showcased at a show sponsored by World Gold Council. Datta’s most recent offering was an exclusive range of diamond accessories for men.
Furthermore, Datta also opened her own store, Shunyaa, in Kolkata. She dressed several celebrities during her illustrious career. Some names include include Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. The designer also dabbled in women’s wear later in her career. Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was an avid supporter of Datta and endorsed her designs on many occasions.
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Celebrities Offer Condolences
Many celebrities took to social media to offer their condolences on Sharbari Datta’s demise. Names like Singer Parama Banerjee, actor Pujarini Ghosh, and theatre personality-director Debesh Chatterjee remembered Datta via tweets. Actress Rukmini Maitra wrote, “Sharbari di.. I don't know what to say. I am too shocked to even react to this.. Forever Immortal in the History of Fashion! #RIP #GoneTooSoon#SharbariDatta.”
Similarly, Tollywood actor Srabanti Mukherjee tweeted a black and white picture of Sharbari Datta with the words “RIP.”
Tarini Gandhiok is an intern with SheThePeople.TV
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