CM Samrat Choudhary pays tribute to Sharda Sinha on her birth anniversary
Synopsis
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary paid a heartfelt tribute to Padma Bhushan folk legend Sharda Sinha on her birth anniversary on 1 October 2026, calling her melodies and cultural legacy eternally alive in public memory.
Key Takeaways
Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary posted a tribute to folk singer Sharda Sinha on her birth anniversary, 1 October 2026 .
Sharda Sinha was honoured with both the Padma Shri (1991) and the Padma Bhushan for her contributions to Indian folk music.
She is most celebrated for her Chhath Puja songs, which became the defining sound of the festival across Bihar and the global Bihari diaspora.
Her repertoire spanned Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Hindi folk traditions, preserving oral heritage for generations.
CM Choudhary described her voice and cultural legacy as one that 'will forever remain alive in our memories.'
She carried the soul of Bihar in her voice — and on her birth anniversary, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary paused to honour the woman who gave Bihar's folk traditions a global stage. On Thursday, 1 October 2026, CM Choudhary took to X to pay tribute to the late Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardee Sharda Sinha, the beloved 'Swar Kokila' whose voice became synonymous with the festivals and emotions of the Bihari heartland.
In his tribute post, CM Choudhary wrote — 'Shata-shat naman' (a hundredfold salutation) — to the folk legend, saying her melodious voice and the cultural heritage woven into her folk songs 'will forever remain alive in our memories.' The post, accompanied by an image, carried the hashtag #ShardaSinha, reflecting a wave of remembrance across the platform on her birth anniversary.
The voice that made Chhath travel the world
Sharda Sinha was among India's most celebrated folk singers, revered especially for her renditions of Chhath Puja songs — the ancient sun-worship festival observed with extraordinary fervour across Bihar, Jharkhand, and the vast Bihari diaspora globally. Her voice became the defining sound of Chhath for generations, played in homes and on riverbanks from Patna to Mauritius.
She was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991 and later honoured with the Padma Bhushan — two of India's highest civilian honours — in recognition of her monumental contribution to Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Hindi folk music. Beyond Chhath, her repertoire spanned wedding songs, seasonal folk forms, and compositions that preserved dialects and oral traditions at risk of fading.
A cultural legacy Bihar still sings
For Bihar, Sharda Sinha was never merely a musician — she was a cultural ambassador who gave the state's folk idiom dignity, visibility, and emotional resonance far beyond its borders. Her passing left a void that the state's cultural institutions have continued to acknowledge, and her birth anniversary is observed each year as an occasion to revisit that heritage.
CM Choudhary's tribute, brief in words but weighted with reverence, signals the continuing place Sharda Sinha holds in Bihar's public memory and official conscience. Her songs, in the truest sense, outlived her — and on a morning in October, a Chief Minister's post reminded millions of exactly why.
Point of View
Folk culture is not soft sentiment; it is electoral identity. Sharda Sinha's voice is the sound of Chhath, and Chhath is arguably the most emotionally charged cultural touchstone in Bihari public life. For a BJP government in Patna, associating itself with her legacy reinforces a broader cultural-nationalist narrative that positions the party as the custodian of Bihar's vernacular traditions. The tribute also reflects an enduring pattern in Indian political communication: honouring cultural icons serves simultaneously as genuine remembrance and as a signal of civilisational continuity to a deeply culture-conscious voter base.
NationPress
1 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sharda Sinha?
Sharda Sinha was one of India's most celebrated folk singers, renowned for her Chhath Puja songs and her work in Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Hindi folk traditions. She received the Padma Shri in 1991 and was later awarded the Padma Bhushan.
Why is Sharda Sinha called 'Swar Kokila'?
'Swar Kokila' means 'nightingale of melody' — a title of reverence given to Sharda Sinha for her exceptionally sweet and pure voice, which became the defining sound of Bihar's folk music and Chhath celebrations.
What awards did Sharda Sinha receive?
Sharda Sinha received the Padma Shri in 1991 and the Padma Bhushan — two of India's highest civilian honours — in recognition of her extraordinary contribution to Indian folk music.
Why did Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary pay tribute to Sharda Sinha on 1 October?
1 October is Sharda Sinha's birth anniversary. CM Samrat Choudhary posted a tribute on X honouring her as a cultural icon whose folk songs and voice carried Bihar's heritage to audiences across India and the world.
What was Sharda Sinha famous for?
Sharda Sinha was most famous for her Chhath Puja devotional songs, which became inseparable from the festival's celebrations in Bihar, Jharkhand, and among the Bihari diaspora worldwide. She also preserved Maithili and Bhojpuri folk traditions through her music.
