At the beginning of December, West Bengal’s acclaimed and influential singer-songwriter Nachiketa Chakraborty was unexpectedly admitted to hospital after experiencing a sudden and severe chest pain. Initial concerns were grave, and subsequent examinations revealed a blockage in his heart. Under the careful supervision of his medical team, he remained under observation for several days. Yet, beyond the physical discomfort, this period became for Nachiketa a deeply introspective chapter—a confrontation with life and mortality. After six days of treatment, he returned home on 12 December, carrying with him not only improved health but also the weight of profound reflection.
During the quiet, solitary hours in hospital, Nachiketa began documenting his thoughts, fears, experiences, and revelations. Out of this emerged a powerful personal essay, titled “Death is No Escape”. Recently, he shared a video of himself reading the piece aloud on Facebook, offering audiences a rare glimpse of a different side of Nachiketa: seasoned by experience, brimming with emotion, laced with sharp humour, and, at times, tinged with bitterness.
In his reflections, Nachiketa recounts several moments when he had come perilously close to death. He speaks candidly, without dramatization, of returning repeatedly from the brink. Memories surface of a coma following a childhood motorcycle accident, witnessing the death of a comrade during politically turbulent times, nearly drowning in an abandoned underground railway tunnel, and even attempting suicide in early childhood. He reflects openly on how the unsettling social and political environment of his formative years shaped his psyche. The narrative extends to more recent brushes with mortality, including surviving a complex Whipple surgery in Delhi at the age of forty-seven.
Perhaps the most searing segment of the video addresses social media. Nachiketa expresses his frustration over persistent rumours of his death circulating online, including during his recent hospitalisation. With a mixture of irony and sharp wit, he quips that social media has “killed” him more times than his actual lifespan. In jest, he even suggests that if the internet declares him dead again, perhaps it should simply be accepted—“it would save everyone some trouble.”
The reflection concludes by returning to the lyrical lines of his iconic song Agunpakhi, affirming his enduring commitment to life:
Death is not the final word,
Eyes to the sky, wings of fire—
The flight is far from over.
Despite illness, rumours, and deep self-examination, Nachiketa Chakraborty’s message is clear: this chapter is far from the end. As his songs continue, so too does his journey through life.