File picture of Tithi Debbarman at the release of her cassette Antarbani at Rabindra Bhawan in Agartala last week

Agartala, May 11: Gifted with a melodious voice and tonal subtleties, her target should have been the mega musical shows of the electronic media, not to speak of Bollywood hits.

With brother Rahul Debbarman specialising in Bollywood film music, it would have been easy for Tithi Debbarman to get a break, yet she chose to repose faith in her first love ? Rabindrasangeet ? and is happy not to have strayed.

In the world of Rabindrasangeet, Tithi is now a popular entity in Tripura, West Bengal and Bangladesh, with stirring performances on stage as well as on the small screen and radio.

?When I began, I never thought I could reach this far and that is why it is taking time to sink in,? said a beaming Tithi after the formal release of her first cassette ?Antarbani ? in Agartala?s Rabindra Bhawan last week. Both CD and cassette of Antarbani are sponsored by HMV Saregama.

Born in an aristocratic tribal family of Agartala, Tithi was tipped to become a classical vocalist following in the footsteps of her kin.

At the age of six, she started singing gana sangeet (people?s songs) of the Communist Party with a group of senior singers. ?I was an object of love and affection for the elders in those days, but soon I started formal training under Ustad Ramen Dey on classical music,? said Tithi, recounting her early days.

Inspired by her father Manas Debbarman, a former member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Tithi started taking music seriously while studying in local Maharani Tulsibati school. As she cleared elementary exams of music one by one, her love for Rabindrasangeet, spurred by her father?s study and knowledge of Bengali literature, grew further.

?One day, when I was a student of Class X, I happened to listen to Rabindrasangeet rendered by my guru, Samir Das, and was fascinated,? said Tithi, adding that from then on, there was no looking back.

With Das?s training, Tithi soon made her mark as an exceptionally talented Rabindrasangeet singer and completed her five years of studies in Government Music College at Agartala.

?I cannot explain how it is, but Rabindrasangeet gives me such a sense of fulfilment and joy that for me a life without it is unthinkable,? she said, adding, ?It is my sole solace, joy and religion?.

During the past one-and-a-half decades, Tithi has enthralled audiences in Calcutta, Dhaka and Agartala, singing alongside stalwarts like Suchitra Mitra, Arghya Sen and her ?Gurumatas? Bibha Sen and Sanjida Khatun of Bangladesh.

?I was an invitee to the cultural programme held as part of the SAARC summit in Dhaka and received high appreciation,? Tithi said.

However, her greatest contribution to Rabindrasangeet, so far, has been her rendition of Tagore?s songs in her mothertongue Kokborok, sponsored by Bangiya Sangeet Parishad. The album became an instant hit among connoisseurs.

?Tithi is the torchbearer of Tripura?s tradition, because her forefathers in the state?s royal family extended liberal patronage and help to Rabindranath Tagore in all his activities, said her teacher Samir Das.

Tithi?s second album, Ananya, with songs of Tagore based on the classics, is in the making.