He was born to Purna Chandra Dey (his father) and Mahamaya Dey (his mother). Apart from them, in his childhood he was greatly inspired and influenced by his youngest paternal uncle Sangeetacharya (meaning "Venerable Teacher of Music" in Sanskrit) Krishna Chandra Dey, who loved and pampered little Manna. He received his early education in a small pre-primary school popularly known as Indu Babur Pathshala. Thereafter he was sent to Scottish Church Collegiate School and later to the Scottish Church College to complete his schooling and pre-university education. After that, he was admitted to Vidyasagar College for his graduate education. From his very childhood, Manna Dey manifested a keen liking for sports events like wrestling and boxing and excelled in both. He is a jovial personality and is known for playing pranks upon people. His contemporaries readily acknowledge him as one of the most sociable contemporaries in his chosen vocation (a characteristic rare among contemporary fellow musicians, perhaps with the exception of the late Kishore Kumar).

It was during his intermediate classes at Scottish Church College that Manna Dey’s vocal talent became apparent. Beating the tables of the classroom and singing aloud to entertain his compatriots during recess became a common feature for the budding talent. Later he started taking singing lessons from his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and from Ustad Dabir Khan. It was during this period of time that Manna Dey stood first for three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing competitions.

In 1942, Manna Dey accompanied his renowned uncle Krishna Chandra Dey on a visit to Mumbai. And there first under the tutelage of his uncle, and later Sachin Dev Burman, Manna Dey started working as a successful assistant music director. Later he also assisted other famous music composers and then decided to work independently. But even while working separately as a music director for different successful Hindi films, Manna Dey never stopped taking musical lessons in Hindustani classical music from two stalwarts, Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.

Manna Dey started his career in playback singing with the film Tamanna in 1943. The musical score was set by his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and he had to sing a duet with Suraiya. The song was an instant hit. People across the country loved the song. In 1950, Mashal was the second film where Manna Dey got the opportunity to sing a solo Upar Gagan Vishal and this time the melody was created by Sachin Dev Burman. In 1952, Manna Dey sang both for a Bengali and a Marathi film of the same name and storyline – Amar Bhupali, and established himself as a leading Bengali playback singer.

Perhaps his talent received his best accolade from the legendary Mohammad Rafi who once told the journalists: "You listen to my songs. I listen to Manna Dey songs only". Musicians like Sachin Dev Burman and Anil Biswas agreed that Manna Dey could sing any song of Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Talat Mehmood, but Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh and Talat would not be able to render vocally much of the technically perfect songs of Manna Dey. Manna Dey is arguably the greatest trained singer of Hindi film music.

He is perhaps the most versatile singer living today. He recorded a legendary duet with classicist Bhimsen Joshi-- Ketaki Gulab Juhi. He also sang completely different genres of duet songs with Kishore Kumar like for example Yeh Dosti Hum Nehi Torenge (Sholay) and Ek Chatur Naar (Padosan). Manna Dey sang side by side the legendary Hemant Kumar in Bengali film industry and also for other contemporary Bengali composers of the time offering unforgettable scores for modern Bengali songs. His immortal duet with Lata Mangeshkar in the film Sankhyabela in the lips of Uttam Kumar, "Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechi" brought him back to mainstream Bengali film music. In fact it would not be wrong to claim that it was he who pioneered a new genre in Indian music where he infused Indian classical music within a pop music frame work.

His experimentation with western music produced many unforgettable melodies. To date there is no Indian language which has not been influenced by the melody of this multi-talented singer. He has also recorded more than 3500 songs. His music has enthralled the audience throughout the world. He has been awarded with titles like the National Singer of India, Padma Shri, and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

The fame of Manna Dey has over flown to every part of the globe, more specifically wherever there is an Indian diasporic community. In fact, it may be said that his is not merely a name that is deified everywhere, rather it creates a ripple of mixed feeling of love and worship whenever cited. People venerate him not only for his musical bearing but because he epitomizes in his work a wonderful combination of melody and poetry. His stance in Indian music vindicates the axiom – that art outlives the artist.

Manna Dey currently lives in Bangalore in the township of Kalyannagar. After spending more than fifty years in Bombay, he moved on to Bangalore. He still maintains a Calcutta address. At the age of 86, he travels widely all over the world and performs a lot of stage programs.

• 1970 National Award as Playback singer For the Bengali film Nishipadma
• 1971 National Award as Playback singer For the Hindi Film Mera Naam Joker
• 1971 Padmasree Award Govt. of India
• 1985 Lata Mangeskar Award Awarded by Govt. of Madhya Pradesh
• 1988 Michale Sahittyo Puraskar Awarded by Renaissance Sanskritik Parishad, Dacca
• 1990 Shyamal Mitra Award Mithun Fans Association
• 1991 Sangeet Swarnachurr Award Awarded by Shree Khetra Kala Prakashika, Puri
• 1993 P.C.Chandra Award P.C.Chandra Group & others
• 1999 Kamala Devi Roy Award Kamala Devi Group
• 2001 Anandalok Award Anandabazar Group
• 2002 Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music
• 2003 Alauddin Khan Award Govt. of West Bengal
• 2004 National Award as Playback singer Govt. of Kerala
• 2004 D. Lit Honour Rabindra Bharati University
• 2005 Life Time Achievement award Govt. of Maharastra
• 2005 D.Lit Honour Burdwan University
• 2005 Padmabhusan Award Govt. of India

Arthur J Pais and Som Chivukula

Rahul Dev Burman is remembered as one of the most gifted composers of all time.

However, if you are one of those who do not think much of his singing range, you may still want to give him the credit for composing and singing one of the most popular songs of the 1970s.

Mehbooba mehbooba from Sholay created history in terms of popularity.

But how many people know that it was composed specially for singer Manna Dey?

Burman, affectionately known as Pancham, had recorded the song in his voice hoping Dey would follow his (Burman's) singing pattern.

"But even before I finished listening to the way he had sung that song. I told Pancham that I did not want to sing the song," Dey recalls. "He had a unique way of singing -- and this song's rendition reminded me of (jazz great) Louis Armstrong's singing.

"So I told him that this was his song," Dey said in an exclusive interview in San Francisco. where he was visiting his daughter.

Of all the wonderful stories Dey could belt away as if they happened yesterday, the Sholay story remains his favourite.

Manna Dey, who made his singing debut some six decades ago, went on to lend his voice for some of the most popular leading men and comedic actors in Bombay including Ashok Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Balraj Sahni and Mehmood.

He has sung for all major composers ranging from Sachin Dev Burman to Shankar Jaikishen and Ravi.

"Shankar had a special corner for me," Dey, who turned 81 recently, reminisced. Of the many memorable songs he has sung for Shankar, some are found in such films as Basant Bahar, Chori Chori, Shri 420 and Mera Naam Joker.

Yeh raat bheegi bheegi, a duet he sang with Lata Mangeshkar (picturised on Raj Kapoor and Nargis) almost didn't happen, the singer remembers with a nostalgic chuckle.

The film's producer, AV Meyappan Chettiar, who had flown to Bombay from Madras for its recording, insisted that Mukesh sing it. After all, Mukesh was considered the 'soul' of Raj Kapoor -- and had sung a majority of the songs the star lip-synced on the screen.

"When Chettiar saw me in the recording room with Lata, he turned to Shankar and asked where Mukesh was. He was not satisfied with Shankar's explanation that he (Shankar) wanted me to sing the duet."

Thereupon Raj Kapoor intervened, suggesting that the song should be recorded -- and if there was an agreement that it had come out well, it should be included in the film.

When Chettiar heard the recorded song, he congratulated the singer and said he was proud to have the song in his film. Yeh raat... went on to become one of the most popular songs of the 1950's, and Dey seldom leaves it out of his concerts.

Though Dey also sang one of his most popular songs for Shankar in Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker, and grabbed a Filmfare Award, he doesn't think there was much of a challenge in it for him.

"It was no great deal," he says as a matter of fact.

There was more of abhinay(acting) in the song, he says with a smile. "I had to imagine how Raj Kapoor would walk and talk when he sang it on screen."

Manna Dey has sung in more than a dozen languages, one of his most popular songs being a sad solo in Chemmeen, a Malayalam film that won major awards in the mid-1960s and was a huge box-office success. (Its music was composed by Salil Chaudhary, for whom Dey has sung haunting numbers in movies such as Kabuliwala).

Many people complimented Dey for not only putting his soul into the song but also for pronouncing the Malayalam lyrics adeptly.

"The pronunciation has improved since then as I have been singing it at many concerts," he says, laughing. He remembers the day he went home with a tape of the song after the first rehearsal, and one of his daughters asked him what language it was.

It is Malayalam, he told her, surprised.

His daughter wouldn't believe him, and insisted that her mother listen to the song and confirm that it was in fact sung in the language of Kerala.

Not many people know that Manna Dey's wife Sulochana is a Malayali.

"She made sure I got it right," he says, adding on a grin: "Well, almost."

The song became a rage across Kerala, and since Chemmeen also became a hit in the neighbouring southern states, Manna Dey added thousands of new fans to his enviable fan base.

Many experts in popular music will readily acknowledge that Manna Dey, trained in classical music, was the most versatile singer in Indian music. He would sing with the same ease Sur na... in Basant Bahar as he would dole out Aao twist karen in Bhoot Bangla. Also he was very much at home with tunes based on folk music such Yaari hai in Zanjeer.

But he never made it to the very top, being overshadowed by Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar.

"There were a lot of great singers around," he says, without bitterness. "Naturally, I got a limited number of songs."

"But this much I know...My songs were composed with me in mind."

Meeting Manna Da

Author: Dr.Mandar   

Manna Dey remains one of my favourite singers - very versatile & classy.His songs and his persona -both have left a deep impression on my mind.

In 1994 -I think it was 13th or 14th September-I had the good fortune of interviewing him at his place-"Anandam’ in Bombay. Those three hours spent in his company will be treasured for life.

I found him to be an extremely intelligent, knowledgeable and forthright person. He was not at all averse to give his piece of mind whenever necessary (and take your *peace of mind).Interviewing such people is always a delight for the interviewer as many of their quotes make a good 'hard copy'!

But what differentiated Mannada from other colourful, quoteful interviewees was the basic decency of the man. Here was a man who was 75-plus & with a fairly long and distinguished career behind him. He was not some cheap publicity seeker. In fact he had made it sure beforehand that he was not talking to some disinterested journalist going through with the motions of an interview but to a genuine fan. Whatever he was speaking at the time of the interview was spontaneous- coming straight from the heart. It was not at all with malice or venom. Just in a cool, factual manner.

Nobody should try & draw some crooked inferences from what he said. I believe everyone has a right to express his opinions, likes & dislikes- however unpleasant or unpalatable they might seem to the people who don't share them!

OK-That's enough for the intro. Over to Mannada.

Following are the excerpts of this interview:

"I was born & brought up in a musical household. I was greatly influenced by my uncle-K.C.Dey-the great blind singer of Bengal. He not only used to sing classical but had mastery over popular music- Bhajans,Kajari,Thumari,Ghazal....

I used to accompany him in all his programmes.That time I realised that people appreciate that music which they could understand!

Rather than his classical songs my uncle’s lighter songs were appreciated more & also they brought in more money.

That was the time when I had this fixed in my mind that to sing well I must know classical music well. But if I have to make music my livelihood then it is better to turn to popular music. While doing that I used my classical base wherever I could- I think that’s what set me apart."

On his not following the Saigal style of singing:

"In those days it was an accepted norm to follow Saigal style of singing in popular music. Rafi,Kishore,Mukesh-all started their careers following Saigal’s footsteps. I was more influenced by Bangla singers like K.C.Dey & Pankaj Mullick. This Bengali school of music even might not have been of the national standard. But in terms of teaching the naunces of music I would consider it to be of the highest standard. Naturally I never copied Saigal."

"I started singing earler than Rafi,Mukesh or Kishore. In 1943 I sang my first song in ‘Ramrajya’ under the baton of Shankarrao Vyas. In those days the records did not carry the singer’s name on their labels. Hence nobody noticed ‘Manna Dey’ in spite of the songs becoming popular.

I myself was not too serious about these songs as I was taking classical training then. Also I was more inclined towards establishing myself as a music director.

In those days I was working as an assistant to many MDs like my uncle, S.D.Burman, Anilda & Khemchand Prakash. All of them made me sing a lot of songs. I don’t even remember those songs now.

In Sachinda’s ‘Mashal’ my songs- Upar gagan vishal and ‘Duniyake logon lo himmat se kaam’- became hits. That time people said for the first time -’Koi seekha hua gavaiya gaa raha hai’!" (Some trained singer is singing!)

On creativity of the past masters:

"I don’t find creativity in music nowadays. I have seen Khemchand Prakash compose ten-ten tunes for a song. The style of fitting words into the tune was not in vogue then. Just to take some ‘La la la la’ tune from there & use it in the song here is not music.

In those days the music directors composed songs taking meticulous care about the situation& the artist on which the song was supposed to be picturised. Many times they used to change even a fully recorded song.

Burman-saab was like that. He used to get immersed into the song. For 7-8 days his mood remained foul when he couldn’t come up with a tune to his satisfaction. Then suddenly he would declare with a smiling face. ‘Aaj tune mil gayee’! I absorbed this ‘lagan’ from these maestros. This helped me tremendously in my singing."

"Khemchand Prakash was a great MD.He was first working in Calcutta’s ‘New Theatres’.Then he came to ‘Bombay Talkies’. I was impressed with his work in ‘Mahal’. He used to sing well too. One day he just said to me, "Bete mere saath kaam karoge?" I immediately agreed. We worked together in composing for many mythological and historical movies.

He was very ill at the time ‘Ganesh mahima.’ That film was my first as a composer.

He treated me like his son.He wanted me to sing some songs for Raj Kapoor for a film being made by Robin Chatterji and Fali Mistry. But I gave those songs to my friend Shankar Dasgupta. ‘Kabse bhara hua hai dil’ & ‘Hum kya jane kyon humse door ho gaye’-these two songs were nice."

"I used to be fascinated by that man.A good singer. Excellent composer. Used to recite Urdu Shero-shaayari. He liked me a lot and used to take me for long drives. I was his assistant for a short period. I always felt that I had a lot to learn from him. His creativity always moved me.

"‘Humdard’ was a story about a blind singer. It was a movie by the actor Shekhar.‘Tore naina raseele kateele’,’Mere dilki dhdkanmein kya ta ta thai thai’,’Jab aankheinhi nahi’-all its songs were nice.

My duet with Lata-‘Rut aaye rut jaaye sakhi ri’ was composed in 4 ragas by Anilda. I don’t think there is any better light classical song made for films. That recording had Pannalal Ghosh on flute,Pt.Ramnarayan on Sarangi. Tabla, Sitar -all the instruments were played by the top artists. It was a great recording. Vilayat khan -saab praised Anilda after the recording by asking-"How did you compose such a beautiful classical song for a Hindi film?’

Anilda’s exit from the Hindi film music was a great loss."

"Let the critics blame them for the deterioration of Hindi film music but I think the variety & versatility shown by them in composing music was amazing & memorable.

According to me no one matched them in terms of 'popular music'.

Jaikishan was a nice person. His tunes were very sweet. But I was closer to Shankar."

On Shankar:

I am greatly indebted to Shankar for my development as an artist. He gave me 'Raat gayee phir din aata hai'-a beautiful phiosophical song in Raj Kapoor's 'Boot Polish'.

After listening to this song Raj said,"Now I have got the versatile singer that I was looking for so long!"I was very happy.

My other songs from'Boot Polish'-'Lapak zapak tu aare badarawa' &'O chacha tum kitane achchhe'-also were appreciated.

Thus it was Shankar who first proved that my voice suited for all types of songs. Many a times he used to tell me,"Mannada aaj kuchh sunaaiye".

He had dedicated himself to music. Once he reached his music room in the morning he used to work there till late night. His dedication to his work always impressed me.

I sometimes just used to sit with him for hours.If I failed to do this in a long while then he used to telephone me-"Why aren't you coming?"

Paan,Sharaab-he had no vices. Because of all these factors we became very good friends.He always used to tell me-"Whenever I want to do some new experiments, I will come to you."

"In 'Basant bahar'the producer wanted to use some other singer.But finally Shankar's opinion prevailed.'Bhay bhanjana','Sur na saje','Nain mile chain kahan'...through all these songs he proved that he can experiment

different things with my voice.

In the same movie I had to sing a competition number-'Ketaki gulab juhi' with Pt.Bhimsen Joshi.I told Shankar-"How can I compete with such a stalwart of classical music?At least use him as the hero's voice."

That time Shankar explained to me that the dramatisation of the song required a different kind of singer than a purely classical one. I sang that song after a lot of practice.

Even Bhimsen Joshi said to me later,"Mannada you can become a good classical singer."

"He was great.His tunes had a classical base. Sur jo lagata thaa to lagata thaa ki kuchh alag baat hai! I loved to sing for him.

'Kaun aaya mere manke dware' was my first song with him.'Tumbin jeevan' from 'Bawarchi' and 'Har taraf ab yehi afsane hain' from 'Hindustan ki kasam' are some of my favourite songs.I also like the duet with Usha from

'Dil ki raahein'-'Geet amar ho jaaye'.

Bada melodious aadami thaa.All his songs had melody."

"Bahut mushkil thaa unka gaana! Perhaps he felt no one else could sing 'Laga chunari mein daag' that's why he chose me for that song!In 'Dilhi to hai' he had earlier recorded a qawwali

'Parda uthate salaam keejiye' in Asha's & my voice.

One day he called me for dinner.After the dinner he said-"Mannada ek gaana sunata hoon".I said-"Sunaao!"

After I listened to his tune for 'Laga chunari mein daag' I was thrilled.

Then he said -'It is reserved for you'! I told him-'OK.But we will not record the song till I tell you'.

I recorded that song only after I was happy about my preparation.

In 'Barsat ki raat' for 'na to karavan ki talaash hai' he told me,

'Everybody should feel that they are listening to a real ustaad gavaiya'. When I sang the first aalap he came & hugged me & said -'Aisa to koi asli gavaiyahi gaa sakata hai.'

Such were the music directors of those days!Always encouraging.People say Lata,Asha,Rafi,Kishore sang this & sang that but if these composers hadn't composed so well then what these singers would have done?

I always give 50% credit of the song to the composer.The next 50%is for the singer's sophistication & ornamentation.

Sachinda didn't have some special style.I don't think he was too creative. But he had a great sense of music.He had a vision which helped him to decide what will sound good in a song.

'Jalte hai jiskeliye' or 'Jaaye to jaaye kahan'-these tunes were based on Tagore's music.'Poochho na kaise maine rain beetayi' was based on Nasrul Islam's tune. But he always knew which note would match the situation perfectly.That was

his great quality.

Salil had his unique style.He was totally unpredictable.

From where he concieved his tunes-God only knows!

I could never guess the base of his compositions.

"Once I recorded a song for Salilda.It was going to be picturised on a person smoking gaanja.

'Phir wohi hai raat,phir wohi jigar

Phir wohi dard hai,phir wohi hai dar

Vaar dilka khul gaya,haathi nikal gaya

Duum rah gayee magar...'

Salilda asked me to give some expression to create the effect that a gaanja addict was singing the song.I obeyed him & coughed in a typical manner of a gaanja-smoker at the beginning of the song!

After some days- after midnight somebody knocked at my door.In those days I I was staying near Nanavati hospital.I opened the door wondering who it could be at this hour.Anna (C.Ramchandra) was standing outside.In his own

world.I said,'Anna,come inside.'He just said,'Arre yaar kya khaansa hai tu us gaanemein.Maza aa gaya!',patted my back & went away!

Raja aadmi thaa."

"He had great knowledge of classical music. His tunes showed the depth

of his musical knowledge. Once he had told one producer in front of me-'Kishore won't be able to sing my songs. I want Mannada as my singer. If you don't agree- please find another music director!'

"I sang very few songs for him.He brought the fast Punjabi folk music & gave a new freshness to film music. But his music was many times repetitive & predictable.

He used to say-'I don't need Lata.I will only use Asha.' But did Lata need O.P.? She could make a 'z' music director-a hit MD. Did OP have this quality? Could he have made a 'y' singer a top singer?"

"I liked Laxmi's tunes. They were beatiful."

"His music was a unique combination of old & new.He was the king of beats. Used to play tabla very well. He should have been here to stop this deterioration of Hindi film music!"

Some MDs used to come & say-"Gaaiye'.I used to say-'Bajaiye. Then they would say-'You only play the harmonium & you only sing! You must be knowing what is your 'sur'! We don't know anything!' I hated such people. Whenever such MDs came to my place I waited eagerly for their exit!'

"It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when this process started. Many MDs didn't believe at all in creativity. They believed only in copying the hit tunes. Bhappi Lahiri had a lot to do with this process!'

"Yes I do believe that the identity as the voice of a particular star is very important in film music.

Personally I don't believe Mukesh's voice suited ideally for Raj Kapoor. Wouldn't Kishore have been a better choice for the fun-songs like 'Mera joota hai jaapani'?But Rajji himself said-'Mukesh is my voice.'Why he said that I don't know.

But they had some common interests which brought them together. I couldn't come up with such compromises to further my career."

"I don't think anybody matched Raj Kapoor in getting what he wanted from the music director.He used to tell the composer-'Aapne yeh gaana banaaya woh bahut achha hai.Magar humko nahi chaahiye!' The confused composer used to ask-'To phir kaisa gaana chaahiye?'

Then Rajji would say-'I wouldn't have come to you if I had already known what I wanted. Just go on making new tunes!'

"My whole life has been a struggle. If you look at my career you will see I got very limited opportunities. But some of my songs proved to be milestones & finally I could stand as tall as my contemporaries!"

"I really liked to sing for him. He had a good sense of music. He used to attend all the relevant recordings. 'Mannada aisa keejiye-Yahanpar koi masala daaliye'- his suggestions never used to cease."

"'Once I decided to go fully into playback singing many well-wishers advised me not to pursue music direction further. I accepted their advice.Music direction is a specialized job & time-consuming too!"

Tagore was like an ocean.'Lay,sur aur shabda teenonka triveni sangam thaa.' His songs are of all types-Pooja songs,Romantic songs,Songs on Nature. Just listening to them inspires you. Nobody in Hindi music made a sincere

effort to bring his ideas in Hindi.

Once Shankar said-'Yeh Tagoreke gaane yaane sirf rona-dhona hai.'Then I sang Tagore songs for him for 2-3 hours.He was stunned.He said-'This is an untapped wealth.Every composer should know Tagore.'

"'Madhushala' was an accident as far as I was concerned.

HMV had decided to produce a record of selected verses from 'Madhushala'-the famous work by Harivanshrai Bachchan. 20 verses were selected.

Jaidev had already composed the tunes for those verses. Afterwards everyone started running around for selecting the singer!

Rafi was the most popular male singer of H.M.V. then. But Jaidev- who otherwise had a great tuning with Rafi- said, Yeh Rafike baski baat nahi!'

Then H.M.V.'s boss suggested the name of Mukesh. Again Jaidev declined. He wanted a singer who had a good hold on classical as well as folk music. Then Harivanshrai Bachchan himself suggested my name.

One day I received a phone call from Jaidev- 'Bandhu, there is one challenging project for you! Madhushala!'

Then I didn't even know what was Madhushala! Kaunsi Madhu aur kaunsa Sala? Jaidev explained the literary significance of those verses. He had composed such marvelous tunes!

It is my pleasure & pride to have sung 'Madhushala' for Jaidev.

In films I didn't get to sing many of his songs. I think Rafi & Lata got best of his tunes.

"Some songs are there which only he could sing! 'Man re tu kahe na dheer dhare','Zindagibhar nahi bhoolegi'. You just listen to the way he sings -'Zindagi bhar. Can anybody sing like that?

Whenever he sang the song which was also sung by Lata or Asha , his song became more popular! Some songs sound better in male voice only. He had not had much formal training. But the way he gave expressions in many songs was just outstanding.

We never had any ego-clashes as I had accepted his superiority. But he used to tell others-'You listen to my songs-I listen to Mannababu's songs!

"I never liked his singing. It was amateur singing. Many a times he sounded 'Besuraa'! (Oh Yeah Mannada? I think you haven't heard his songs from Rani Roopmani, Sangeet Samrat Tansen, Milan etc)

On Talat:

"Talat had a limited range. Very sweet voice. He was best in soft melodious songs."

"I am a big fan of his voice. According to me there hasn't been a better voice in film music! Many music directors didn't even consider him a playback singer. He was not at all trained. But I never heard him singing out of tune! 'Dukhi man mere jaise gaane gaate waqt to naa jaane kahan kho jaata thaa!"

"All the composers used to reserve their best tune whenever Lata was singing with me. They were sure that we would do full justice to their song. Shankar-Jaikishan composed some of our best duets.

Today Lata stands supreme. She might have learnt some things from Noorjahan in her early period. But her success is her own. Her dedication & hard work has paid off. Apart from all these I feel she is a god-given gift. Without that heavenly intervention it is impossible to find such a great singer.

Today she has become an institution herself. Every singer of today tries to imitate her saying,'Lataji yeh jagah aisi leti hai'!

She can sing all types of songs. Why she didn't sing so called popular styled songs she only knows! But I would say by not singing such songs she fulfilled the wishes of the majority of knowledgeable and sensible people.

I still remember our duet 'Bichhuaa...' in 'Madhumati'. She had to show some 'masti, some 'chhedchhaad' in that song. My god! What a polished performance! I was stunned to hear her.

She knew up to which limit she should go in a song and at which place she should stop! I think that's what separated her from the rest!"

Manna Dey: The singer who never got his due

Sharmila Taliculam

   Pomposity is the grace of a genius. Especially, a genius spurned. When Manna Dey speaks of his own greatness, he is not bragging. He is simply talking about his talent. -- a talent that the music industry has failed to exploit. Even the Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema forgets to mention him!

But Mannada's legacy will not be forgotten by the millions of fans who still hum his songs, now almost half a century later.

There was some apprehension while fixing an interview with Mannada. He had sounded abrupt over the telephone. And now, he is not smiling as he meets us at the gate. Then he gets choosy. "I will answer only good questions," he declares!

But as he gets talking, the ice breaks and the reason for his ill humour becomes clear. His daughter is ill --she is suffering from cancer and is being operated on. His wife is with her in America. Mannada is perturbed and sad. "I don't know how can anybody so nice and good suffer from an illness like this. I wish I were with her now," he says. But he can't be. Work beckons as a few shows are coming up.

We delved into a bit of history. Manna Dey was born Prabodhchandra Dey in Calcutta. Manna was a pet name given to him by his uncle K C Dey who was known as the the 'Blind Singer of Bengal.' Though he studied law, to be a barrister like his father, Manna opted for a career in singing because his uncle thought the young boy had the talent to make it.

After New Theatres Studio in Calcutta shut down, K C Dey decided to come to Bombay. Manna followed. His first break came with Vijay Bhatt's Ram Rajya. It didn't win him accolades but the struggle had begun. After he sang Upar gagan vishal, all of a sudden, he found himself in the top slot. Almost every song that he sang became popular. Yet, strangely, he failed to get songs on a regular basis. Despite being one of the most talented singers of his time, Manna was never number one. Mohammad Rafi was king, and Manna never grudged him his success because he genuinely believed that Rafi was better than he was.

Today, at 75, Mannada is happy doing stage shows that bring in money and give him the chance to do what he likes best -- singing. He is also happy because people remember his songs and because they still want him to sing.

Despite ill health and disappointment with an industry that was not sure about him, he spoke at length about his days with Rafi, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar, about today's music and about his family.

Don't you like speaking to the press anymore?

I have not spoken much to the press. I strongly feel that the media wants gossip or something worthwhile when they write about us. We are talked about now and then, but we are not the kind of people who have lots to offer. We have said so much, so if you have anything interesting to ask us, then do so.

From law to singing, how did that come about?

I am a product of that house where K C Dey, known as the blind singer of Bengal, was also born. In fact, he brought me up. My father was the eldest in the family. Ours was a big joint family where all my uncles lived together. I have lived in Bombay for 56 years and I still miss that family, that togetherness. My uncle was unmarried and I lived with him.

Were films looked down upon in your family?

No, not at all. My uncle was a big name in the world of music. His songs like Baba man ki aankhen khol, Teri ghathari mein laga chor were very famous. Being born in such a family, I had inherited the talent to sing. We used to have regular riyaz at home early mornings. I am particularly fond of classical music. All the ustaads would come to our house and we would have singing all day long. Our house used to be the meeting place for all the singers. Whenever anybody came to Calcutta, they stayed on and on. I had the good fortune to listen and watch them. That is the best learning I could have ever asked for. I finished my studies and decided to become a singer like my uncle. Have you heard of New Theatres? Those days it was very big.

Your Uncle K C Dey was a big star of New Theatres...

Yes, he was. He was an actor and singer. His performances were recognised all over India.

What about when New Theatres closed down? Didn't you want to return to law?

No, far from it. I always wanted to be a singer. We decided to come to Bombay. We formed a good group called Laxmi Productions which included Phani Mazumdar, the director, Leela Desai, the heroine, Pahari Sanyal, the hero as well as an audiographer, sound recordist, cinematographer and many others, all of whom came from New Theatres.

I started working here as a singer. It was a long struggle. Then I made a mark -- I think it was in 1950 -- with S D Burman's Upar gagan vishaal for Mashaal. That brought me into limelight, though I was singing long before that. But unfortunately, those days they never put our names on record albums or mention us in any way. Burman was a disciple of my uncle's. I had known SD since I was in shorts. He used to come to my house to learn from my uncle.

Was it the turning point of your career?

Yes, it was. Before that I was toying with the idea of going back to Calcutta. I won't say it was all rosy even after that. There were other singers, though Rafi hadn't come then. G M Durrani was the other male singer those days. I used to miss Calcutta, and often thought of going back. But the money was good here and then of course, I found the person I married eventually. My wife Sulochana, was the soothing balm, she kept me going here.

You do a lot of shows, don't you?

Yes, I do a lot of shows all over the world. I get good responses too.

Who are the singers and musicians?

I have my own musicians who accompany me wherever I go. I sing all my songs. I have a female singer too. You know Kavita Krishnamurthi used to sing with me. She is my daughter's friend. She sang with me for 18 years. She got recognition after a long time.

What kind of shows are these?

I don't put up shows with lot of dances and lights. I sing my songs and people come to listen to them. I recently sang in front of two-and-a-half thousand people in a big hall. These are people who spend a lot of money on such shows.

Why don't you sing for films now?

The modern trend in music is repetitive. You listen to one song: it starts with the same routine tune and ends the same way. The other songs take off from the first. Every song sounds the same. All these heroes are like grandsons to me. How can I sing for them? What can I sing for them? It doesn't sound right. I personally feel that filmmaking has become trashy now. Can you sit with your father and children and watch these films?

In college I used to sing Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and other Western songs. Though we can't experiment too much with Hindi songs, I have sung all kinds of songs and they were all hits.