July 4th, 2010

Manna Dey – Part 4

Manna Dey’s unique style and his sincere, humane personality won him admirers and devotees. The late Kavi Pradeep, whose ‘Upar gagan vishaal’ Manna Da sang, says ‘I’m a great fan of Manna Da’s style. He pronounces words with great care and sensitivity. He’s also the emperor of harmony’.

Talented Kavitha Krishnamurthy, a star in her own right, considers Manna Da her guru and role model. She says, ‘Every human being has an ideal figure in his or her life; whom that person wants to emulate. In my life there is my guru. I adore him as an artiste and as a human being and I would consider myself lucky if my life could resemble his. Dada is like a father to me. It’s my good fortune to have performed on stage with him all over the world’.

Manna Da welcomed singing challenges. His repertoire of non-film songs including ‘Yeh awaara raatein’ and ‘Sawan ki rimjhim’, and the two ghazals ‘Hairaan hoon main sanam’ and ‘Shaam ho jaam ho’ reveal the artiste’s endless quest. When poet Madhukar Kajasthani heard Manna Da’s tune for ‘Yeh awaara raatein’, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

Mehdi Hassan wrote Manna Day an effusive letter after he heard one of his non-film songs. ‘How can a film singer sing a non-film song so well?’ he wanted to know.

Manna Dey’s versatility knows no bounds and it would be the gravest injustice to try to stereotype him. He has sung the entire gamut of emotions in his lifetime; and his songs are irrefutable proof of it.

The pensive, defeatist ‘Hansne ki chah ne kitna mujhe rulaya hai’ and ‘Sharab ka sahara’ by Kanu Roy and Madan Mohan respectively. The buoyant, happy-go-lucky ‘Yaari hai iman mera’. The tragi‑comic ‘Aye bhai zara dekh ke chalo’ from Mera Naam Joker, a film dominated by the showman’s voice Mukesh. The song that fetched him his only Filmfare award. The harmonious `Ritu aaye, ritu jaaye’ in which he moves through four ragas. The ludicrous `Meri mombatti bana le mujhko pati’ from the mad Pyar Kiye Jaa. The moving, existentialist ‘Kasmein vaade pyar wafaa baatein hain baaton ka kya’. The effortlessly melodious ‘Zindagi kaisi hai paheli’, a song that was very nearly relegated to a background score, but was saved, when Rajesh Khanna decided to lip synch it. The ups and downs, the gentle and dramatic ironies of life are wonderfully captured in a song as light and carefree as a playful breeze. The lovelorn, passionate ‘Tu chupi hai kahan’. All songs that contain the distinctive flavor of Manna Da’s rendering.

But his one personal favorite, from this rich tapestry would be the song version of Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s ‘Madhushala’. This occupies centrestage in his repertoire, for the revered poet chose Manna Da to sing his precious poetry over his colleagues Rafi and Mukesh. Today Madhushala qualifies as the epitome of the collaboration between poet and singer. Giving rare and rich evidence of Manna Da’s superior ability to penetrate to the very essence of the lyric.

Manna Dey also found time to fulfill a long cherished dream of his. In 1987 he re-recorded some of his uncle’s Bhajans, including the famous ‘Teri gathri mein laga chor’.

Today Manna Dey, lives his life, away from the mike and arclights of fame, giving the rare concert appearance abroad. And the occasional playback number, like the one in Prahaar, where Naria Patekar used all his persuasion to get him to voice that song.

He sorely and deeply misses his colleagues, most of them taken away by cruel fate `Kya woh din they’ he recalls. The creative camaraderie and generous collaborations of his time can never be recreated again. `Main akela reh gaya’ he remarks sorrowfully.

But Manna Dey, was always the solitary traveller. Marked by his distinctive style, his personality, his genuineness and sincerity. And perhaps the only singer who could stake claim to the following thought.

‘Mere sub kuch mere geet re’
‘Geer bina bane mere mere meet re’.
Indeed, ‘The Maestro’ – Subhash K . Jha (Legends – Manna Dey – The Maestro)

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