I was just six, Aradhana was a rage, my father said Rajesh Khanna was the latest star. I knew cousins and neighbours named Geeta, and got the lines totally wrong. Sang ‘ Meri sapnon ki raani kab aye Geetu ’. Was too young to understand ‘ Roop tera mastana ’.
I didn’t know who S.D. Burman was till four years later. There too, I didn't understand ‘ Tere mere milan ki yeh raina ’ from Abhimaan but loved it anyway. And I always wondered whether meet was a mispronunciation of the English word with the same spelling, and thought piya was related to drinking water.
The songs stuck in my brain, though. Mili happened, and I again mixed up ‘ Badi sooni sooni ’ with ‘ O meri soni ’. Slowly, I got exposed to his earlier songs. Over a decade later, my Hindi much stronger, I decided Dada Burman was my favourite music director. He still remains so, though I earlier grew up on more R.D. Burman hits. Through Doordarshan and VHS, I closely followed Dev Anand’s films. Kala Bazar , Kala Pani , Nau Do Gyarah , Funtoosh , Bambai Ka Babu , Teen Deviyan , Guide , Prem Pujari , Jewel Thief , Gambler ... One could go on. Then, there were other classics like Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi , Pyaasa , Kaagaz Ke Phool , Sujata and Bandini . This, besides many rarer gems found in various compilations.
What impressed me most was the distinctness of his compositions and arrangements. The catchy melodies would make me put songs on loop. The sound was largely a blend of eastern folk melodies, Indian classical music and western orchestration. Sadly, I wasn’t exposed to his Bengali tunes. I always wanted to know more about the genius. Over three years ago, I found that in Khagesh Dev Burman’s biography S.D. Burman: The World Of His Music . Part of the Tripura royal family, Dada had a passion for folk music since childhood, and began his early career in Kolkata, before shifting to Mumbai.
The book contains lots of interesting trivia. One is how he converted a Sahir Ludhianvi ghazal ‘ Tadbeer Se Bigdi ’ into a fast, racy piece in the film Baazi . Another is how he heard a restaurant musician play a tune, inspiring him to make ‘ Thandi Hawayein ’ in Naujawan . The book talks about his differences with Lata Mangeshkar in the late 1950s and their eventual patch-up, besides his regular work with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Talat Mahmood Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. This is besides, of course, his strong bond with R.D. Burman. “Initially I would introduce him as my son. Later I would be thrilled when people described me as his father,” he would say.
Dada Burman blossomed in an era where there were many other great music directors. As a singer too, he had his own style, using folk elements. Tuesday, October 31, marked his 42nd death anniversary. Naturally, my day was spent listening to those golden oldies. The memories of how I got into his music kept returning. I’m sure that would be the case with most fans.
