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Immortal melodies
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Manna De at his live concert took his audience on a tour of the past, when things existed for their own sake
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Photo: Murali Kumar k.
Singer-song Manna Da started singing and all else ceased to exist .
Remember the kaleidoscope from childhood? Keep turning it and it throws up rich, colourful patterns. Each time I think of Manna De – it reminds me of the intense hues and the grand patterns emerging out of the kaleidoscope. “Poochon na ka
ise”, “Ey mere zohra jabeen”, “Pyaar hua ikraar hua”, “Ek chatur naar” … each of these songs built up a different mood and none else but Manna Da, as he is fondly called, could switch styles as easily. At a recent concert in the city, organised by Maam Entertainment, the hall was packed. Among all the unknown names in the audience was a name to reckon with, Ameen Sayani, the unforgettable voice of Radio of the good old days. Walking up to the stage amidst deafening applause and a standing ovation, Manna Da, the 87-year-old singer, warmly put his arms around Ameen Sayani, who was by now on stage. “Have I told you I’m a big fan of yours?” he asked with affection. “I’m small fry… I have become big only by playing songs of people like you…,” returned Sayani.
Sayani roped the legendary singer into a conversation. Manna Da remembered his uncle, K.C. Dey’s persistence and how he owed all of his music to him. “He was my guru, more than my father. It was he who fashioned me as a singer of repute.” He followed his uncle to Mumbai and his association with films began. “My first song was for the film ‘Ram Rajya’ and I sang for Valmiki. I hated singing for an old man. And for many years to come, they branded me as a bhajan singer for old men,” he recounts.
Manna Da began with the reflective “Sur na saje”. Manna Da had tuned in to his song and everything else ceased to exist. How else can lines like “Tere bina ye geet bhi jhoote” assume Sufi dimensions? “Kaun aaya mere man ke dwaare?” had celebration, the highs and lows of anticipation… One song followed the other. Manna Da and Sayani returned to memory lane. “Anil Biswas was such a romantic. He was the pioneer of orchestration. In fact, he taught the industry how to treat a song.” Manna Da said Lata owes a lot to Anil Biswas. “He worked very hard over her singing and even perfected her Urdu diction.”
Remembering composer Madan Mohan, Manna Da was in awe of the wonderful songs he had created for Lata and Rafi. “I don’t think I could have sung it the way they did,” he said, with a touching humility. Shankar of Shankar-Jaikishan fame was very dear to the singer. “I’m eternally grateful to him. He gave me the best songs of my life and backed me till he died,” and the next instant he was singing the fantastic “Ye raat bheegi bheegi”.
The next song was no less in its complexity, “Zindagi kaisi ye paheli” and the entire auditorium was swaying. He spoke of S.D. Burman and R.D. Burman with warmth and sang the unbelievably R.D. number “Aayo kahan se Ghanashyam”. Manna Da sang some lovely duets (with Divya Raghavan); “Jahan Mein Jaati Hoon”, “Aaja Sanam” and others.
The songs have been heard by music lovers, across generations, time and again. But what is it that replenishes these songs with such energy each time you listen to them?When you see a picture of utmost grace like Manna Da, filled with relentless and selfless commitment, you perhaps have some answers. The intense perfectionists and their pristine pursuits is that what gave us those unforgettable songs. Manna Da belongs there. He is also our bridge to a world that we have shut ourselves to. May bridges be!
DEEPA GANESH
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