ZINDAGI KAISI HAI PAHELI

“Strange how we connect events of our life with his songs!” This is what Amitabh Bachchan has tweeted while paying his tribute to the legendary Manna Dey, who passed away this morning. Indeed, if one looks at the songs which found their soul in the form of his great voice, one can only agree with what Amitabh Bachchan has said. Manna Da sang songs for all occasions, for all moods, and in more than a dozen languages. He lent his voice to the superstars of the day, most notably Raj Kapoor, rendered songs sung by grandpas as well: “Tujhe sooraj kahoon ya chanda....”, and he sang for the comedians too. He was the voice for Mehmood’s funny songs, including the rollicking “Ek chatur naar badi hoshiyaar...” and “Khaali dabba, khaali botal lele mere yaar...” And, when it came to sad songs, he excelled there too. “Poochho na kaise maine rain bitaayee....” is one from this genre. And, who can forget the romantic strains of evergreen numbers like “Aajaa sanam madhur chaandni mein ham....” or “Pyaar huaa iqraar hua hai pyaar se phir kyun darta hai dil”? However, the one song that no one can ever forget is that great number: “Ae meri zohrajabin.....” Hard to imagine how the silver and golden jubilees of Indian couples will be complete without this incomparable song!

 Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood, and now Manna Da, have all gone! There is a sense of disbelief when you look at these immortal names and realise that their body of work was delivered largely in overlapping creative periods, thorough the 50’s and 60’s in particular. It goes to Manna Da’s credit that he continued to get songs to sing even after singers were identified with actors in those years: Rafi for Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, Mukesh for Raj Kapoor and, later, Kishore for almost every one. It was thanks to his flair for rendering fun songs that he became the playback voice for Mehmood who, even though he was a comedian, enjoyed a big star status. And when it came to singing songs based on classical ragas, there was no one to compare with the shastriya sangeet master, Manna Dey.  In classical virtuosity he was way ahead of the field. His Ahir Bhirav rendition of S.D. Burman's Poochcho na kaise maine rain bitaee is arguably unmatched by any professional playback singer in Hindi films. Yet, there is always a feeling that for this outstanding singer, who enjoyed confidence of the top music directors of his time, there never was an easy access to the number one choice for songs to be picturised on the leading actor of the film. Shankar-Jaikishan used his voice for Raj Kapoor, and he gave such memorable songs as “Yeh raat bheegi bheegi...”, “Pyar hua iqraar hua...”, and, later, “Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo...” Yet, when it comes to identifying one singer with the great showman, it will invariably be Mukesh. For Manna (Probodh Chandra) Dey - that's the story of his life. Respected in the music fraternity for his classical training, he was always called upon to sing the tougher songs. Some of the finest classical songs that have been made immortal by Manna Dey include “Jhanak jhanak teri baaje payaliya...”, “Aayo kahaan se ghanshyam....”, “Laga chunri mein daag...”, “Ritu aaye ritu jaaye...”; the list is very long indeed.  Many, like Asha Bhonsle, believe "his versatility is unparalleled", yet the top slot never came his way. He had once said wistfully: "First I was called a bhajan singer, then a comedy singer, finally a classical singer, but somehow all the simple catchy, hum-along songs eluded me."

It goes to the credit of Manna Da that he always spoke very highly of Mohammad Rafi, who was younger than him in years, but ages ahead in his popularity among cine-goers and a clear preference among the music directors and actors alike. Manna Dey acknowledged, “Rafi was a genius and the greatest playback singer ever, male or female.” Rafi, on his part, admired the great abilities of Manna Da. Rafi had once told magazine reporters: "You say you love to listen to my songs. But I listen to Manna Dey's songs."

Manna Da had affection for Kishore Kumar and always acknowledged the latter’s unique talent for stealing the limelight when singing duets or in groups. He sang the great “Chatur naar” number so memorably with Kishore Kumar. The story goes that Manna Da was not too comfortable to be singing with Kishore. He had said to some one:"I was especially cautious when asked to sing for Mehmood in Ek chatur naar with Kishore Kumar. The latter had a unique and unaffected style of singing which tended to eclipse the subtleties of classical music, and place his singing partner, in a duet, at a disadvantage. To be put in the shade by Kishore's flamboyant style of singing was a distinct possibility and, to counter the risk, I decided to work with Pancham ( R D Burman, the music director), striving to build on my strengths and find a way of holding my own." Obviously, as the result shows, Manna and Kishore were the ideal foil to each other. In the film Padosan, while Mehmood was playing a trained classical singer, Kishore was shown to be a street-smart performer who was up to his antics to out-do Mehmood to win the favours of the film’s heroine for his friend, played by Sunil Datt. Manna Da described the recording of this iconic song thus:"On the day we were to record Ek chatur naar, the entire staff at the studio stood outside the glass-door to watch Kishore and me sing. For the two of us, the session had taken on the magnitude of a duel. It took us 12 hours - the recording started at 9 am and ended at 9 pm - to complete it, and I must admit, Kishore was in his element that day. Out of this tough battle to outshine one another, would emerge a new star in the world of music."

*****

I was in conversation with a few friends and trying to list the greatest songs to which Manna Dey gave his inimitable voice, we had varying opinions. This is not surprising at all in the context of a performer whose body of work is so vast, and so varied in its genres. However, some of the songs which were mentioned repeatedly are: Poochho na kaise maine rain bitaayee, Laga Chunri mein daag, Ek chatur naar, Yeh raat bheegi bheegi, Dil ka haal sune dil wala, Aye mere pyaare watan, Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo, Kaun aayaa mere man ke dware,and, of course, Ae meri zohra jabin.

In the passing away of Manna Da, we have to ask again and again Zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai, Kabhi toh hasaaye, kabhi yeh rulaaye....... ek din sapanon kaa raahii
chalaa jaae sapanon ke aage kahaaN.