What a lovely morning was in Hyderabad today but as-soon-as I switched on the television, heard a very saddening news and suddenly those clouds of happiness turned to the black clouds of sadness & grief. The news was the death of one of the jewels of Indian playback singing industry Manna Dey.
He died at the age of 94 at Bangalore’s Narayana Hrudayalaya hospital around 0350 hrs after ailing from a long illness. His death has left us with a void which is very hard to fill.
Born in Kolkata in 1919, Manna Dey’s real name was Prabodh Chandra Dey. He wanted to become a wrestler in his younger days but destiny had other plans for him. I feel it was our fortune that he chose singing as his profession over everything else otherwise we would have been deprived of listening his soulful voice.
He started his film career in 1943 with the film Tamanna. Manna Da has sung over 3,500 songs in his career in various Indian languages. He has been awarded many times in his life, the major awards being Dada Saheb Phalke award, Padm Shree and Padm bhushan, to name a few.
We can never forget the timeless songs he has made us hum & dance like the most comic classical ek chatur naar….Or the evergreen love song of older couples ae meri zohrah jabin…. Or the patriotic ae mere pyare watan…. Or the awesome laga chunari me daag… Or the song of friendship yaari hai imaan mera… or the ultimate romantic pyaar hua ekraar hua hai….Or the puzzle of life zindagi kaisi hai paheli….And so on…. The list is endless.
A body dies but a voice doesn’t. Manna Da, you have gone but your voice is still with us. May your voice live 1,000 & more years and may many many generations listen, adore & learn from you. R.I.P.
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