Lalita song by manna dey biography
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When I wrote my twin posts on Manna Dey, I mentioned how I loved so many of his duets with Lata Mangeshkar that I had a tough time choosing just one. Of course, as a long-time reader pointed out, I managed to sneak in a couple of my favourites into the post. I promised myself that I would soon after do a whole post on his duets with Lata Mangeshkar. Months have passed since then, and many things conspired to keep me away from my blog. But today is Lata Mangeshkar's birthday and it seems an auspicious time indeed to break my long silence.
If I thought I would have an easier time fitting in all the Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar duets I like in a post of its own, I was wrong. He had sung the maximum number of duets in his career with her, and I like most of them. So, after a lot of head-scratching, hang-wringing, and lots of listening while lying all worn out on the bed (that last was not so bad), and I finally winnowed it down to a manageable list. To make my choices easier (not that it helped much), I still kept out songs that were not pure duets; meaning, no triads, quartets or quintets. In no particular order then, here are my choices...
1. Jaaoon mein kahan (Miss India/1957) SD Burman/Rajinder Krishen
A non-descript film starring Nargis with one
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Dustedoff
I am listening to Poochho na kaise maine rain bitaayi as I write this. I am hearing Manna Dey’s voice, bringing so much emotion, so much frustrated longing into “Ut jale deepak, it mann mera; phir bhi na jaaye mere mann ka andhera”. And I am remembering all the other songs of Manna Dey that I’ve loved over the years. Songs that I grew up with (and, more often than not back then, didn’t know who sang them). Songs that I loved from the very first moment I heard them. Songs that have grown on me. Songs that make Manna Dey immortal, even though he’s no more.
Manna Dey (May 1, 1919-October 24, 2013) was not one of my first loves when it came to playback singing. Before TV came into our lives, we’d listen to the radio, or to my parents’ substantial collection of LPs. By the time I was 10 or so, I had heard Ameen Sayani mention—in his introduction to songs on Binaca Geetmala—names like Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh. But the first male singer whose voice I was able to recognize was Hemant. Then came Mukesh. Then, perhaps, Talat.
There were lots of songs, though, that I loved, even though I didn’t know who had sung them.
I remember watching Chori-Chori, for example, when I was about eleven. We lived in Srinagar, and the film was being shown on Doo
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Manna Dey
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