“He Was A Far More Skilled Singer Than Me,” Exclusive Lata Mageshkar On Manna Dey

If Manna Dey had lived he  would be 105 today. He lived a  long and fruitful  life. Embracing  his art with a passion that  belied populist considerations,Manna Dey belted out a spectrum of  rangy tunes, from Phool gendva na  maaro(Dooj Ka Chand) to Aao twist kare(Bhoot Bungla).

“There was  nothing that Mannada couldn’t do,” Lataji had once shared with me . “He was well-known for his classical numbers.  But I also loved his comedy songs especially Ek chatur nar karke  sringar in Padosan.Whenever I felt low I listened  to Mannada and Kishoreda  in Ek chatur naar. They were a laugh  riot in this song.”

Lataji recalled some  of her most memorable  duets with Manna Dey. “Whenever I sang with him I had to be on my toes. Many of our songs  together like Yeh raat bheegi bheegi(Chori Chori), Pyar hua iqraar hua(Sri 420), Soch ke yeh gagan jhoome(Jyoti), Jhoomta mausam(Ujala),  Dil ki girah khol do(Raat Aur Din), Dharti ambar neend se jaage(Chaitali). But the songs that I really enjoyed singing with Mannada were Aiso re  paapi bichua (Madhumati) and Chunri sambhaal gori(Bahaaron  Ke Sapne) Mannada sailed through the folk  numbers. But for me these two songs were a challenge.”

Lataji also  singled  out Salil Chowdhary’s  exquisite  compositions in  Basu Bhattacharya’s  Sangat.  “Mannada  and I sang together in two wonderful duets Balma mora aachra  mehke re and Kanha bole na. The  irony was , I was  supposed to teaching  him singing in these songs.”

The Nightingale  felt Manna Dey got a  raw deal in the  Hindi  film industry.  “In Bangla cinema his amazing versatility  got a  wide coverage.  But  in Hindi cinema he  was not given its due. Iss baat ka Mannada ko hamesha shikwa raha.”