Live after Death

In the early 70s,while immersed in his morning riyaaz,Manna Dey would often notice a man taking a morning walk.

Written by Sankhayan Ghosh

October 26, 2013 02:24 AM IST

4 min read

In the early 70s,while immersed in his morning riyaaz,Manna Dey would often notice a man taking a morning walk,and slowing down whenever he neared Deys house in Bandra. Curious about this daily phenomenon,Dey decided to invite him for tea. The man turned out to be Harivansh Rai Bachchan,poet and father of Amitabh Bachchan. Dey went on to sing for Bachchans Madhushala (1973) which was set to tunes by Jaidev. This little-known anecdote,and many others like a kite flying session with Mohammad Rafi,or the private Rabindrasangeet duets Dey had with his wife have been captured in private video recordings that he gave to Rajat Suvra Banerjee,his trusted fan and a collector of the over 100 hours of footage of the singers concerts.

A tabla player by hobby and doctor by profession,Banerjee forged a long-standing relationship with the legendary singer ever since he attended his first concert in 1975 in Kolkata. Our relationship was purely based on music. My guruji Radha Kanta Nandi introduced me to him. I was in awe of him,and I started recording all his concerts in Kolkata, says Banerjee.

From concerts in the late 70s to a show he did in Liverpool in 2008,on his request,Banerjee has perhaps the largest bank of live footage of Dey. Banerjee has also received a written permission from Dey,that gives him the rights to these footages. I want to convert the music into a six CD album,but only if it gets the right price from music labels, he says.

But what made him make those recordings? His live concerts were unlike any other singers of his time. Even the best would go off tune on stage but not him. There was a subtle artistry that he would bring in,adding something new every time he would perform, he says.

His fondest memories are of the impromptu jamming sessions he would have with Dey accompanying him on the tabla. Once,he ended up performing from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm,singing over 40 songs. Other than when there were late night concerts,Dey would sleep by 11 pm and wake up early in the morning,do his riyaaz,exercise and then proceed for the day, says the 47-year-old who remembers being caught by the cops while recording one of Deys live concerts in 1981.

Later,as he came to know him better,Banerjee sought Deys permission to shoot his shows. Once he didnt allow a top minister to record one of his shows at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata. When that person pointed at me,asking how was I allowed,he said,he is doing it for me.

Banerjee last met Dey in April 2012 in Bangalore. Even though he was not keeping well,he still wanted his maachher jhol (fish curry). I got him his favourite Banchharam rosogolla, he recalls.

Kersi Lord,Musician

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Manna Dey was senior to me,but my father (Cawas Lord) knew him well. When Dey used to teach singing,along with writing songs in Bengali,he used to write the notations on the spot for his students. He was the only composer who knew notations so well. He also was one of the few singers who would smoke before a recording. He claimed it never affected his voice.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya,singer

Manna Dey cannot be put in the same category as Kishore Kumar or Mohammad Rafi. He was above all of them. I had the honour of sharing the stage with him over a decade ago where I sang Pucho na kaise maine. Even at that age he had the enthusiasm of a new singer he was pacing back and forth backstage waiting to get on stage.

Kushal Gopalka,Musicologist

He became the natural choice for the unusual,non-romantic numbers of his period. The songs he would sing were often philosophical,humourous and had a classical sound. Although he was extremely well-trained in Hindustani classical music,his enunciation,unlike other classical singers was clear and playback-friendly.

sankhayan.ghosh@expressindia.com