Atlanta Dunia

By : Ganesh=20 Bala
Manna Dey is aptly described as a = Living=20 Legend. How else can we describe this evergreen and versatile singer, = who sang=20 his first hit Hindi song 60 years ago, and still at the age of 85, could = magically transport us all back to the 50's and 60's golden age of = music.=20

Manna Dey represents an era of Hindi film music that is in the = lifeblood=20 of every Indian movie and music fan. The Bollywood Film Industry started = in the=20 1920's in the silent movie era, and soon by the 30's, with the advent of = sound,=20 music became an integral part of movies. 30's and 40's belonged to the = pioneers=20 of Indian Film music with very gifted composers and singers and towering = among=20 those initial giants was K.L. Saigal. The composers of note were = Khemchand=20 Prakash, R.C.Boral, Anil Biswas etc. With the late 40's came a new = generation of=20 composers and singers. Composers like Shankar Jaikishen, S.D.Burman, = Naushad Ali=20 ruled. There were many talented composers, but the above mentioned trio=20 relentlessly and consistently belted out chart busters, many of which = have=20 endured as great classics till now, some 40-50-60 years later. Among the = singers, we had Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Talat = Mehmood=20 to name a few. The ladies side was dominated by Lata Mangeshkar and her = sister=20 Asha Bhonsle. This second generation can be arguably called the greatest = era of=20 melodious and enduring music. The credit for this proliferous but high = quality=20 musical entertainment surely goes to these immensely talented and gifted = singers=20 along with the composers. Manna Dey has been one among those with many = of his=20 own immortal hits.

The show at EarthLink Live was attended by = more than=20 900 people. RRF founder Mr. Robin Raina started the show by = presenting a=20 Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr. Manna Dey for musical excellence = spanning more than half a century and for being a role model in = terms of=20 humanity to all the youngsters. The show proceeds will go towards=20 underprivileged blind children in India. Accepting the award Mr. = Manna Dey=20 released a statement for the media.

Full text = of Manna Dey's=20 release to the media

"Tujhe Suraj Kahoon ya = Chanda.deep=20 kahoon ya tara.Mera naam karega roshan jag mein mera raj dulara" = These=20 enchanting lines are from one of my favorite songs I sang in the = movie "Ek=20 Phool Do Mali" in 1969. The lyrics by Prem Dhawan conveyed an = immense=20 optimism. Its about the parents who wish to see their children = achieve=20 success in life. Thirty five years have passed since then but = there are=20 many parents amongst us who still can't craft this dream into a = reality.=20 There are countless families not only in India but in other South = Asian=20 countries, who can not even afford the bare minimum resources for = living=20 let alone the education of their children. Millions of kids in = India=20 itself do not get an opportunity to go to school. My heart goes = out for=20 all such kids. I believe it is our ethical duty as esteemed = citizens of=20 the society to reach out to these unfortunate kids.

Robin = Raina=20 foundation has taken this unprecedented initiative to lend a hand = to=20 underprivileged children. The cause is noble and the spirits are = soaring;=20 the team's dedication, commitment and passion to make this mission = a=20 success is evident in the eyes of each volunteer. It is always a = pleasure=20 for me to see charitable organizations such as Robin Raina = Foundation=20 where people are committed towards providing a selfless service to = society.

I do a lot for charities myself and I have a lot = of=20 genuine interest in such undertaking, but I do not believe in a = big=20 propaganda for charity. The whole supposed good deed loses out on = its=20 essence. The purpose and the goal of a charity should not be lost = in the=20 glare of publicity. I am happy to see Robin Raina Foundation doing = valiant=20 efforts in keeping a firm focus on its goals. The joint ventures = of=20 'Prayaas', 'Udaan', 'Blind-Aid' and other initiatives are = exceptionally=20 good. It gives me immense contentment and pride to perform in = front of a=20 valued Atlanta audience. I wish RRF a great success in raising = funds from=20 this event, which they are donating to the Blind Relief = Association. My=20 best wishes are with Robin and all RRF volunteers for their future = endeavors.

Manna Dey is the only living male singer = from that=20 era of singers. Mannada(as he is popularly referred to) thrived as an = equal=20 among these greats, with his own unique deep and melodious voice and a = distinct=20 bend towards classical oriented songs. His unmistakable voice is still = amazingly=20 as crisp and melodious as it was 30 years ago.

He started the = evening=20 with the melodious 'Miyan ki Malhar' based bhajan 'Bhay bhanjana vandana = sun=20 hamari' from the film Basant Bahar. This was followed by a number of = hits from=20 the late 50's including 'Sur na saje' another Basant Bahar hit, the = evergreen=20 soul stirrer 'Tu pyar ka sagar hai' from the movie Seema and followed by = the=20 Madan Mohan classic 'Kaun Aya mere manke dware' from the movie Dekh = Kabira roya.=20 After these initial songs, Mannada started to sing a non-filmi = yamankalyan based=20 thumri 'Nathni se tuta moti re'. Right from the outset, he was unhappy = with=20 rhythm (tabla) accompanist and stopped, saying there is some 'gadbad'. = This was=20 a very revealing and rare insight into the octogenarian perfectionist so = steeped=20 in his music that he couldn't take such 'gadbad' (miscues). In fact, = throughout=20 the concert we witnessed some interchanges between the singer and the=20 accompanying artists, which I thought made the overall concert much more = entertaining and memorable. No disrespect to the accompanying artists, = who were=20 assembled in the US with very limited time to work with the veteran. I = am sure,=20 they took it in the right spirit of a straight talking guru who was = willing to=20 instruct and chastise them on stage. After this, Mannada sang a = lighweight song=20 'Tum besahara ho to' from Anurodh. This was a special dedication in = honor of the=20 organizer Mr. Robin Raina and the RRF.

While Manna Dey sang for = all the=20 major heroes from Raj Kapur to Rajesh Khanna etc. he had this unique = rapport=20 with comedians like Mehmood and has sung many many songs that are = hilarous,=20 entertaining and comic. From this genre, he sang 'Lapat Japat' from Boot = Polish,=20 followed by composer Roshan's bhairavi gem 'Phul Gendva na Maro' from = the film=20 Dooj Ka Chand. His mastery over the taal and raag was displayed with an=20 enjoyable series of tans with some recognizable sequences and some new=20 improvisations in sargam and word plays. More about the lighter mood = songs=20 later.

After these solos, Mannada invited Ms. Jafreen Oni to join = him to=20 some duets. She had started the evening program with a few solos. They = started=20 with 'Ye Raat bheegi bheegi' from the film Chori Chori. After this, they = sang=20 'Masti Bhara hai Shama' from the film 'Parvarish'. This song is = remarkable=20 because the composer Dattaram, a former assistant of Shankar Jaikishen = has very=20 few movies to his credit. His claim to fame is this one movie wonder = Parvarish=20 which also has the famous Mukesh number 'Aansoo bhari hai ye jeevan ki = rahe'.=20 The Parvarish song was followed by a wonderful soft duet 'Tum gagan ke = chandrama=20 ho' from the movie 'Sati Savitri'. This was one of the early music = compositions=20 of Laxmikant-Pyarelal(L-P) who represent a newer 70's generation of = composers=20 that began to take over the parade of chart busters from the earlier = stalwart=20 composers. R.D.Burman and Kalyanji Anandji were the other popular = composers of=20 the 70's-80's. The young Ms. Jafreen Oni was very impressive and the = rendition=20 of the slow 'Tum Gagan ke' was wonderful. I think composers should take=20 advantage of this amazing singer. She can give the current Bollywood = singers a=20 run for their money, without a doubt. The duo finished out this section = with=20 another Chori Chori number, 'Aa ja sanam madhur chandini me = hum'.

After a=20 brief intermission, Mannada sang the unfinished yamankalyan thumri = 'Nathnise=20 tuta motire'. Once again, our respect for the veteran and the young = accompanists=20 grew a notch more for working out their differences and come up with a = perfect=20 rendition. Manna Dey graciously applauded the tabalchi for a job well = done. It=20 was a wonderful display of musical transfer of knowledge real-time on = the=20 stage!!!. This was followed by 'Zindagi Kaisi hai Paheli' from Anand set = to tune=20 by Salil Chaudhary, 'Tujhe Suraj Kahun ya Chanda' from 'Ek phool do = mali' set to=20 music by Ravi. After this, the singer gave a brief intro to the = Hindustani=20 tradition and on the Raag Darbari Kanada and sang his famous 'Jhanak = Jhanak=20 Payal baje' from the film Mere Huzoor, set to music by Shankar = Jaikishen. This=20 was a song for which Manna Dey was awarded the President's award. For = this song,=20 he specially invited Atlanta's renowed Ms. Kumud Sawla on stage to = perform an=20 extempore Kathak dance accompanim ent. The 'Mere Huzoor' song was = followed by=20 'Hasne ki chaah ne' from the movie Avishkar set to music by Kanu Roy.=20

Continuing our earlier discussion on songs in a lighter mood, = the great=20 composer S.D.Burman produced some masterpieces in association with Manna = Dey=20 like 'Banao Batiya hato kahe ko Jhoote' from the movie Manzil. Mannada = briefly=20 described his association with Maestro S.D. Burman and the actor Mehmood = and the=20 background on the Manzil song . This song was an imitation of Ustad = Faiyyaz=20 Khan's rendition and reminded us of the genius of S.D.Burman and Manna = Dey in=20 their heydays. I am fascinated with S.D.Burman's music and the Manna Dey = classics he has produced from the 1944 hit Mashal to all the way to the = 70's=20 with songs like 'Poocho na kaise', 'Tere naina Talash mein'. In = classical comedy=20 variety, special mention should be given to two songs: the Manzil song = 'Banao=20 Batiya Hato' he sang here and 'Kisne chilman se mara' from the movie = Tere Gharke=20 samne.

The evening's final segment included a few non-hindi = songs -=20 the famous Malayalam song 'Manasa Mayile Varu' from Chemmeen which had = music=20 composed by none other than Salil Chaudhary, a Bengali number and two = Gujarati=20 songs written by Avinash Vyas. This was followed by the mega hit 'Kasme = Vaade'=20 from the film Upkar set to music by Kalyanji Anandji. Finally, we got to = hear=20 the quintessential Manna Dey number 'Laga Chunri me Daag'. = Understandably some=20 of the taans were less racy than in the original rendition, but = nonetheless pure=20 Manna Dey and very enjoyable. At 1:30 am, the 85 year old maestro = concluded the=20 recital with the unforgettable patriotic ditty 'Ae mere Pyare watan' = from the=20 film Kabuliwallah set to music by Salil Chaudhary.

All credits = to Mr.=20 Robin Raina and the Raina Foundation for organizing this fantastic=20 recital.