Every time you listen to ‘Laga chunri mein daag,’ or ‘Ay meri zoharajabeen‘ or even ‘ Zindagi kaisi hai paheli‘, you know the voice behind it. That voice is now no more. Legendary singer Manna Dey passed away today in Bengaluru. Dey was 94 years old. He was one of Indian cinema’s golden voices.
He passed away around 3.05 am, confirmed Vasuki, the spokesperson of Narayana Hrudalaya, the hospital in which the singer was admitted in Bengaluru.
He was taken to ICU on Wednesday to be treated for respiratory ailments and renal failure. He has been in and out of hospital the last few months and was on dialysis in September.
Music continued to be a part of Dey’s life even in his last few days, as he kept listening to old songs with his daughter at his bedside, said reports.
On 8 June, he was admitted to the ICU in a Bengaluru hospital after a chest infection gave rise to other complications. The next day there were reports of his death, but the doctors put the rumours to rest by confirming that he was still alive and his situation was stable but critical, as the infection had led to other complications. On 9 July, it was reported that his health was improving and that doctors had taken him off ventilator support.
Born as Prabodh Chandra Dey on 1 May, 1919, and later nicknamed Manna Dey, he was one of those rare singers who sang in a number of languages– Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayali, Kannada, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Magadh, Punjabi, Maithilee, Konkani, Sindhi and Chhattisgarhi.
Dey’s career as a playback singer started with the movie Tamanna in the year 1943. His uncle, Krishna Chandra Dey composed the musical score and he paired up with the well-known Suraiya to sing this wonderful duet. The entire nation loved this song and Dey became a household name.
The singer had sung numerous songs and had shared the limelight with some legends like Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mehmood, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar among others.
Manna Dey teamed up with great singers like Bhimsen Joshi and belted out a legendary song known as Ketaki Gulab Juhi. With Kishore Kumar he sang a completely different genre of songs like Yeh Dosti (Sholay) and Ek Chatur Naar (Padosan).
In the Bengali film industry, he worked with noted musicians like the legendary Hemant Kumar. He established himself in mainstream Bengali music after his legendary duet song with Lata Mangeshkar known as Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechi.
Mohammed Rafi in fact once commented that though people listen to his songs, he himself enjoys only Manna Dey’s songs.
Dey sang over 3,500 songs. He has sung with singers of every generation in Indian films from 1940-2005. He has worked with more than 102 music directors in Hindi film industry from working with Krishna Chandra Dey in Tamanna in 1942 to music composer Shamir Tandon in 2006.
Manna Dey infused the melody of classical music in the frame of pop music.
Dey showed his singing talent in early days of school when he used to beat tables and sing to entertain his classmates. He then started to receive proper training in music from his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and also from Ustad Dabir Khan.
In 1942, Dey started working as an assistant music director under his uncle and then under SD Burman. After assisting many music directors, he eventually started to work independently.
Dey had been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007.
Dey may have left us, but he will continue to live with his music. He is survived by his daughters Shuroma and Sumita. His wife, Sulochana, died of cancer last year.
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