Manna Dey

Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers

Thumbnail image for Kalyanji-Anandji 2.0: Their best songs for ‘other’ male singers November 20, 2024

After I had covered the best songs of Kalyanji-Anandji for Mukesh and Rafi, I once browsed through their songs for ‘other’ male singers for a lark. I was amazed to find an enormous variety of singers they had chosen. Though all the songs were well-known it had not registered in my mind instantly. The result […]

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Nathli se toota moti re: Manna Dey’s Non-film Hindi Gems

Manna Dey May 1, 2022

Guest article by Ashok M Vaishnav as a tribute t0 Manna Dey on his 103rd birth anniversary (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) (Manna Dey has been described by some as an enigma among singers. That was a reference to his apparent defensiveness about his place among the contemporary playback singers, despite having the […]

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Dattaram Part 1: Under the shadow of big banyan tree with songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey

Dattaram May 20, 2021

A big banyan tree gives shelter and protects you from elements. But this may become a trap because one may be deterred from venturing out on one’s own for the risks involved. But a human being also has an urge to venture out and stand on his own. That involves a vertical progression from earning […]

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Remembering a special singer Manna Dey

Manna Dey May 1, 2020

A tribute on Manna Dey’s 101st birth anniversary (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) Manna Dey was one of the great playback singers of the Golden Era. I missed to acknowledge him on his birth centenary last year. This omission is symptomatic of his relative place in the film music. He was the most […]

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Ravi’s many-splendoured genius with the ‘other’ singers

Ravi December 15, 2019

We now come to the end of the series on Ravi. In my opening post in the series we saw him as a many-splendoured genius with a large number of songs for themes and occasions, which have acquired an iconic status, many of which made the readers exclaim, Oh, this is also composed by him! […]

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Roshan’s songs for ‘other’ singers

Roshan November 16, 2018

A tribute to Roshan on his 51st death anniversary (14 July 1917-16 November 1967) DP Rangan started a tandem series on Madan Mohan-Roshan on July 14 which, in a unique coincidence, happened to be the birth anniversary of one, and the death anniversary of the other. I have since written a number of posts on […]

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The Master of Qawwali Roshan and some hidden qawwalis of Madan Mohan

Roshan and Madan Mohan August 9, 2018

While Roshan and Madan Mohan generally proceeded in tandem, one or the other created a special niche for himself in some genre. Roshan became known as the undisputed master of qawwalis, whereas Madan Mohan became a byword for ghazals. The essential difference in the two forms is not one of content, but of singing style. […]

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Manna Dey’s songs by Shankar-Jaikishan

Shankar-Jaikishan with Manna Dey May 1, 2016

A tribute to Manna Dey (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) on his 97th birth anniversary Mumbaikar8 has rightly pointed out that Manna Dey has not yet got the importance on SoY he deserves. That in a way is also a reflection of his career. Recognised as an unparalleled singer of classical songs, he […]

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Remembering SD Burman’s Manna Dey

SD Burman and Manna Dey October 31, 2013

Mera sab kuchh mere geet re sang Manna Dey for SD Burman in Zindagi Zindagi. In a sad coincidence, in the midst of my SD Burman series, Manna Dey passed away exactly a week ago at the age of 94 (b. 1 May 1919, d. 24 Oct 2013). Today happens to be SD Burman’s death […]

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