Intoxicated by Music

Rahul Dev Burman popularly known as Pancham da needs no introduction. He is known to both the older generations and the millenials thanks to the versatility of his music. June 27th is his birth anniversary and being an ardent follower of his music I wanted to share a drop from the ocean of his music with you. Music was in his genes - he was born to Sachin Dev Burman (also referred to as Dada Burman) who was a maestro himself and Meera Dev Burman who was a lyricist in Bengali films and assistant to Dada Burman. He dominated the music industry in 70's and 80's- music of most popular movies from these years like Sholay, Hum Kisise Kum Nahi, Love Story, Yaadon ki Baarat, was composed by him. Some of his most popular songs include Chura Liya hai, Do Lafzon ki hai, Mehbooba Mehbooba, Dum Maro Dum. The very popular and infamous remix Kaanta Laga was originally a sweet composition of Pancham da that was later remixed and unfortunately given a sleazy feel. Many of the remixes that w...

The legendary artist Salil Chowdhury once said - 'If God could sing, he would have a voice like Hemant Kumar'. Hemant Kumar needs no introduction. His is the voice of devotion and it touches those depths inside your heart that perhaps you were never even aware of. Lovingly referred to as Hemant Da, he was not just an exceptional singer but also a highly gifted composer. While he was studying Engineering at Jadavpur University, he was always lost in music and quit midway to pursue his passion. He got his first break in 1940 with a Bangla song and in 1942 for a Hindi song. Musical success though continued to elude him until 1947 when his composition in Bengali film 'Purba Rang' got the attention of S.Mukherjee, owner of the very popular Filmistan Studios in Bombay (Mumbai). This association gave music lovers the gift of 'Anand Math' in 1952, the album that also has the rousing 'Vande Mataram'.  The real fame came with the 1954 movie 'Nagin' and he ...