Geeta dutta

The first thing that strikes one when you hear Geeta Dutt sing was that she never sang. She just glided through a tune. Of all her contemporaries her musical training was perhaps the sketchiest but what she lacked in training and technique, she more than made up with her ability to breathe life and emotion into any song she was singing. To quote Raju Bharathan, Music Critic..."Geeta Dutt was thandi hawa and kaali ghata rolled into one. The moment she came, you got the refreshing feeling of aa hi gayi jhoom ke. There was a rare swing in her voice. She hit you like a thunderclap..........This made Geeta Dutt the one singer that Lata Mangeshkar really feared. In training and technique Lata was way ahead but neither training nor technique was of much use when pitted against Geeta in the recording room........This put Lata on the defensive and I think she avoided singing with Geeta as far as possible. I vaguely remember Lata acknowledging this fact when Geeta died on July 20, 1972." Geeta Roy was born in Faridpur District in East Bengal in 1930. In 1942 when she was just twelve her parents shifted to Mumbai. Over there in their modest flat at Dadar music director Hanuman Prasad heard her singing casually. He gave her two lines to sing in the film Bhakt Prahlad (1946). But her rendering of those two lines stood out and astonished everybody in the recording studio. A minor incident became the genesis of a great musical career. Her major assignment came the following year, 1947, with Do Bhai. The music of that film clicked in a big way particularly Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya and Geeta became a top playback singer. 1947-1949 saw Geeta Roy rule as the number one playback singer in the Mumbai film industry as she moved from strength to strength. However three films released in 1949. Barsaat, Andaaz and Mahal. All three smashing hits. The music of each film better than the other. In all three films the heroine's songs were sung by a young lady who had also made her debut in playback singing in 1946 but till then had not made any significant headway in her career. The success of these films changed all that. The song 'Aayega aanewala' from Mahal soared to heights of till then unseen popularity. ( It remains an all time favourite even today ) The singer was ... Lata Mangeshkar. Lata went on to become the greatest playback singer the Indian screen has ever seen. Only two singers managed to survive the Lata onslaught in the 1950s. Shamshad Begam and Geeta Roy. Though relegated to the second spot, Geeta managed to hold her own against Lata for more than a decade and she and Lata were the premier two female playback singers of the 1950s.Initially Geeta was a singer well known for bhajans and weepy, weepy sad songs. But 1951 saw the release of a film, Baazi. The jazzy musical score of the film by S.D. Burman revealed a new facet to Geeta's singing. The sex appeal in her voice and the ease with which she went western was marvelous to behold. While every song in the film was a raging hit, one stood out for special appeal - Tadbir se Bigdi hui Taqdeer. From then on in the 1950s for a club dance or a seductive song, the first choice was Geeta. During the recording of the song she met the young and upcoming director of the film, Guru Dutt. Thus blossomed a romance, which culminated in marriage on 26 May, 1953. Geeta went on to sing some of her best songs in his films while continuing singing in various outside assignments as well. It was however a stormy marriage as the couple fought and made up repeatedly caused it is said by her suspicious and possessive nature. S.D. Burman was among the earliest to discover the magic in her voice with Do Bhai. He effectively used the Bengali lilt in her voice memorably in films like Devdas (1955) and Pyaasa (1957). The song Aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo from the latter is one of the finest examples of the Bengali kirtan put over on the Hindi screen. In fact, no female singer has better articulated the spirit of Burmanda's music in its early years. O.P. Nayyar developed the side of Geeta which had emerged with Baazi. Under his freewheeling baton Geeta developed into a really hep singer who could belt out any number - soft, sultry, happy, snappy, romantic, teasing or tragic. It was Geeta Dutt's rare gift that she could effervescently sing for both the doll and the moll. And it was O.P. who got Geeta to stop being overtly emotional in sad songs. O.P.'s comments on Geeta : " ..........Who will deny there is a unique quality to her singing. Give her a blatantly westernized tune this moment and a complex classical composition the next, and she will do equal justice to both with an ease of expression which a singer can only be born with. She is particularly good for songs accompanying boisterous jamborees. With that tantalizing lilt and fascinating curves she puts into her singing,she is the ideal choice if it is seductive allure you want in a song........Geeta Dutt is an asset to any music director." However by 1957 her marriage had run into rough weather and was on the rocks. Guru Dutt had fallen for his new leading lady Waheeda Rehman. The breaking up of her marriage also began having repercussions on her career. To quieten things down Guru Dutt launched a film Gauri (1957) with her in the lead. She was to be launched as a singing star and it was to be India's first film in cinemascope but the film was shelved after just a few days shooting. This was the time when one heard complaints from music directors about her not being easily available for either rehearsals or recordings. In fact in 1957, when he fell out with Lata Mangeshkar, Burmanda was looking to make Geeta his main singer rather than the upcoming Asha Bhosle. After all by then Geeta was a mature singer while Asha was still raw. But due to her troubled marriage Geeta was not free to practice in the style required by S.D. Burman who was a hard taskmaster regarding rehearsals. He joined O.P. Nayyar in shaping Asha rather than wait for Geeta. Consequently Asha not only took her place but also went beyond her. And to make things worse, Geeta began finding solace in drinks. On October 10, 1964 Guru Dutt passed away. Geeta was a broken woman, shattered by his death. She suffered a nervous breakdown. When she recovered she found herself in a financial mess. She did try to resume singing again, cutting discs at Durga Puja and giving stage shows and even doing a Bengali film, Badhu Bharan (1967) as heroine! But her health kept failing as she drank herself to a point of no return. She died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1972. But not before she showed she still had it in her were she given a mike to sing. The songs of Basu Bhattacharya's Anubhav (1971), Meri Jaan Mujhe Jaan na Kaho Meri Jaan, Koi Chupke se Aake and Mera Dil Jo Mera Hota represent some of the finest work that Geeta Dutt ever did.Apart from Hindi songs, Geeta was a leading playback singer for Gujarati films singing for scores of films under the baton of music maestro Avinash Vyas. And in the period from the late 50s to the early 60s, Geeta Dutt returned to her roots so to say and sang some of the most sublime and well-known songs in Bengali Cinema during its golden period. Most of these were for Hemanta Mukherjee although she did some brilliant work for music directors Nochiketa Ghosh and Sudhin Dasgupta as well. Some well-known Geeta Dutt film songs in Bengali include Tumi Je Amar (Harano Sur (1957)), Nishi Raat Baanka Chand (Prithivi Amara Chhaye (1957)), Ogo Sundor Jano Naki (Indrani (1958)), Eyi Mayavi Tithi (Sonar Harin (1959)), Ei Sundar Swarnali Sandhya (Hospital (1960)) and Aami Sunchi Tomari Gaan (Swarilipi (1961)). She also sang several Bengali modern songs and cut discs at Durga Pooja as well.

Kundan Lal Saigal

Recognized as the greatest singer of the century, K.L. Saigal was a musical genius who became a legend in his life time. He brought music to the masses and with his God-gifted voice and unique style gave a totally new dimension to the music of his time. His unforgettable melodies continue to enthrall millions of listeners and have become a part of our heritage.Kundan Lal Saigal was born on 11 April 1904 at Nawa Shaher in Jammu. His father Amar Chand Sehgal was a Tehsildar in the court of the then state of Jammu. His mother Kesar Kaur was a deeply religious lady who was very fond of music. She used to take young Kundan to various religious functions where Bhajans, Keertan and Shabads were sung in traditional styles. Kundan often accompanied his father to the interior parts of the State where he would drink deep into the folk music of Punjab and Kashmir straight from the shepherds and wandering minstrels. He did not have a formal training in classical music nor had a Guru but his extraordinary musical perception made him absorb the notes that went into his ears and responded to all technical musical needs as a singer. His only formal training apparently came from a little known Sufi peer, Salman Yussuf. The singing tradition he assimilated had little classical rigour but emphasized the poetic blending of syllables into musical forms like the thumri and ghazal. His renditions of Mirza Ghalib's poetry and his identification with its tragic iconography formed the famous Saigal persona. A school dropout, he worked first as a railway time-keeper and then as a typewriter salesman and hotel manager when B. N. Sircar of Calcutta's New Theatre discovered him.

Bhumi( bangla band)

With Bhoomi's lyrics, one can paint visions in their thoughts, their souls and imagination while the music touches various chords in the heart. The music is simple yet evokes profound thoughts. Media has described this music to be extremely visual and listeners across echo the same feelings. Folk styles like baul, bhatiyali , moishaal, jhumur,saari gaan, qawaali forms the inspiration for Bhoomi's musical expression.
Bhoomi uses a wide range of acoustic instruments that include the thumbas, bongos, dotara, djembe, drums, violin, flute, khanjira, mandolin, banjo, khamak, matka, handi, guitar, castanets, tambourine, kanshar ghanta, conch, resso, blues harp, pan flute, spring drum, steel drum, melodica, blues harp, harmonium, piano, moorcing, ektara, recorders, tabla, balalaika, dugdugi, dubki, edakkaii ,cowbells, chimes, dholak, khol, madol etc.
The blend of these wide range of instruments contributes to the atmosphere of a Bhoomi lyric.
Bhoomi is known to play most of these instruments live on stage along with a whole lot of sound effects, storm effect (Song Pocha Kaka from the album Jatra Shuru) bird sounds (Song Doel Doley from the album Udaan, Smriti from the album Paal Chhutechhe, Dustu Haowa from the album Jatra Shuru) and train effects (Song Logen express from the album Udaan), LIVE without using pre programmed sound from the keyboard .
Bhoomi has this unique feature of blending different styles of music. For example, Bhoomi has used a rock and roll arrangement with a typical bengali folk song (Rock and roll guitar playing for the song Sohaag Chand, in the album Paal Chhutechhe) or even used blues with a contemporary song (Song Bhasate Paarli Na from the album Dekhtey Dekhtey) , reggae (Song Kande Sudhu Mon from the album Jatra Shuru and Sonali Chander Alo from the album Udaan) rap (Song Picchu Picchu from the album Udaan), Goan folk tune (Song Kaam Sarse from the album Jatra Shuru), the famous lavani rhythm of Maharashtra (Song Chandni Raatey from the album Dekhtey Dekhtey) the typical 'toppa" inspired style of singing (Song Logen express from the album Udaan), Irish folk form (Song Tori Baorey in the album Udaan) and many such explorations where the blend and the brew seems ideal for the sound that is quintessentially BHOOMI .

Team members

1)

Soumitra Ray: Lead singer, lyricist, composer. The massive display of rhythm instruments that occupy the center of the stage belongs to him. His range varies from the drums, thumba, bongo, madol and even the African djembe. Initiation into music from the age of three and influenced by years of choir singing in school in Darjeeling. Has rendered his voice in numerous ad jingles and TV serials and has also sung the title track of the award winning film Mr. & Mrs. Iyer under the direction of Ustad Zakir Hussain. Has successfully accompanied stalwarts like Manna De, Sandhya Mukherjee, Kumar Sanu and Kavita Krishnamurthy among others. An avid reader, he also sketches, writes and takes interest in all types of sports. Loves his camera too. Father of two music-loving sons, loves to spend time at home when possible.
Birth Day: 29th NovemberZodiac Sign: SagittariusYou can mail Soumitra at : soumitra@bhoomimusic.com

2)

Surojit Chatterjee:Lead singer, lyricist, composer, arranger whose repertoire includes a wide range of musical instruments like the guitar, English flute, pan flute, recorders, whistler, blues harp, mandolin, banjo, castanets, dotara, khamak and a whole lot of percussion instruments. Learnt tabla from the tender age of four from Professor Chitta Bose and subsequently from Bhupal Bhattacharya under Allahabad University. Later on went on to learn Guitar from Tapas Ghosh and was then under Tuhin Ghosh's tutelage for three years. Composed and arranged music for commercial movies and has to his credit many acclaimed advertising jingles and TV serials title tracks. Being with his family and daughter, writing, listening to music and watching movies are his favourite pastimes. Once in a while, he also manages to rustle up some innovative dishes.
Birth Day: 7th May Zodiac Sign: TaurusYou can mail Surojit at : surojit@bhoomimusic.com

3)

Sanjoy Mukherjee:Sound juggler, percussion specialist of Bhoomi. Tambourine, ghungroo, khamak, matka, rattle, shakers, powder case, stone chips, moorcing, bottles and glasses anything can be used by him to make music. Imitates the sound of the birds, crickets, dogs, cats, storm, wind and trains to create the Bhoomi effect. Done his advanced music training with degrees from Royal School of Music, London. Loves to play with words and keeps everyone entertained with his unusual sense of humor.
Birth Day: 18th AugustZodiac Sign: LeoYou can mail Sanjoy at : sanjoy@bhoomimusic.com

4)

Abhijit GhoshBassist holding the base of all Bhoomi songs within the four strings. Songwriter and a singer who sometimes hits high harmonies. Initiated into music under the tutelage of eminent musician from Darjeeling, Kesang Tshering and has been associated with music from his school days at Darjeeling followed by representing St. Xavier's College Kolkata, in music festivals winning several credits. Professional debut in 1983.A total family-man and a loving father he spends most of his time net surfing and listening to varied music styles.
Birth Day: 5th NovemberZodiac Sign: ScorpioYou can mail Abhijit at : abhijit@bhoomimusic.com

5)

Robin Lai:Plays the violin, keyboards and is also the sound engineer of Bhoomi. The credit for setting up sound within a very short span of a few minutes is his doing. Robin is a self-taught pianist and a violinist, performing since school. Qualified for the Trinity College Grade IV and played piano for the Calcutta Foundation Orchestra under Fran Caterini. Claims to be interested in contemporary folk because he has already "done" classical, rock and jazz. A computer wiz, he is best appreciated for his easygoing attitude and witty remarks.
Birth Day: 18th NovemberZodiac Sign: ScorpioYou can mail Robin at : robin@bhoomimusic.com

6)

Hemanto Goswami:Lead guitarist who with his own set of guitars is the quiet one on the stage but equally verbose and expressive through his guitar solos, be they acoustic, electric or nylon string. Learnt guitar from eminent guitarist Amyt Dutta with special emphasis on blues and rock-n-roll style of guitar playing. Trained in Indian Classical music under the tutelage of Anjali Rana. He is also interested in trekking and rock climbing and other adventurous sports. Happily married, he finds it difficult to fend off adoring fans.
Birth Day: 22nd MayZodiac Sign: GeminiYou can mail Hemanto at : hemanto@bhoomimusic.com

Rahul dev burman

It is a curious thing that R D Burman also goes by the name of Pancham. Story goes that when veteran Ashok Kumar saw Sachin Dev Burman's newborn uttering the syllable 'Pa' repeatedly, he nicknamed him Pancham. And the name stuck. To many, he's still Pancham Da. The man who added his unique dash of pep and verve in to Hindi film music starting with the 60s. The first music director who added a pinch of Rock 'n' Roll to lilting Hindi tunes. And created a brand of music so distinctly his own, that even his father, the older Burman came to be proud of his son's unconventional music.Rahul Dev Burman was born on 27 June 1939. To him, music came easy and early. He learnt to play the Sarod from the legendary Ustad Ali Akbar Khan at very young age. He also played the mouth organ. When he was nine years old, he composed his first song, 'Aye Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa..', which was later used for the film Funtoosh and the very next year, his father borrowed the tune of 'Sar Jo Tera Chakraye..' for the Guru Dutt film Pyaasa. The first film the younger Burman scored music for was Mehmoood's Chote Nawab in 1961 and the first song in the film was to be recorded was by Lata Mangeshkar. The film marked the reconciliation between S. D. Burman and Lata Mangeshkar who had stopped recording together six years ago.Vijay Anand can be credited with bringing about R D Burman's first big break. He arranged a music session for the youngster before Nasir Hussain commenced the production of Tesri Manzil. Shammi Kapoor, who heard RD's tunes, is said to have screamed 'Yahoo' in sheer appreciation while Nasir Hussain signed the young composer for six of his forthcoming films. At that time, he would not have known that the breathy 'Aaja Aaja..' would become one of the best seduction songs ever! R D Burman's constant efforts to break musical typecast and explore new possibilities came through in the music that he made. Be it the poignant tunes of Kati Patang, the love songs of Pyar Ka Mausam, the fun numbers from Padosan or the soulful melodies of Amar Prem, Pancham had done them all. While making music was his profession, singing always remained R D's passion. He sang occasionally and when he did, it was never went unnoticed.

Sachin dev burman

Known as "Sachin Karta" to the music connoisseurs of Kolkata, "Burman Dada" as fondly called by the musicians of Bombay, "Shochin Deb Bormon" by the radio listeners of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, "S.D. Burman" by the film cine goers or simply "SD" by his "jeans" filmi fans -- he created songs that bore the stamp of his inimitable genius, abounding in variety yet retaining the distinction of his style. Drawing from the vast store of folk music-forms and from the classical teachings, as the mood called for, he produced what is known as the Sachin Dev Burman music which is at once rotund, vibrant and unorthodox both in form and substance. Sachin Dev Burman was born October 10, 1901 as one of the nine children of Prince Komilla of Tripura. Sachin Dev underwent classical training from his father, Sitar player and Dhrupad singer Nabadweep Chandra Dev Burman. He later trained under Ustad Badal Khan and Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay and this classical training gave him a firm rooting for the music that he was to compose later in life.After his father's death Sachin left home, travelled for years in the forests of Assam and Tripura from where he gained his formidable knowledge and rich repertoire of the rich folk of that region and Bengal. Later he became a disciple of Ustad Aftabuddin Khan, becoming an ace flautist, and starting his own music school, ‘Sur Mandir’ in Calcutta in the 1930’s. He rose to be a popular singer there, learnt more under the illustrious K. C. Dey. He also scored music for Rajkumar Nirshoney, a Bengali film, in 1940. He married Meera, an accomplished singer in 1938. Rahul Dev Burman was born a year later.

Sandhya mukherjee

Sandhya Mukhopadhyay (1931) is a famous Indian singer and musician, specialising in Bengali music. She was born in Kolkata, India. She is also known as Sandhya Mukherjee.Sandhya started her music training under the direction of Pandit Santosh Kumar Basu, Professor A Kannan and Professor Chinmay Lahiri. However, her guru was Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan under whom she mastered Indian classical music.Though classically trained, the bulk of her work consists of Bengali modern songs. She began her career in Mumbai singing Hindi songs, starting with a song in the film Anjan Garh at the age of 17. Following her marriage to the Bengali poet Shyamal Gupta she settled in her home city of Kolkata. Gupta went on to write the lyrics for many of her famous songs.Her most famous collaboration is arguably with the Bengali singer Hemanta Mukherjee with whom she sang numerous duets, primarily as playback for Bengali films produced from Kolkata. Hemanta and Sandhya became known as the voices behind the pairings of the Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar and his numerous heroines. She also sang several of Salil Chowdhury's hit Bengali songs, such as Ujjwal Ek Jhank Payra, regarded as a classic.During the Bangladesh Liberation War she joined the mass movement among Indian Bengali artistes to raise money for the millions of refugees who had poured into Kolkata and West Bengal to escape the fighting, and to raise global awareness for the cause of Bangladesh. She assisted Bangladeshi musician Samar Das as he set up the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendro, the clandestine radio station broadcasting to Bangladesh and recorded several patriotic songs for him. On the occasion of the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the imprisoned leader of the new country of Bangladesh, she released a famous song Bangabandhu Tumi Phirey Ele. She later became one of the first foreign artistes to visit Dhaka, performing at an open-air concert in Paltan Maidan in Dhaka to celebrate the first Ekushey February after Bangladeshi independence in 1972. She also recorded several songs for Samar Das's film Dhirey Bohey Meghna and Salil Chowdhury's Raktakta Bangla.

Salil choudhary

Salil Choudhary was one of the greatest musical talents India ever had. A man of many talents. He was not only an outstanding composer, an accomplished and gifted arranger, poet and writer but above all an intellectual. A master multi-instrumentalist, he played excellent flute, Esraj, violin and piano , with a deep and well-studied understanding of several other instruments as is evident from their creative use in his music.Salil was born on November 19, 1925. He spent many years of his childhood in the Assam tea gardens where his father was a doctor. He grew up listening to his father's large collection of western classical music and the folk songs of Assam and Bengal. This influenced him considerably and shaped his musical thinking. Young Salil could sing very well and played excellent flute from tjhe age of eight. In fact his expertise in flute brought him in contact with the outside musical world. He was very fond of his father. Salil remembered how his father once hit one of the British managers and broke his three front teeth after he called his father 'dirty nigger'. Salil's father organised and staged plays with the tea-garden coolies and other lowly paid workers . Salil remembers his father's strong anti-British feelings and his concern and love for the oppressed tea garden workers. After graduating from Bangabaashi College in Calcutta, during his university years his political ideas were fast maturing along with his musical ideas. Living through the second world war, the Bengal famine and the hopeless political situation of the '40s, he became acutely aware of his social responsibilities. This is when he joined IPTA (Indian Peoples Theater Association) and became a member of the communust party. During this period he wrote numerous songs and with IPTA took his songs to the masses. They travelled through the villages and the cities and his songs became the voice of the masses.These songs were very powerful indeed. Songs of protest which made people aware of the rampant social injustice which surrounded them. These songs became very powerful and stimulating. In fact, Salil always retained his strong feelings for the social injustice and very often wrote songs which reflected this feelings. He called these songs the 'Songs of consciousness and awakening'.

Kishor kumar ganguly

Kishore Da was born on August 4, 1929, in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh as Aabhas Kumar Ganguly. Kishore Kumar's father Kunjalal Ganguly, a lawyer by profession, was a modest man. Kishore's mother Gauri Devi, hailed from a wealthy family. Of the four children, Ashok Kumar was the eldest, born on 13 October 1911 and was twenty years older than Kishore . He was followed by a daughter, Sati Devi,who was about 15 years older to Kishore. The next was a boy, Anoop Kumar was about 5 years older than Kishore, who was the youngest of all. Since his childhood Kishore nurtured dreams of becoming a singer and following the footsteps of his idol K. L. Saigal. He visited his by then famous star brother Ashik Kumar, in Mumbai frequently, in the hope that he would introduce him to K. L. Saigal. But destiny willed otherwise. He was forced into acting and hated every moment of it.In an industry, where comedy was seen as a filler or diversion from the main plot, there emerged in the form of Kishore, a hero who made comic acting an evolved art. Laughing, singing and dancing, Kishore was the complete comic hero, comparable to the likes of Bob Hope and Dany Kaye. And his unconventional looks and personality added to the fun that audiences had when watching him. Even while playing second fiddle to the hero, Kishore added an extra zing to the film.The young Kishore's real ambition was to become a playback singer and which became true, when, music director Khemchand Prakash called him to lend his voice for Dev Anand for the film Ziddi in 1948, the song was 'Marne Ki Duvayen Kyon Maangoon..'. It was then that he met Lata Mangeshkar, an encounter as amusing and as strange as everything else is about Kishore Kumar. In his own words, in a rare interview with Lata he saya, "We happened to be travelling in the same local train. You got off and i got off. You got into a tonga, so did i. Both of us reached Bombay Talkies Studios. And you were convinced that i was following you."

Pankaj mullick

Pankaj Mullick was born on 20th April 1904 at Calcutta, India. Pankaj Mullick was son of Manimohan Mullick who had a great interest in traditional music, and would invite eminent singers and instrumentalists to perform during religious festivals. Born in a middle class Bengali family, it was here that Pankaj Mullick drew inspiration from classical Hindustani music. From a very early age, he decided that his vocation would be music, and though enrolled in college, he did not pursue higher education. After completing his college studies he became a student of Durgadas Banerjee. Later, he joined Dinendra Nath Tagore for learning music. His first record was released by the Videophone Company in the year 1926. Pankaj Mullick was lucky to be introduced to the Tagore family, which was to have an everlasting influence upon him. Rabindra Sangeet became his forte, and he is the only man who has tuned a Rabindranath poem to music, 'Diner Seshey, Ghoomer Deshey' with the great poet's total approval. The approval of the great poet came to Pankaj after endless numbers of hours of waiting on him, and the story has it that it was for a college function that Pankaj had approached the great poet to have his permission to perform one of his poetries, to which Rabindranath Tagore asked him to sing out the composition that he had in mind. It was after hearing his composition that Rabindranath was so very overcome with the tune that he granted him a total approval for all his poetries. Thus was through Pankaj Mullick's songs that Rabindra Sangeet became popular in every Bengali household, even raising great interest among Western music connoisseurs.

Manna dey

Manna Dey was a flawless singer who could sing any type of song. From Qawwalis (Yeh Ishq Ishq hai) to romantic duets (Pyar hua iqraar hua), fast nubers (Aaoo twist karen, Jhoomta mausam mast mahina) to patriotic songs (Aye mere pyare watan) or prayer numbers (Tu pyar ka saagar hai) -- he was the versatile genius. His mastery over semi-classical geets was something, which even the multi-faceted voice of Rafi could not match.Being the versatile genius he was, he won the Filmfare award for his toe-tapping number "Aae bhai zara dekh ke chalo" from "Mera Naam Joker". The song happens to be one of the most intricate compositions of Shankar-Jaikishen and it was the genius of Manna Dey that made it sound so simple and fluent.

Hemanta Mukherjee

Hemanta Mukherjee was born on the 16th of June 1920 in Varanasi. From an early age he had developed an everlasting bond with music. In his autobiography "Ananda-dhara" he mentions " I would always be on the lookout for a chance to sing . Be it a religious festival or just a family gathering I would enjoy singing any new song that I had picked up". His talent was soon recognized and Hemanta Mukherjee sang his first song on the AIR in 1933 at the age of 13. Six years later he cut his first gramophone disc for HMV. Recognition soon followed in the elite music circle of India. In 1940 he sang his first Hindi geet 'Kitna dukh bhulaya tumne'. But commercial success was yet to come. In his own words "I would wait at soirees for organizers to call on me, but singers of the stature of Pankaj Mullick and K.L. Saigal would arrive and I would have to remain content listening to them." But a true genius never goes unrecognized. In 1948, a firebrand lyricist and music composer - Salil Chowdhury teamed up with him and gave birth to a completely new form of music - Kavya-geeti (ballad but not necessarily romantic) . It was immediately a smash hit. To this day the song - 'Ga.Nyer Bodhu'remains the symbol of the once properous rural Bengal. Soon Hemanta received offers from the Bombay film Industry. And after that there was no looking back.

Haimanti Shukla

Her name is her introduction, a musical rhythm , a phenomenon in music in the hearts of the thousands of music lovers. She is Haimanti Sukla. Born on 02.02.1949 , singing came to her naturally at a very tender age owing to her celebrity father, the very well known Late Pt. Harihar Shukla. The tradition of Indian Classical Music in her family , helped her in developing the foundation for music in her golden voice. The charm in her voice was soon recognized in the year 1972 with her first recording " E to kanna noy aamar " lyrics and music given by the famous Shailen Mukhopadhyay and Pulak Bandhopadhyay. But much before that she had carved out a special image for herself in the sections of Khayal, Thumris and Bhajans being a regular performer on the AIR. Though there was depth and charm in her voice she too had to go through hard times in the process of making a firm ground for herself in the industry. Then came a chance in her life that changed everything for her.A chance rendered to her by her Patron Pulak Bandhyapadhyay and the famous singer Manna Dey. The song was supposed to be sung by Manna Dey himself but he made way for this budding singer and the song " Aamar bolaar kichu chilo na " became an instant hit and is still a very popular number. Haimanti Shukla did utmost justice to the song and made it an ever green score. It was her magical voice and her undiminished sincerity in music that she became a favorite of the likes of musical maestros Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pt Ravi Shankar, Pt Bhimsen Joshi, Ustad Alla Rakha Khan and Naushad. Apart from these exponents of classical music , great composers like Hemanta Mukherjee, Salil Chaudhuri and Manna Dey scored memorable music for her. She has got a number of film and non-films songs to her credit. It is quite natural that such an artist will be honoured with a number of awards and accolades. To name a few are the Sur Sringer Academy award for her song " Kahan se aaye badra " in the hindi film "Chasme Baddor" in 1981. She is also a proud recipient of Mian Tansen Award awarded to her in the year 1975. Haimanti Shukla has a history of three decades of a successful musical profession. Yet she is considered to be one of the modern singers of today. From Classical Music to Modern songs - she performs it with a seemingly effortless manner that has made her so popular among all classes of music lovers.

Chandrabindoo(bangla band)

Chandrabindoo (often spelled Chandrabindu), based in Kolkata, is a bangla band. Their name refers both to the last character in the Bengali alphabet and to a dialogue (very famous among Bengalis) from the nonsense work HaJaBaRaLa by Sukumar Ray.
The band is known for Chandril's satirical, colloquial lyrics, full of references to current affairs and cultural phenomena. They also sing other types of song, written by Anindyo.
They are well known in Kolkata, Dehli and Mumbai and have recently started touring internationally including a performance in aid of the Kolkata based Child In Need Institute (CINI)in LondonBand membersShurojit — guitar Rajshekhar — percussion Chandril — lyricist Anindyo — lyricist/music composer/lead vocals Aroop — bass guitar Upal — music composer/lead vocals Sibu — Keyboard FORMER MEMBERSPritam Arindam Dron Riju ALBUMSAr Jani Na (1997) Gadha (1998) Twaker Jatna Nin (1999) Chaw (2001) Daknam (2002) Juju (2003) Chandrabindaas (compilation, 2005) Ebhabeo Phire Asha Jai (re-working of Ar Jani Na, 2005) Hulabila (2005) U/A (2008)

Anjan dutta

Anjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan (alternative songs). He passed his childhood in St Paul's School, Darjeeling, a Himalayan township of West Bengal. He holds an MA degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta, in India. Anjan started his career as an actor in Bengali cinema. His first film was Chalachitro directed by Mrinal Sen, where he won the prize for the best newcomer actor, at the Venice Film Festival. But later on, his career diverted towards the world of music. Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western hits. His lyrics are simple in nature. Anjan's music is somewhat influenced by blues and country music. He is the first Bengali artist to depend more on the saxophone. Anjan Dutta is also a co-director of several Bengali and Hindi language movies. He has admitted that he is a fan of Bob Dylan and his Bengali contemporary Suman Chatterjee. Recently, he has acted in Aparna Sen's film, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. In a nutshell, Anjan Dutta may be regarded as one of the best serious actors in the Indian parallel cinema movement, that has seen the likes of Mrinal Sen's much-esteemed film "Bhuvan Som". Anjan Dutta has been regarded by some as being the 'angry young man' of serious cinema in contemporary India.
Anjan Dutta's music has been covered by a number of Bengali artists throughout the last decade. More recently, his music has been performed at the 2003 North American Bengali Conference in Long Beach, CA in person. His music has been performed at South Asian culture shows in North America as well.