The song called Kishore…

Ritam Banati Kishore Kumar’s uniqueness lies in the fact that he could sing romantic, tragic and comical numbers with equal ease and élan. Coming with a whimper, creating a big bang in the world of music with award-winning songs like ‘Roop Tera Mastana’, and finally bidding farewell to life and admirers, he left behind a beautiful legacy of music. Kishore Da was a singer who touched the life in all of us.The sensitivity he had towards life touched his creativity quite melodiously. ‘Humein Tum Se Pyaar Kitna’ was one hit song which also reflected Kishore Da’s romantic side. The fact that he was married four times only strengthens the impact. Kishore Kumar loved well each time. The song ‘Yeh Jeevan Hai, iiss jeevan ka yahi hai yahi hai, yahi hai rang roop’ goes well with the life that the legend called Kishore lived. The sun did not shine in his personal life at all times. He did have his mammoth spells of loneliness. Once when a reporter questioned him on this, he in his offbeat style took her to the trees in his garden and introduced them to her – a gesture to say that he was not alone. As far as love and marriage were concerned, destiny smirked at the man whose songs shook the souls of many and brought smiles on many faces. His first marriage broke after eight years (Dukhi mann mere sun mera kehena, jahan nahi chaina waha nahi rehna). His second marriage to famous actress Madhubala ended with her untimely demise (Sagar kinare, dil ye pukare, tu jo nahi to mera koi nahi hai). The third one to actress Yogeeta Bali also broke off when the latter married actor Mithun Chakraborty (Dil aisa kisi ne mera toda, barbadi ki taraf aisa moda). And the last one was to Leena Chandavarkar which ended following the end of his life (Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, yahan kal kya ho kisne jaaana). What was impressive about the man originally named as Abhas Kumar Ganguly was that he didn’t nurse grudge against people who had not been good to him. Even though he felt at one time that Amitabh Bachchan had wronged him, he still made truce with the actor and he also made peace with Mithun after some time. Besides, Ganguly had dogged determination. When Sanjay Gandhi asked him to sing at a Congress rally at the time of Emergency, the singer outrightly refused. Subsequently, his songs got banned but Kishore Da refused to budge from his stance. Later the ban had to be lifted owing to pressure. For a man whose image portrayed his zeal for life, Kishore Da’s taste in his own songs was diametrically not in sync. He found ‘Dukhi Mann Mere’, ‘Chingari Koi Bhadke’ and ‘Mere Naina Saawan Bhaadon’ as emotionally more delicious over others. Kishore Kumar was an actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter as well. But he found his identity in singing in which he excelled the most. A versatile personality, Kishore Kumar held a well of sorrow hidden underneath an ocean of charm. That the ‘cartoon-like’ character, who made all laugh with his whimsical knack of a jing-a-ling attitude, whose songs held so much power over us-the power to make us laugh, cry or ponder, was himself so helpless and hapless in front of fate, was the irony of Abhas Kumar Ganguly’s life. Anyway, his songs, his voice have made him immortal. And even though the man might have died, the singer will always live.