We were all just recovering from the shock of Asha Bhosle’s demise, when yet another singer from the golden era of Hindi cinema left for heavenly abode.
Veteran playback singer Suman Kalyanpur breathed her last today. An era came to an end. She was perhaps the last link to the golden era of Hindi cinema.
She debuted in 1954, when Lata Mangeshkar was ruling the Hindi film playback singing. Her voice was somewhat similar to Lata’s voice. It proved to be a boon and a curse too. She slowly gained popularity and sang for a number of heroines right from Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman to Reena Roy. For the latter, it was her last song in Hindi films, a trio from Naseeb (1981).
She was a trained classical singer and sang songs of different genres under the baton of majority of the prominent composers of Hindi films.
The first song that cane to my mind when I heard the sad news was her wonderful trio from Kaise Kahoon (1964).
Manmohan Man Mein Ho Tumhi – Kaise Kahoon (1964) with Rafi & S D Batish / S D Burman – Shakeel Badayuni
It’s a semiclassical song picturised on Nanda and Biswajit. Biswajit plays a popular singer who lives with his Guru, played by Manmohan Krishna. Nanda plays Manmohan Krishna’s daughter. The song appears in the movie, when he’s doing morning riyaz with his Guru. The song is tough, but sounds very easy as both Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur sing with utmost ease. The song was inspired by a Bengali song composed by Burman da. The song was based on Raag Adana with beautiful tabla pieces. The aalaps need thehrav. The rest needs to be experienced by listening to and watching the video.
She received ‘Miya Tansen Award’ in 1966 for this song.
A full post dedicated to her solos and duets is already on the blog. I’ve planned a separate tribute post later due to personal commitments and busy schedule at present.
Suman ji, you will always be remembered for your sweet, delicate yet powerful and expressive voice.
