Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during golden age.

Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during golden age.

Singer Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during the golden age of Bengali music; that is the 50s and 60s. He had a deep voice with good pitch. His song “mor malanche bosonto nai” was very popular during the 60s. He was sublime in the song “champakoli go koto name dekechi tomae” composed by classical singer Manobendra Mukherjee. The song “konokchapa dhan” composed by Prabir Mojumdar and sung by Tarun Banerjee was equally popular.

He was excellent in the songs he had sung for poet and composer Salil Choudhury. One of his legendary songs included “eso kache eso, kono kotha bolo” which became immensely popular during the 60s. His song “ankhi cholocholiya keno gele choliya” composed by Nikhil Chatterji also became very popular during that period. His other hit songs during that period included “tolpar tolpar moner kotha”, “magnelia aar kamelia phool”, etc.

He also sang songs which were compositions made out of rhymes. One of the examples included “ek ekdin megh kore mon bole hariye jai”. He also sang the song “champa amar ogo jago” which was written by Salil Choudhury and composed by Sudhin Dasgupta. Very rarely the two highly talented lyricist and composer Salil Chodhury and Sudhin Dasgupta came together to compose the legendary songs. “champa amar ogo” was one of them.

He had sung songs which were in the form of ballads. Some of them included “modhumati jay boye jay”, “cholo Rina”, “kajol nodir jole”, “aar deri nei”, to mention a few. He equally sublime in other modern songs like “alta payer”, “elona se elona”, etc.

He also made valuable contribution in Bengali film music. His song “haridasher bulbulbhaja tatka taja khete moja” in the film Shriman Prithviraj was very popular. The song was composed by Hemant Kumar and the film was directed by eminent director Tarun Majumdar. It is not possible to highlight the contribution of Tarun Banerjee in Bengali modern songs in a small article, who had contributed during the 50s, 60s and 70s. His songs and films should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury had composed gems for all the legendary singers of golden age.

Salil Choudhury had composed gems for all the legendary singers of golden age.

Salil Choudhury, genius of words and tunes had composed brilliant tunes for most of the giants of Bengali music in the 50s and 60s. He composed melodious song for Tarun Banerjee titled “eso kache boso” which had the rhythm of railways. The song “pallabini go sancharini” composed for Dijen Mukherjee remains one of the most striking modern songs he had sang during his life.

The song “ami parini bujhite parini” had classical touch and Salil Choudhury did justice by composing it for the best classical singer of the 50s Manobendra Mukherjee. He almost converted it into a ghazal. Admirers of Salil Choudhury who glorified his westernized creations would salute him for his classical creations of the standard of “Ami parini bujhite parini” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee. Salil Choudhury created equally brilliant song “jhanana jhanana baje” for legendary singer Dhananjoy Bhattacharya.

Salil Choudhury was unparallel in the song “jhilmil jhauer bone jhikimiki” composed for Sabita Choudhury. The words banged against each other and carried the music together. He was equally brilliant in the song “jaak dhuye jaak muche jaak” sung by Shyamal Mitra. Salil Choudhury even composed song for actor Biswajeet Chatterjee titled “jay jay din” which became big hit in the late 60s.

Salil Choudhury was amazing in the song “mon matal sanjh sakal” sung by Mukesh having a pensive mood attached with it. Sandhya Mukherjee’s “neel neel pakhi” composed by Salil Choudhury was another gem with brilliant orchestration. Salil Choudhury was brilliant in the song “guru guru megher mondro bahare” which had western chorus attached with the solo piece.

Salil Choudhury’s philosophical words were given expression in the song “path harabo bole pathe nemechi” by Hemanta Mukherjee. Besides Lata’s song “ki je kori” also had equally brilliant music and words of Salil Choudhury. In fact Salil Choudhury’s songs written and composed by himself remains as some of bengal’s greatest intellectually oriented songs having multi-dimensional effect.

After Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendralal Roy, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Atul Prashad Sen, Rajanikanto Sen and others probably Salil Choudhury was the greatest individual musical talent that Bengal had given birth to whose contribution in bollywood films, Bengali films, Bengali modern songs and IPTA’s works remain priceless gems which can be cherished for gems.

Contribution of Manobendra Mukherjee as composer.

Contribution of Manobendra Mukherjee as composer.

Manobendra Mukherjee had glorified the world of Bengali classical music for more than 35 years. The entire 50s, 60s and 70s was designated as the golden age of Bengali modern songs and Manobendra Mukherjee’s individual performance as vocal classical singer require no special introduction.

But his contribution as composer requires to be highlighted. Manobendra’s composition for himself in the 50s was unique. The romantic songs composed by him included “emni kore porbe mone baki jibon dhore”, “ami eto je tomay bhalobesechi”, “koto asha niye tumi esechile”, etc. Most of these songs stand out as the most romantic songs in the entire history of Bengali modern songs. The lyrics of Shyamal Gupta took the listeners to a different world of plutonic love.

In the 60s, Manobendra Mukherjee continued with his majestic tunes most of which did great business in Bengal. Some of them had classical appeal including “na jeona modhu jamini”, “ei moshumi mon”, “sangi bihongi tumi je amar”, etc. His composition in films like Chapadangar Bou in 1954, Sanjher Pradeep in 1955, Mayamrigo in 1960, Bodhu in 1962, Godhuli Belai in 1966, Joy Jayanti in 1970, created by that period of time.

But Manobendra Mukherjee’s composition for other leading singers of Bengal, both male and female, created sensation in the 50s, 60s and 70s. His landmark composition for Supriti Ghosh titled “gane gane ami je khuji tomay”, composition for Bani Ghoshal titled “kuasha ghera nil pahare” created sensation in the 50s.

Manobendra Mukherjee’s composition for Alpona Banerjee titled “mon bolche sandhay kichu bolte tumi aasbe ki” and “tumi sundor bole tai to bondhu”, created sensation in the 60s. Manobendra gave melodious tune to Shefali Chakravarty titled “kemone janabo bolo e pranero bedona” having both classical and romantic tune.

Manobendra Mukherjee gave folk tune to Tarun Banerjee in the song “champakoli go koto name dekechi tomay”. The list can go on.

Manobendra’s creation requires to be unearthed. There are many melodious compositions of Manobendra made in the 50s, which had not been reprinted by HMV. If displayed, they can attract the new generation and entertain them.