Kanan Devi remembers Kishore Kumar
Srijit Kumar Bhadra
http://bhadra.wordpress.com/2006/06/23/kanan-devi-remembers-kishore-kumar/
Best Regards,
Srijit
Kaustubh Pingle
can some kind soul translate it please ?
KCP
Arup
Here is a quick literal translation.
Regards,
-Arup
The city edition dated 14th October 1987 of the Aajkaal newspaper is
open in front of me. At the top right of the front page is the news on
the record 360 runs by West Indies in a one day cricket match and the
news of Viv Richards scoring a record 360 in this world cup. But I
have not held on to this newspaper for close to two decades for this
news. The news in bold letters on the left of the front page is why I
have held on to this newspaper. You are right - Kishore Kumar Passes
Away | End of the song | Bombay is Sleepless | Calcutta is Silent. If
the World Cup was not ongoing, it probably would have been the whole
front page.
There is nothing new to say about Kishore Kumar or his songs. His
songs crossed the boundaries of language and made its way to hearts of
the listeners.
I have read a lot that others have written on reminisced about him.
But the reminiscing by Kanan Devi, as far as I know, was published in
Bartaman (another vernacular daily) only once. During my college days,
reading this, I had realized how the songs of Kishore Kumar touched all
from the eight year old to the octogenarians.
I reprint the article from the eighth page of the Bartaman newspaper
dated 16th October 1987.
Actress and singer of yester-years, Kanan Devi, deeply saddened by
Kishore Kumar's death.
"When my daughter-in-law came and told me that Kishore had passed
away, I laughed it off and said that this joke would probably make him
live longer. When my daughter-in-law said that she heard it on the
news, I sat down in front of the TV to listen to the the recap of the
headlines. I was speechless when I heard it. I still cannot accept
that Kishore is no more. He was not even old - he left us at the age
of 58." She said all this in one breath. "It feels strange to talk
about the death of a younger person. The news that they are taking his
body to Khandwa still feels unreal. We have a family relationship with
Kishore and Ashok Babu. We have gone places together, met Kishore so
many times, shared many stories and songs - that is all memory now. I
was always an admirer of Kishore's songs - though not of all songs.
His serious songs are exquisite. In my home, I have about fifty
cassettes of his songs. The most amazing thing is that he could sing
songs right from the most flippant to the most serious with equal
dexterity - no one else could do that. His voice was a gift from God -
he never trained as well. I have also seen some of his movies. He was
quite a good actor. Today, I am sad to think of Ashok Babu. He has
suffered the bereavement of his wife and now his brother in a short
period of time. The most important thing is that the void left by
Kishore in the world of Indian music will never be filled."
Srijit Kumar Bhadra
Nice translation. Thanks.
Best Regards,
Srijit