Remember the magic of the truly touching "Rahe na rahe hum/maheka karenge?" Yes, true, "Mamta" is full of musical gems such as Latadi's great "yaman" "chupa lo yun dil me pyar mera". Tough to decide indeed which one of the Majrooh-Roshan compositions is the best.
Listen carefully though. Remember the movie final duet picturised on Dharmendra and Suchitra Sen? Whose is the female voice? No, it is not Latadi. Even when her solo version is one of the gems of Hindi film music, the duet is sung by Suman Kalyanpur and Mohammad Rafi. Tough truly it is to distinguish between the two renditions.
That precisely was the beauty and the curse of being a Suman Kalyanpur. Her voice sounded almost like Latadi's. Songs like "Ye sama, sama hai ye pyar ka", "Mera pyar bhi tu hai", why, even the Marathi Bhati geet, the devotional praising Lord Ganesha, "Tuzya Kanti sam rakt pataka" have the Lata effect, though they are sung by Suman Kalyanpur.
Sure, Latadi's was a classically trained voice, unlike Suman Kalyanpur's. Yet she sang "man me" in such a way that she won the Tansen award! What I absolutely admire about Suman Kalyanpur is the fact that she sang in the Lata era. Given the quality of her voice, any number of opportunities must have been whisked right under her nose, nay, from her vocal chords. Instead of grumbling bitterly, she must have hugely suffered as a creative talent, what she chose was making magical whatever came her way!
As a result, generations of Marathi kids have dozed off to sleep with " Limbonichya zada mage.." Each and every Marathi monsoon has been made more lyrical with " rimzim zarati Shravan dhara." Any number of Maharashtrian love birds must have cooed, "jithe Sagara Dharani milte.."
Endless would be the list of her Marathi bhav geets and bhakti geets. Apparently, she sang the semi-classical thumri, et al. Unfortunately, I have not heard these. Nor have I listened to her songs in the very many other Indian languages. Makes no difference at all. She has so enriched the music world of Marathi that the best tribute to her would be "rahe na rahe aap/mahaka karogi"! RIP, Sumanji!
Pratima@ Sumanji's "Keshwa Madhwa" is the favourite most of 'Bombay' "local" singers. A great tribute indeed to the simplicity and sweetness of her renditions!
Quote of the day: "The life of man is like a game with dice; if you don't get the throw you want, you must show your skill in making the best of the throw you get." Touche, Terence!
Word of the day: rendition Rendition generally means a performance, translation, or interpretation of something, such as a song, a dramatic role, or a text.
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