The Ten Best Songs of Manna Dey

Manna Dey began his career when he sang a duet with Suraiya in the film Tamanna in 1942. A year later he followed with his first solo “Gayi tu gayi Seeta sati” from the film Ram Rajya. He came to Bombay not to be a singer but to be a composer, inspired by his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey. Manna Dey assisted Anil Biswas and Khem Chandra Prakash before deciding to abandon his dream of composing music.In the fifties, when classical music ruled Hindi cinema, Manna Dey’s training in classical music got utilized to the hilt. During his career that spanned five decades, he sang for many composers across a variety of styles and genres. His voice remains a benchmark for classical songs.Here is my list of top ten songs of Manna Dey (in no particular order):Sur Na Saje Kya Gaaun Main based on Raga Pilu was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. Manna Dey attributed his biggest breaks to Shankar – especially for songs like Aaja Sanam Madhur Chandni Mein Hum or in the later years for Re Man Sur Mein Ga  based on the evening raga Yaman from Lal Patthar (1971) or Chham cham Baje Re Payaliya based on Raga Darbari. But first the classic from the film Basant Bahar : Sur Na Sajehttp://youtu.be/hpVvfPKyjLM Kaun Aya Mere Man Ke Dwarey from the film Dekh Kabira Roya (1957). The lyrics were by Rajendra Krishan and the music director was Madan Mohan. The song based on the late evening Raga Rageshree would be my pick for a song that was one of the earliest hits of Manna Deyhttps://youtu.be/Vd2FnIFkiBwChunari Mein Daag from the film Dil Hi To Hai (1963) was set to music by Roshan. Manna Dey’s training in classical music is put to test in this song. Don’t miss the way the song changes pace from 4:30 and then again from the sixth minute into this song. Based on the morning raga Bhairavihttp://youtu.be/Efh7sCK6njAPoochho na kaise maine rain bitayi would be my pick for SD Burman’s best classical composition sung by Manna Dey. The lyrics by Shailendra were set to tune by SD based on a Kazi Nazrul Islam composition Aruno Kanti Ke Go Jogi Bhikharihttp://youtu.be/376w1QPz07wAayo Kahan Se Ghanshyam from the film Buddha Mil Gaya (1971) was based on the late evening raga Khamaj. The lyrics were by Majrooh Sultanpuri and set to music by RD Burman.http://youtu.be/Tc4omjTgolEManna Dey sang extensively for Bengali films and some of the most romantic songs of the silver screen have been sung by Manna Dey.  Ami Jamini Tumi Shashi Hey from the film Antony Firingi with Uttam Kumar playing the title role would be the first song I would play for you. Manna Dey in his usual modest fashion ascribed the success of the song to the lyricistGouriprasanna Majumdar and the composer Anil Bagchihttps://youtu.be/NUu7xUxYnn0Hoyto Tomar Jonno from the film Teen Bhubaner Paare is again another runaway hit from Bengali film. The music directorSudhin Dasgupta composed the music for this film that saw Soumitro Chatterjee wooing Tanuja. The song Jiboney ki Pabona was another blockbuster song from the same film. But today my choice is Hoyto Tomar Jonnohttp://youtu.be/YFeoINyGpVMManna Dey had the unique ability to sing songs that would enhance a comical situation. There is no better example of this than the classic from Padosan (1968) that was produced by Mehmood. The song was set to music by RD Burman. This song paired him with Kishore Kumar, another singer who could carry off tongue twisters and improvise despite his lack of training in classical music. Ek Chatur Naar brings these two voices together and they make this horribly difficult song look deceptively easy to sing.http://youtu.be/tKKRmCIGpQISalil Chowdhury set to music the lyrics of Prem Dhawan in 1961 for Kabuliwala. The result was a song that brings tears to the eyes of anyone who misses the motherland. When you miss home and sing Aye Mere Pyare Watan you will know why I picked this to be among the top ten.http://youtu.be/JPt8C0Ixel0While it is never easy to pick ten best songs of a singer like Manna Dey who left behind a string of songs for every occasion. A career that spanned more than half a century has too many options for me to choose from. In this song penned by Gauri Prasanna Majumdar captures the emotions of anyone who misses the good times spent with friends in college. I couldn’t possibly miss Coffee Houser Shei Adda Ta from the top ten of my favorite Manna Dey songs.http://youtu.be/ooovY3eDnjc I have not included the songs sung by Manna Dey in Malayalam (Chemmeen) or Assamese (Kajol Lota Tomare Naam) etc. I realize ten is a very small number when it comes to counting hits of a singer.Which is your favorite Manna Dey song that I should have counted in the top ten songs list?————Join me on twitter @AbhijitBhaduri