Assam mourns Manna Dey's death

GUWAHATI: Assam, along with the rest of the country, on Thursday mourned the demise of singer Manna Dey whose melodious voice touched the hearts of thousands of people for decades. Dey breathed his last in Bangalore.
During his illustrious career spanning over close to five decades, Dey sang close to 3,000 songs in Hindi and other Indian languages. For the Assamese people, it was the melodious 'dinor puhor rongsongiya' from the film 'Aranya' that still holds a special place in the hearts of avid music lovers.
The film was directed by Samarendra Narayan Deb and the lyrics of the song were written by Keshav Mahanta. The music was composed by Sudhin Dasgupta. Dey also sang 'ako ebar log pau jodi' and 'amar barrikhon phulani asil' and the lyrics of these songs were also written by Mahanta.
"Dey's demise is a great loss to the music industry. The gap that has been formed will never be filled and we Assamese singers, along with musicians, will forever remember him. He sang Assamese songs and also worked with our very own Bhupenda. He not only sang for Assamese films but also for non-film gramophone records as well in Assamese," said JP Das, singer.
Charu Kumar Hazarika, a national award wining director, also had close association with Dey. The singer had worked with Hazarika in his experimental film titled 'Saagor Dekhisa' that featured Shashi Kappoor and Rakhee. The film was based on noted Assamese poet Debakanta Baruah's poem having the same title. Dey recited the poem and also sang in between. Dey went on to work with Hazarika in 'Door Nahi Savera' in which he sang two songs.
"He was not only a genius but also a great human being. He took his work so seriously that whenever he used to sing in other languages, he made it sure the pronunciations were correct and the rendition perfect. It was great working with him and I will never forget him," said Charu.
Pulak Gogoi, noted artist and filmmaker, remembered Dey when he was a young man with great ambitions while living in Mumbai in the Fifties. "I saw him in Filmistan Studio working on a Gujarati bhajan. I was overwhelmed by his presence. It is a great loss for music and it is indeed a sad day," said Pulak.