The lesser known side of Manna Dey

Kolkata: When Manna Dey had sung ‘Zindagi kaisi hai yeh paheli’, little must he have realised that the ‘paheli’ regarding his own life would be one day need a court’s intervention to get solved. What was his year of birth? Was it May 1, 1919 or May 1, 1920? This raging debate had now reached a court in Bengaluru. But for many not interested in controversies, it’s truly unfortunate that details in the life of someone who epitomized music is now at the risk of being drowned in cacophony.
With 3,500 songs in approximately 18 languages, Dey’s repertoire can make any musician around the world envious.He even has the sole distinction of having sung to the words penned by Mahatma Gandhi. “Namrata ke samrat” – a Manna Dey song was actually a letter that Gandhiji had written to Maniben Patel (daughter of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel). On his birth anniversary today, here’s a look at the relatively unknown side of the icon.

During his youth, Dey used to learn wrestling from Gobor Guha. The latter has been one of India’s all-time greats. The training at the Goabagan akhra in north Kolkata helped Dey to reach the finals of an all-India championship. Even when he took to singing, Dey never gave up his passion for fitness. That was till his 90s. Along with three hours of riyaaz daily, he would continue with his warmup exercises for at least half an hour a day.
Another childhood passion that helped Dey later in his life was his interest in theatre. It is a well-known fact that his songs had a lot of drama in them. But not too many know that Dey was himself a great mimic. Close friends and family members remember him regaling them with mimicry of his fellow artistes. On some days, it would be enacting Raj Kapoor. On other days, it could even be Tuntun’s voice. An audio album he had cut in the later years of his life had him imitating the voice of noted Bengali comedian Nabadwip Halder in a song!
Incidentally, his uncle – singer Krishna Chandra Dey - used to own the Rangmahal theatre and had also acted in many plays there. Dey, as a child, would often go to watch these plays along with his mother. That’s where he developed his love for acting and theatre. Later on, when he was doing playback, this passion for acting helped. It is evident in songs like Raj Kapoor’s ‘Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo’, Uttam Kumar’s ‘Kaharba noy dadra’ and Mehmood’s ‘Ek chatur naar’.
If mimicry was a passion, cooking was another interest. There are many stories of him sharing culinary recipes with composer Madan Mohan. Both took interest in preparing various kinds of kebabs. His family members talk about his passion for preparing tomato chutney. If he prepared it in the Hyderabadi style, there would be lots of dates in it. If he prepared it in the Bengali style, Dey would add sun-dried Indian fruit leather made out of mango pulp that is commonly known as ‘aamsotto’. Lots of dried grapes in Bengali-styled tomato chutney were a must. “He was particularly careful about the quantity of milk being used when making halua. Barbeques were a passion when he lived in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Once he came bought an electric tandoor from the aircraft and brought it home. He would often try various kinds of recipes there. Ice creams – particularly coconut flavoured ones were his favourite,” said his son-in-law Jnanranjan Deb. During recordings, he preferred carrying along his own sandwich and coffee. On the day of the concert, he always liked having a light breakfast.
In terms of personal likings, Dey had a fascination for watches so much so that if he liked one at the airport stores, he wouldn’t hesitate to buy it immediately. “He must have gifted two dozen watches to me. Even now, we have 30 of his watches,” Deb said. Any brand specifications? Omega, Tissot and the second oldest Swiss watch brand Favre-Leuba were his favourites. “These he referred as the BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar in watches. He also had some vintage ones too. We still have his old wall clock in our collection. He also had another interesting habit. He would gift a watch to any student from his family who cleared the Matrick examination,” Deb recalled. Wind chimes were a favourite too because of the sound they made. “Once he asked me to take down a wind chime that was hanging at home. I thought it had accumulated dust and hence, he wanted it to be cleaned. But he asked me to adjust the lengths of the rods only to ensure that the sound they produced was in the right pitch,” he added.
Perfumes were a favourite too. Drakkar Noir by Guy Laroche - an aromatic fragrance for men – was on the top of his list. That apart, there was his collection of Eau de Cologne. He was particular about getting the right kind of incense sticks too. Sandalwood oil and Mysore sandal soap were a must in his toiletries.
Driving at a fairly high speed was another passion too. He had a farmhouse in Lonavala and speeding down there from Mumbai was common. On the behest of singer Suman Kalyanpur, Dey had bought this farmhouse. He would drive there every other weekend. His two daughters – still very young then – would be tucked into the back seat while he would drive with his wife in company in the front. The kids would be asked to sing and soon, they would doze off as Dey drove down the winding roads of Lonavla. “Daddy would say asking them to sing while he drove was the quickest way to put them off to sleep,” Deb remembered. Much later, when he no longer would drive himself, he would insist on sitting in the front seat next to the chauffeur so that he could himself navigate.
Smoking was a habit he didn’t kick off till he had his bypass surgery. That was in 1990. A month after his surgery, one day his doctor saw a packet of 555 next to his bedside table and was alarmed. What Dey did after that can be a lesson for many. “At home, we had someone who would do odd jobs. Daddy asked me to call him. I didn’t know the reason and left them to talk to each other. Later when I met this person, he said Daddy had given him some 50 packets of 555. I was surprised. When I asked him if that was indeed true, Daddy nodded and said: ‘The doctor told me to quit and I didn’t waste time. So, I gave all the packets away immediately’,” Deb said. It’s said that quitting smoking is easy since one can pick up the habit soon again. But fortunately, Dey never went back to that. Once he had made up his mind to give up something, nothing could change that. After that day, no one ever saw a 555 between his lips.