What can one learn about the life of an artiste from one single song? In other words, is there a Kishore Kumar song that tells the story of his entire life? Like the ardent acolyte that finds every emotion in the many moods of Kishore’s songs, a reason to rejoice in the warmth of his voice, and an anodyne for every heartache in his soulful renditions, one can also find his ‘fingerprint’ in one of his Bengali non-film solos – arguably a one-of-its-kind song in the history of pop music – which is his veritable musical autobiography.
Kishore Kumar.
In 1980, Kishore musically narrated his ‘bio-data’ in his own words in ‘Naam Aamar Kishore Kumar Ganguly.’ Recorded almost seven years before his death, for one of his customary Durga Puja albums, it was released by HMV (Saregama) just before the annual festival season in Kolkata. Interestingly, it was composed by his elder son, the naturally gifted singer Amit Kumar and written by one of his staple Bengali lyricists of later years, Shibdas Banerjee – who beautifully captures touching details of Kishore Kumar’s childhood and his rise to fame.
‘Naam Aamar Kishore Kumar Ganguly’ was sung in Kishore Kumar’s own inimitable sprightly style.
The dramatic delivery bubbling with energy and a plethora of emotions – the hallmark of Kishore’s renditions – gives this autobiographical number a special place in his extraordinary repertoire.
Here is an English transliteration of the original Bengali lyrics…
My name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
I speak the language in which Tagore spoke beautifully.
My Name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
Not Banerjee or Mukherjee, nor Chatterjee but Ganguly!
It’s not a fairy tale; I’m telling you a true story
All lovers of my songs, please listen carefully…
Once there lived a naughty boy, dark in complexion
He was no good in studies, nor was he any moron.
The boy had a kind heart, he was quick and clever
Everyone lovingly called him Khoka Babu, the singer.
The boy was from Khandwa, where he lived in Bombay Bazaar,
Next to the liquor shop, the ganja godown even closer.
Often, he took off to the playground with his friends
And spent most of his time in fun’n’games.
Tell me, who is that kid? Yes, it’s me!
My name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
I may be an expatriate today
For, now I live in Bombay.
But I’m still a pure Bengali
My name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
My father was a noble man, Kunjalal, B.A. LLB.
His face turned red the moment he was angry.
His passion was music while his profession was law
He had many a friend, he was a generous fellow.
At home, he would often have a musical gathering
Where he would call his friends over and ask me to sing,
“Orey Khoka, sing that song of Ashok and Devika,” he would tell me
In those singing parties, I earned much honour and lots of money.
Do you know what songs I used to sing then?
‘Main Ban ki Chidhiya Banke Ban Ban Bolun Re
Main Banka Panchhi Banke Sang Sang Dolun Re.’
‘Diya Jalao Jagmag Jagmag
Jagman Jagmag Jagmag Jagmag.’
‘Nishithe Zaio Phoolobone Re Bhromora
Nishithe Zaio Phoolobone.’
Singing Dadamoni’s song would fetch me one rupee
Sachin Karta’s Bhatiali gave me two and a half rupees
It was a deal that for Saigal Saheb’s song
I would be paid five rupees!
To one and all, who was Ashok Kumar, the actor
He was my ‘Dadamoni,’ my initiator, my motivator.
‘Didimoni’ had a sweet voice, she was my music teacher.
I am her disciple; my guru – my sister.
Such were those days filled with love and joy;
Oh, take me back to the time when I was a little boy.
Kishore Kumar, the singer, now remembers fondly
The little Kishore of yore, who has lost his Ganguly.
Do you understand? Let me explain.
I became a singer, I got some fame.
I became an actor, more famous I became
But then suddenly in my life a storm came…
Wait! It was not a storm. It was Income Tax!
I was almost banished and dragged down
I hated the game of playing the clown
Ultimately, in this wild world of wonder
I almost became Swami Kishoreananda.
‘Jai Govindam, Jai Gopalam,
Pichhe Pad Gaya Income Taxum!’
Many obstacles I had to overcome
I gave some, got some, and lost some.
Scenes flash back like a train of memories,
To my childhood days of no worries.
I cherish the hours spent with my mother
As she hummed her song and put me to slumber.
Such thoughts bring tears to my eyes
Khokon no more sleeps listening to lullabies.
She is lost somewhere among the stars
My beloved Ma, the heart fondly remembers.
My name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
I speak the language in which Tagore spoke beautifully.
My name is Kishore Kumar Ganguly.
Not Banerjee or Mukherjee, nor Chatterjee but Ganguly!
This lyrical ballad with its fair share of melodrama and emotions was, in a nutshell, a rough sketch of Kishore Kumar’s early life – sprinkled with highlights from his musical journey while charting the highs and lows of his 40-year-long career – in the manner he would have liked it narrated to his audience and the huge fan following he had at the peak of his career.
Kishore Kumar would have definitely felt the need to do so in order to connect and communicate with a wider set of audience outside of Bollywood and with lovers of his music at large, especially in Bengal, through such a song. And he chose his mother tongue for it as he could not have done it within the confines of his playback regimen that mainstream movies demanded.
For one thing, despite being a maverick with modern approach to music, and the evergreen appeal of his songs, he was an orthodox artiste at heart, who truly valued old-fashioned creativity.
Today, if Kishore were alive in his 90s, you can imagine how sad he would have been with the lamentable state of film music — surviving on remakes of old originals!
A sketch of Kishore Kumar by an acquaintance of the author, Aarna Rawat.
(Photo: Aarna Rawat)
Would he have approved of remakes of his own songs? Who knows? Perhaps he would have sung them himself. Oh, what a treat it would be!
(This article is part of an upcoming book on the musical journey of Kishore Kumar by the author and has been published to mark the occasion of Kumar's birth anniversary)
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