SD Burman- Biography

He was born Comilla (now Bangla Desh). He was from Tripura's royal family, but the brothers fell out, and one moved to Comilla, till they later went back. Anyway, he studied in Agartala and Calcutta, and started with singing Bengali songs of various kinds. His influences were Baul and Bhatiyali songs. He made a name for himself, but for further growth, moved to Mumbai. He stayed with Harindranath Chattopadhyay initially, and struggled.

Success came slowly, and he once even considered moving back. Ashok Kumar managed to delay his departure- for ever, thank God. We may otherwise have missed out on his superb music from later films. My own favourites are all his Dev Anand films- from Paying Guest Check out this song.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YXCTKubQLg from the film as an example.

Or Tere Ghar ke Samne Check this out too.. Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEMMGb4xMQQ what a melody.

Later songs from Gambler (Dil aaj shayar hai..), Tere Mere Sapne (Hey, maine kasam li), Prem Pujari (Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye), or Guide (Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain), or others like Ek ladki bheegi bhagi si (Chalti ka Naam Gadi), O meri, o meri o meri Sharmeelee from the film Sharmeelee are a testimony to an abundant talent that gave Rajesh Khanna his superstardom in Aradhana. To me, SDB was a superstar too.

The book details the contributions of his assistants Jaidev, and arrangers/players like Basu, Manohari and Maruti Rao Keer, who assisted him throughout. Pandit Shiv Kumar played for him, and so did Hariprasad Chaurasia.There was also a professor Gopal das Saxena aka Neeraj who wrote many beautiful songs for him.

He composed (for Mili) till his last breath, and turned out superb numbers. In Abhimaan too, before that. Stories about various songs abound, and are thrilling to read. I read the translated book in Marathi, from HQ Chaudhary's original.

Music Arrangers and the Sound of Music

Times Now had an interesting program yesterday on the men behind the music, apart from the composer, of course. These are called arrangers. They may also play an instrument or two, but they form an integral part of the team that a composer uses, and lead it, so to speak. Some of the innovations in the music one hears are from the arrangers, though they may be behind the scenes, and you may never hear about them.

Maruti Keer, Kersi Lord, Manohari Singh,.. ever heard of them? They were all a part of the R.D. Burman team that produced magical numbers throughout the 70s and some in the 80s (and late 60s). The tinkling sound in the Hum Dono song Main Zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya, was from an innovative instrument brought in by Kersi Lord (for Jaidev, the composer), which was used by church choirs, and brought in an element of novelty that charms you even today.

Similarly, the trumpets (or something similar) in some songs from Teesri Manzil, and the percussion used in 'Saamne ye Kaun Aaya Dil Mein Hui Hulchul' (Jawani Diwani) as also in 'Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar ke Charche Har Zabaan par' (from Brahmachari composed by Shankar Jaikishan) lend a unique touch.

O.P. Nayyar and hoof-beats are almost synonymous with each other. Wonder who thought of those. Maybe it was one of the guys. Dum Maro Dum had a unique instrument that created the atmosphere of a drugged-out scene and became a rage. The tinkle of a glass in Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko from Yaadon ki Baaraat was sensational. The drums in Laila Main Laila were likewise, superb (Kalyanji Anandji were the composers). Piano beats are part of what makes the song 'Pyaar Diwana hota hai Mastaana Hota Hai' so mesmerising.