Remembering a creative genius….

I couldn’t let this day, 4th January pass without mentioning one of the most talented and creative of musical geniuses that has adorned the domain of Bollywood film music. I just couldn’t.

Aptly nicknamed after a musical note Rahuldev Dev Burman was called Pancham by no less a giant than Ashok Kumar who while visiting the Burman household, noted the infant crying and felt he stuck to the Pancham note.

He stayed with his maternal grandparents for his schooling in Calcutta but showed little interest in conventional education. He showed great talent in music. His tunes were used by no less a person that his genius father, two such tunes he composed as a teenaged boy are well known, Ae meri topi palat ke aa from a Dev Anand movie, Funtoosh. Another song that’s very famous but the fact of its being composed by Pancham not so well known to everyone is from Pyaasa, the joyous Sar jo tera chakraye yaa dil dooba jaaye…. His skills with a variety of instruments are legendary. He was summoned by Laxmikant Pyarelal to play the mouth organ in their Filmfare award winner Dosti. He was also a very skilled tabalchi.

The story of how he got his maiden  break as an independent composer is pretty well known. Mehmood wanted to make Chhote Nawab, and approached Sachindev Burmanda to ask him to take the project. For some reason, Burmanda didn’t think much of the project and refused him out of hand, when Mehmood persisted, he dismissively pointed towards his son who was apparently sitting in the living room playing the tabla. The two got along very well indeed and the bond lasted a lifetime.  Mehmood gave Pancham the break and what a debut it turned out to be. Pancham had promised Lata Mangeshkar he would record the first song with her, which he duly did. The debut song from Chhote Nawab is an amazing composition in the rarely used raag Malgunji. Ghar aaja ghir aaye badra saanwariya remains an eternal classic and a personal favourite even today.

To say that Rahul Dev Burman was phenomenally prolific is an understatement. The man who has given the score of 330 plus Hindi movies in the 30 years of his active professional life can be nothing but. In addition he composed for Bangla films and nonfilm songs as well. His quality was uniformly excellent and his innovative use of miscellaneous objects that would never be remotely considered as having to do anything with music is truly mind boggling and extremely inspiring for anyone in the field. No one has ever been so creative and likely no one will be either. Of all the producers/directors he worked with, the best relationship he shared with is unquestionably with Gulzar. An anecdote about the two is the reason for the song I’ve chosen to pay tribute to the genius, as it relates to this very song.

Pancham was once composing in Rajkamal Studio recording room when Gulzar walked in with a piece of paper and said this was the set of lyrics he had to compose for. Gulzar went home and was rudely woken up at around 1 am. He came down sleepily to find an excited Pancham who insisted he get into the car. The tune was played on the car audio system from a cassette player with Pancham’s fingers drumming the rhythm on the car dashboard simultaneously while he went on driving seemingly endlessly in Bandra through the night. This was the very song that is one of my eternal favourites (& would undoubtedly be Jeetendra’s as well, the movie Parichay saw the emergence of an actor out of Jumping Jack thanks to the eagle eye and directorial genius of Gulzar) https://youtu.be/GjvLyBgv6Hg

The lyrics sum up the philosophy of life for both Gulzar and Pancham.

मुसाफ़िर हूँ यारों
ना घर है ना ठिकाना
हम्म हम्म हे
मुसाफ़िर हूँ यारों
ना घर है ना ठिकाना
मुझे चलते जाना है
बस चलते जाना

एक राह रुक गयी तो और जुड गयी
मैं मुड़ा तो साथ साथ राह मुड़ गयी
हवा के परों पर मेरा आशियाना
मुसाफिर हूँ यारों
ना घर है ना ठिकाना
मुझे चलते जाना है
बस चलते जाना

दिल ने हाथ थाम कर इधर बिठा लिया
रात ने इशारे से उधर बुला लिया
सुबह से शाम से मेरा दोस्ताना
मुसाफ़िर हूँ यारों
ना घर है ना ठिकाना
मुझे चलते जाना है
बस चलते जाना
मुसाफ़िर हूँ यारों
ना घर है ना ठिकाना
मुझे चलते जाना है
बस चलते जाना

The man’s contribution to Bollywood music is immeasurable and truly unequalled. There was no genre that he didn’t explore, innovate and master.

He will always be the benchmark, the bar set too high for others to aspire to even look at. Very few can dare to even dream to do what he did. The polestar, always so easily and visible shining unmoving in the heavens, but impossible to reach.

Stay happy Pancham, gone too early and will always be missed by all  lovers of Bollywood music in India and beyond

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