Kolkata, July 1 (IBNS) As a mark of respect to the living legend of Indian Music Manna Dey, cultural magazine Ashabori magazine here celebrated June 30 evening as "A Tribute to Manna Dey" at the College Street Coffee House, the intellectual hub of the city which has been immortalized by the singer in one of his timeless songs .
The event was followed by the launch ceremony of the July' 2012 issue of the magazine which is also be a tribute to this legendary singer who has enthralled its audience for almost six decades.
Manna Dey, India’s legendary singer who was born in the city of joy turned 93 this year.
He has dominated the Indian big screen playback music from the 1950s.
"This renowned personality has justifiably won numerous awards and accolades in his singing and music career. He is rated as the best classical singer among all others though he sang all types of songs from Pop to folk," said the magazine.
The eminence of Dey in Indian music is not just restricted to the Indian province but has over flown to every fraction of the globe, wherever an Indian heart resides, the magazine said.
One of the leading hits among popular Bengali songs is Manna Dey’s Coffee House-er shei addata aaj aar nei, aaj aar nei. (Where has the Coffee House adda gone? Where have those golden evenings gone?)”
It’s a tune that conjures up the place’s glory days and really takes one back in time to those carefree days when dreams were woven and broken.
Situated at the heart of the literary world, the Coffee House of Calcutta is a landmark that is familiar to every Kolkattan and has existed since the 1940s.
The addas have always helped in releasing thoughts that lay dormant beneath a veneer of seriousness and it is indeed true to say that old adda dies hard.
To grace the occasion various renowned personalities closely related to Manna Dey were also present which included Suporno Kanti Ghosh, (Music Director of the song of "Coffee House-er shei addata aar nei"), Sudeb Dey, (Singer and family member of Manna Dey), Raghab Chatterjee, Kanika Maiti, Shantanu Bose, Sumit Mitra, Dipankar Chattopadhyay, Ashok Bhadra and few others closely associated to the genre of music.
Singer Raghab Chatterjee said, “Manna Dey is perhaps the most versatile singer alive in the country. This melodious singer is a living legend and continues to inspire budding talents and musicians. We have grown by singing his songs. Manna Dey is justly identified with Bengal's perpetual gift of music to India.”
Music director Suporno Kanti Ghosh said, “Manna Dey has captivated music lovers across generations with his timeless renditions of compositions. I feel really grateful to be a part of this event where to pay a graceful tribute to Manna Dey we have tried to recapitulate his yesteryears memories associated with the Coffee House.”
Expressing great joy, Manna Dey’s nephew Sudeb Dey who himself is a singer remarked, “It is a matter of pride and joy for me being invited here today where a tribute is being given to my uncle who is just like my father. It’s a substance of honor for our family as well, which has been into music for long.”
Ashabori is a monthly entertainment magazine focusing on literature, cultural news, special stories on eminent personalities of the cultural world and an array of information on the subject of music.
Each edition published so far has been based on a theme which is very unique and worth mentioning in itself .
The July 2012 issue of the magazine launched Saturday is a tribute to the living legend Manna Dey.