Chapter Five: Part I
On the 10th of February, 1938 I married Srimati Meera in Kolkata. She was the Granddaughter of the Late Judge Ray Bahadur Sri Kamalnath Dasgupta. My Mother, Elder Brothers, Sister-in-Laws came from Agartala to attend my marriage. Meera was learning music from me since 1937. She recorded a few numbers under my tutelage. In 1937, like myself Meera also got the privilege to perform in the Music Conference at Allahabad. Meera was taking lessons on classical music from Bhishmadeb. She was also receiving dance lessons from Srimati Amita Sen of Shantiniketan (the youngest daughter of Kshitimohan Sen). Later, Meera learned Thumri from Sri Dhirendrachandra Mitra and Rabindra Sangeet from Sri Anadi Dastidar. Once she came to Bombay with me in 1944, Meera took lessons in classical music from Ustad Fayaz Muhammad Khan of the Kirana Gharana. Meera used to sing in the Radio. She also recorded a few Hindi songs under my direction.
Meera is equally adept at writing lyrics and composing tunes. With her help and companionship I have composed many of my successful and popular tunes. Meera has composed the Mukhra of quite a few of my popular tunes. There have been many times, depending on the metres and beats of my tunes, Meera wrote a Bangla song to make the Hindi lyricist understand. I have sung and recorded six of Meera's songs under the HMV Label. Not only is she my life companion, behind my musical success, Meera's cooperation, inspiration, encouragement and above all her sacrifice silently follows me as a shadow all the time. I have always considered myself lucky to have found a life companion like Meera.
Our only child, Sriman Rahul, was born on 27th of June 1939. Noticing his unusual keen interest towards music in early childhood, we decided that he take Sarod lessons from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Shaheb in Kolkata. Later when I observed his interest to compose for cinema, in 1959 I brought him to Bombay and made him my assistant. I started to train him for Bollywood. Today Rahul has established himself as a music director. He has received acclamation from critiques. His compositions attract the youth. He is now directing music independently.
My first opportunity to compose music in the Bombay Film Industry came in 1942. The offer came from Sri Chandu Lal Shah. He was the owner of the famous Ranjit Studio in Bombay. Although it was tempting, I do not know why, I did not feel like leaving Kolkata in 1942. I was still nurturing the hope that I would get a suitable opportunity to compose music in Bangla Cinemas in Kolkata. Chandu Lal was a bit sad that I did not go to Bombay then. Later when we met in Bombay he raised the matter and complained why I did not go then.
In 1944 a second offer came. Ray Bahadur Sri Chuni Lal and Sri Shashadhar Mukherjee, the owners of Filmistan Film Company, invited me to compose music for one of their cinemas. Even then I was hesitant. Should I go? My friend, Sri Sushil Majumder was working at Flimistan at the time. He had written to me many times to go to Bombay, and he advised me not to say no this time to the Filmistan offer.
Not getting any response from the Kolkata cinemas, I responded to Filmistan's offer and left for Bombay with my family and a heavy heart. I joined as the Music Director of Filmistan in October that year.
Bombay seemed a well brushed up city. All the time the city was busy. It was much more cosmopolitan than Kolkata. In Bombay once again I met the famous music artiste Sri Panna Lal Ghosh, the music director Sri Anil Biswas, the actor Sri Pahadi Synal, and the sound engineer Sri Robin Chatterjee.
At first, it all felt strange. A country that does not have a Ganga, felt rough. I failed to find life in a country that is not at all laidback. At first, I felt very much alone. Leaving my comfort zone in Kolkata, all the famous people and all my friends, Bombay felt very gloomy.
My first music direction in Bombay is in the cinema Shikari of Filmistan. The actor was Sri Ashok Kumar. He sang my composition. All of us addressed him Dada Moni. The famous Sri Pradeep was the lyricist. This was the first time I saw my name as the Music Director of a Cinema. The magazines praised my first cinema compositions in Bombay and my first stint as a music director. I was appointed the Music Director of five more films of Filmistan. The films were: Eight Days; Do Bhai; Shabnam; Paying Guest; and Muni Moji. All of Shabnam's songs were hits. Although everybody in the studio praised my compositions in the first movie, Shikari, I was not happy with my compositions. Outside the studio, I failed to gain admiration from the public. I failed to get a 'Public-Pulse'.
A few days after the release of Shikari, Sri Jamini Dewan's film Ratan was released. The whole of Bombay was sinking under Ratan. People started to hum the tunes of the cinemas. During this time I was trying compose music with my harmonium in my office room at Filmistan. The Room Boy was humming a tune as he was making tea. Jaba Tumhi Chale Pardesh, Lagar Thesh, O Pritam Peyara Duniya Mein Koun Hamara. This was a song from Ratan. That song was sung and hummed everywhere in Bombay at that time. That day I did not work anymore.
This Room Boy has been working with me all this time. He has listened to and seen me compose day and night. And yet, not for once have I seen him hum my tunes. A few days later my eyes opened. Eureka! I was composing the first line of the song Mera Sundar Swapna Bit Gaya. I was thinking of a sorrowful tune. I overheard the Room Boy humming the tune. That was probably my greatest experience in music direction for cinemas.
A hit song for a cinema meant a very simple tune; the less the ornamentation, the better. In that way a person with no music training can hum the tune. Then the Room Boy of the Studio was in effect my first path to Music Direction in Films. Later, during Shabnam, I would silently observe if the Room Boy is responding to my tunes or not. Incidentally, the songs of Shabnam to which the Room Boy would hum went on to become hits.
(SOURCE: Sargamer Nikhad, Biography of Sachin Deb Burman narrated to Salil Ghosh. Published in the Desh Magazine during 24 Magh to 21 Chaitra, 1376 BE, 1969 circa. This translation is based on Sachin Kortar Gaaner Bhuban by Khagesh Deb Burman, published by Prantik, Kolkata, Third Edition, 2011, PP 223-252.)
Translator, Asrar Chowdhury teaches in the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh and can be contacted at: asrarul@juniv.edu.
