Dr Md Shairul Mashreque :At the out set let me write something about reminiscences of Bengali songs popular with the advent a galaxy talented singers. Modern Bengali songs in those days (in late fifties and early sixties) remain ever lived in my memory-simply unforgettable. I am driven by nostalgia when I listen to heart touching and awesome songs. Once modern Bengali songs became highly popular thanks to a host of singers like Hemonto, Shyamol, Manna Dey, Manobendra, Satinath, Subir Sen, Dijen, Tarun, Jaganmoy, Dhanonjoy, including female crooners like Sandhya, Geeta, Alpana, Pratima, Nirmala Misra. All were simply super stars in the domain of vocal music. Among them Hemonto Mukhopadhyay desreves a special mark simply as an icon all with his powerful and tuneful voice. Hemonto is acclaimed as one of the greatest singers ever lived in the subcontinent and was a natural barintone yet could sing high tenor notes with ease. He is best known for his distinctive, melodious, powerful voice, complex and dark emotional expressions, which led many critics to state his voice as the greatest and most distinctive, they had ever heard. With this voice quality he also performed well in Tagore songs. To quote critics: “Hemonto is considered a foremost exponent of Rabindra Sangeet. His first recorded Rabindra Sangeet was in the Bengali film Priya Bandhabi (1944). The song was ‘Pather Sesh Kothaye.’ He recorded his first non-film Rabindra Sangeet disc in 1944 under the Columbia label. The songs were Aamar Aar Habe Na Deri and Keno Pantha E Chanchalata. Some of Tagore songs recorded by Hemonto were simply mesmerising: Bhanglo bhanglo Milono Mela Vanglo, Tui phele eshechhis kare mon manre amar, Mone ki didha rekhe gele chole, jakhon parbe na mor pyr chinno, O amar desher mati, Joubano sarasi nire milano.Hemonto’s first film song was in the Bengali film Nimai Sannyasi released in 1941. Hariprasanna Das scored music. Hemonto’s first compositions for himself were the Bengali non-film songs “Katha Kayonako Shudhu Shono” and “Amar Biraha Akashe Priya” in 1944. Lyrics were by Amiya Bagchi.His first Hindi film songs were in Irada in 1944 under Pt Amarnath’s music direction. Lyrics happened to be by Aziz Kashmiri.”What actually impressed me was his golden voice in modern Bengali and film songs. The appeal of those songs never parishes. Once his songs took hold of me. The songs that still stand out to appeal much to Dhaka and Kolkata fans are: Amar ganer sarolipi lekha, Muchhey jaoa din guli, O nadire ekti kotha sudhai, Path harabo bole ebar pathe nemesi, Oliro katha sune bokul hase, Moner jalana dhore, Tar Par Tarar par nei, Aar koto dur, Megh kalo adhar kalo, Ei meghla dine akla. Surer akashe tumi jego suko tara, Aj dujonar duti path, Kono ek gayer bodhur kotha, Ogo ja pesi ei tukute khusi amar mon, Sabai chole gele, Duranto ghurni ei legese pak. Ami jhorer kachhey rekhe gelam amar thikana, Ami dur hote tomare dekheshi, durer manush kachhey eso sunbe jodi amar gan, sono bandhu sono pranhin ei sohorer iti katha, jiboner anekta path ekla, bonotal phule phle dhaka dur nilimae, katodin pore ele, Ae khuku ae, Ei rat tomar amar, Dur hote tomare dekhesi, Nijhumo sandhae, Surjo dubar pala, Neer choto khoti nei akashta baro, Aj rare ghumie porona tumi, Koto je dhire bohe meghna, Tumi ele anek diner pare jeno bristi elo, Nil akasher o prthibi, Koto din pore ele, Saradin bristi bristi, Kono din balakara, Runner cholese rono hunker, Aie khuku ae, Jodi jante chao tumi e betha amar koto tuku, kotodin pare ele, Pather klanti bhule, The marked feature of his singing style was the way he sang with humming notes reaching the dept of his voice. Hemonto recorded some notable Hindi songslike Hae apna dil tu awara, Ae rate e chadni, Nehi chande hoga, Yasd kiya dil ne, tum pukar lo, o nid na mujhko , Bekarare hamne, Tum pukar lo, Na tum hummain jano, Jane ho kaise, ye dil ki9 suno, Bheegi bheegi faza, ye nae dare dare. In 1980, Hemanta had a heart attack that severely affected his vocal capabilities, especially his breath control. He continued to record songs in the early eighties, but his voice was a shade of its rich baritone past. In 1984, Hemanta was felicitated by different organisations, most notably by the Gramophone Company of India, for completing 50 years in music. That very year Hemonto released his last album with Gramophone Company of India – a 45 rpm extended play disc with four non-film songs. Over the next few years, Hemanta released non-film songs under small-time labels that had cropped up in the nascent cassette-based music industry. Only a few of these were commercially successful. He composed music for a handful of Bengali movies and one Bengali and one Hindi tele-series. However, by this time he had become an institution, a beloved personality, and a courteous and friendly gentleman. His philanthropic activities included running a homeopathic hospital in memory of his late father in their native village in Baharu, in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. In a television interview to noted elocutionist Gauri Ghosh, his wife Bela Mukhopadhyaya recalled that she never knew during his lifetime the number of families and persons he helped to put up financially or otherwise; only after he died that this truth gradually unveiled. He continued to feature regularly on All India Radio, Doordarshan (TV) and live programmes/concerts during this period. In 1987, he was nominated for Padmabhushan, which he refused politely, having already turned down the offer to receive Padmashree in the 1970s. In this year, he was publicly felicitated in Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata for completing 50 years in musical journey, where, Lata Mangeshkar presented him with the memento on behalf of his fans and admirers.Despite his ageing voice, he became the Best Male Singer in 1988 for his rendition in the film “Lalan Fakir”.In September 1989 he visited Dhaka, Bangladesh to receive the Michael Madhusudan Award, as well as to perform a concert. Immediately after returning home Hemonto suffered severe heart attack on 26 September and died at 11:15 pm in a nursing home in South Kolkata.In fact his was a voice with a difference. For this reason he is ranked as a legendary and one of the best singers in the subcontinent. Hemonto recorded a large number of songs. No right statistics can give us number of songs Hemonto sang including Hindi. He sang nearly five thousand assorted film (both Hindi and Bengali) and modern Bengali and Tagore songs.(Dr Md Shairul Mashreque, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Chittagong University, Bangladesh)
