Meena Kapoor remembers Sachin ‘Kaka’

Anilda’s association with Burmanda went back a long way. He was a great admirer of Sachinda’s singing. You know, the biggest compliment you can give to a singer is that his/her sur is immovable. That is what both of us used to feel about Dada Burman. His sur was unshakeable. He never went out of sur.  Anilda always said one had to listen to SD Burman’s songs not from the ears but from the heart.

Anilji and I had many common favourites. In Burmanda’s songs both of us really liked ‘Sun Mere Bandhu Re’. 

The question that would follow then would be, in your opinion who is better SDB the singer or SDB the Music Director?

Cannot make a choice. I would say both!

Dada Burman is also remembered for his very unique personality.

Yes!  I remember that along with music his other great love was paan. He could not do anything without his paan. His ‘Paan ka Dabba’ was probably his most precious possession [laughing]. I have vivid memories of occasions when Dada would come to me with a worried expression, ‘Meena! We are not going to have a rehearsal today’ ‘What happened Kaka? I would ask’…’Oh I can’t find my paan ka dabba!!’.

Infact it was not only rehearsals, he would cancel recordings at times too if his paans were not locatable! Another thing he was very fond of was watching football. He would avidly follow his favourite team.

If you were to take your top pick from SD Burman’s oeuvre. What would they be?

Just one song? That’s not possible!

Not at all… your list can be as long as you like!

Guide is undoubtedly my favourite soundtrack. That is number one. Almost all the songs were stellar. Then there was ‘Prem Pujari’. Munimji esp the Kishore song ‘Jeevan Ke Safar Mein Rahi’. Actually I like almost all his songs. Its a difficult task. I also love ‘Tere Naina Talaash Karen’ and yes… ‘Khayi hai re hamne kasam’. There so many songs. Then there is ‘Waqt Ne Kiya’ which could be my most favourite song. It is also my favourite song of my good friend Geeta Dutt.  I also like a lot of his Bangla songs like ‘Alo Chhaya Dola’ that was used as ‘Pawan Diwani’ later.

Debut with SD Burman

“A pig tailed school girl, barely in my teens. That’s what I was when I first worked with Sachin Kaka’ recalls Meena Kapoor. Today over half a century later this extremely talented, but reclusive singer still maintains the effervescence of those early years. She also retains the same lilting sonorous voice that lit some of Burmanda’s early tunes.

Married to music maestro Anil Biswas, Meena Kapoor moved to Delhi in the early sixties when Anilda quit films for a job with All India Radio. She bid good-bye to her career in films without a backward glance. What she did not bid good-bye to are the many cherish able memories of her early days in films. We met this graceful lady at her cosy residence and over a glass of refreshing nimbu-paani sprinkled generously with her tinkling laughter we rewound to her days with Sachin Karta.

Is it true Burmanda gave you your break?

Not completely. My first song was recorded for music director Ninu Majumdar for the film ‘Pul’. However the first film to release my song was 8 days (also Aath Din) with music by Burmanda. So effectively he was the music director of my first released film.

What are your earliest recollections of Burmanda?

Burmanda was my grand-father’s friend. I trace my lineage to the royal family of Assam and Burmanda was a scion of the royal family of Tripura so our families had connections. He was a familiar figure since my childhood.  As you know SD Burman came to films very late. Before that he was very well-known as a singer in Bengal. We would hear his records in the early days.

How did you end up singing for him?

Burman Dada was very well acquainted with my father (New Theatres actor Bikram Kapoor).  He would always say to my father ‘Bikram, this girl has such a beautiful voice, you are spoiling her voice. You should let her sing in films’. ‘But Dada,” my father would protest, “she’s still in school, she has her exams how can I have her sing for film?’. ‘Oh come on, one film will not do any harm!’ he would retort. It was probably the outcome of a similar conversation that led to my singing for him finally.

What were your early impressions about SD Burman?

I was just a young girl when I first started singing. I did not really take the whole art seriously. And then SD Burman was such a senior personality in both age and stature that I never had the guts to really ask him questions or interact with him. I would call him Sachin Kaka(uncle) and treat him with a lot of deference.

While working with him, as singer what did you find notable?

I think Sachinda’s biggest asset was the fact that he was a singer and that too a highly accomplished one. He could shape the song out for the singer. I remember he would sing on the harmonium and we would follow him.  The other quality that I find notable about him is his emphasis on the phonetics of the lyrics. He would always like ‘nice sounding words’. I remember for my first film, him directing Raja Mehndi Ali Khan to write phonetically pleasing words with his own examples. This is why I always feel his songs sound so sweet and pleasing.