A Legend's Musical Tale. Review on Memories Come Alive - Manna Dey

The 1950s and 60s were the golden years of Hindi film music, the age of legends. The Hindi playback scene was bustling with high quality talent, as Mukesh, Kishore, Talat and Manna Dey strove hard to carve their own place under the sun. However, they were merely challengers as it was the legendary Mohd. Rafi who ruled the roost as the king of playback singing. However, while Rafi topped all the musical charts someone else topped his own. As he himself admitted- "You listen to My songs. I listen to Manna Dey songs only". Indeed, such was the class and quality of Probodh Chandra Dey or as he is lovingly known by millions of his fans, MANNA DEY.

And now, after ruling the hearts of music lovers for nearly 60 years, Manna Dey tells his tale of success in a detailed yet simple autobiography- MEMORIES COME ALIVE translated in English by Sarbani Putatunda.

Memories Come Alive is an extremely personal and detailed account of Manna Dey's life and people who influenced it in one way or the other. The memoir traces his journey from a naughty, restless boy born and brought up in a traditional Bengali family to one of the most respected and successful playback singers India has produced. As he traverses the 8 decades of his life, Manna talks about his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey whose disability to see could not hamper his passion for music as he went on to become a noted music composer during the 1940s. In fact, it was him who inspired Manna to make music his life.

There are several other anecdotes that give the readers a deeper understanding of Manna the person. His love for sports and mischief is narrated in detail as is his respect and devotion for his beloved uncle Krishna. All this makes for a fascinating read. However that apart, probably the biggest draw for music lovers here is Manna's recollection of his contemporaries. He reserves an opinion about virtually all his colleagues, from singers to music directors and lyricists to actors who lipped his songs. He speaks highly of Raj Kapoor who incidentally preferred Manna before he made Mukesh his musical voice. Similarly he has high regard for the Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar who after great reservations allowed Manna Dey to sing for him and eventually formed a wonderful alliance with the singer.

All these stories and incidents that Manna Dey shares in his autobiography are clearly the gems of this treasure. For the statistically inclined, the book presents a detailed record of Manna's musical career including a comprehensive list of songs either sung or composed by him. And, that's not all, the real delight for those who would rather experience the magic of Manna Dey then read about him is the exclusive free CD which includes some of his best songs like Aao Twist Karen *and *KasmenWaadein Pyar Wafa . So, all in all Memories come Alive is a fan's delight and a collector's delirium. Not to mention it is a complete value for money. Having said that, there are some issues with the book

For starters this is a fairly conservative memoir, so, there's nothing for those looking for sensational or revealing insights. Sure, Manna is opinionated but those opinions are carefully wrapped in politeness and dignity. Moreover, there are plenty of pages dedicated to his work in Bengali cinema, which, those like me, only familiar with his work in Hindi cinema may find uninteresting or difficult to relate to. Also, there are a couple of chapters where Manna acknowledges his colleagues which are tedious and probably irrelevant to a casual reader. So, my final thoughts on Memories Come Alive are that if you are a serious Manna Dey fan or a connoisseur of music this is a must buy. For others who are casual readers and are looking for some revealing insights you maybe a tad disappointed. 3.5/5