Suman Kalyanpur – understated greatness

I was hooked on to Vivid Bharti and Radio Ceylon in my childhood being an aficionado of Bollywood music. Those were the days when unlike today, if one heard 50 songs in a day, 48 would be divided amongst 4-5 top names – Lata, Asha, Rafi, Kishore and Mukesh. However, one thing never failed to surprise me – a very much Lata sounding song would be attributed to Suman Kalyanpur by the announcer announcing the credits of the song. May be greater connoisseurs, including the famous music makers of those days knew the nuanced difference that made Lata overshadow others including Suman, but ordinary mortals would only reluctantly believe the announcers announcement, such being the similarity between their voices. 

She sang a few songs, but more importantly the songs that were originally composed for the nightingale, which she couldn’t sing for one reason or the other. When for years, Rafi and Lata decided not to sing together, Suman was enlisted for songs that couldn’t do without Rafi while Mahendra Kapoor benefitted by singing songs that couldn’t do without Lata! 

While some songs are now very famously attributed to Suman – rahe na rahe hum, aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche etc – some continue to surprise still like the title song of Dil Ek Mandir that I came to know only the other day was sung by Suman and not Lata! 

She bowed out rather early and could have contributed more! But whatever work she did had an air of exclusivity and distinctiveness and it’d continue to keep her alive in the memory of her millions of admirers for the time immemorial!