SD Burman’s 114th birth anniversary: New-age singers on why his music still matters

By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Oct 1 Sachin Dev Burman, fondly Burman da or Sachin korta to friends and colleagues in his time, passed away in 1975, but the legacy of music he left remains a national treasure. Many new-age singers feel his tunes and style of singing influenced generations after him.

On his 114th birth anniversary on Thursday, young music artistes spoke of what continues to endear his melody among connoisseurs.

SD Burman hailed from the royal clan of Tripura, and he started his career in Bengali cinema in 1937. The prince-composer as he was known would go on to rule the Bollywood scene in the fifties, sixties and seventies along with several other phenomenal musical talents of his era, widely regarded as the golden age of Hindi film music.

“SD Burman is one of my most favourite music directors. I wish I could have sung for him. As a music composer, I absolutely revere him. He is an inspiration for the entire music fraternity and his legacy is a national treasure,” singer Papon told IANS.

He listed Burman’s “Wahan kaun hai tera” (“Guide”), “Yeh dil na hota bechara” (“Jewel Thief”), “Din dhal jaye” (“Guide”), “Chand phir nikla” (“Paying Guest”) and “Chhod do aanchal zamana kya kahega” (“Paying Guest”) as some of his favourite SD tracks.

Papon, who hails from Assam, also took to Twitter to pay a tribute to Burman.

“I feel so proud that one of my all time favourite musician-singer-songwriters, #SDBurman is from my countryside. Being from Tripura, his melodies were drenched with easterly flavours. Remembering him on his birthday today. Wish I could have sung for him,” he tweeted.

Singer Shilpa Rao considers SD Burman as “one of the beacons of Indian film music”.

“I think one of the best albums, best eras of film music that we have had (comes from him). One album that’s really close to my heart is ‘Guide’. I think it was a progressive thought and way of life that was portrayed im the film and the music was such a big storyteller in the film. One of my favourites is ‘Wahan kaun hai tera’ which SD Burman had sung himself,” she told IANS.

Singer Payal Dev still listens to Burman’s “Chand phir nikla” and “Sun mere bandhu re”.

“SD Burman was one of the iconic musicians Indian cinema ever had, and we as a country were blessed to have such a musician. He created magic in music, whether it was a romantic or dance number,” she said.

For singer Akhil Sachdeva, “Chand phir nikla” remains his all-time favourite song by SD Burman.

“He was amongst the rare legends who believed in making simple yet strong melodies that are still so fresh and evergreen,” he said.