Remembering Puncham da on his 77th Birth Anniversary

PART-1

R D Burman was born on 27th June 1939 at Calcutta.Initially, he was nicknamed Tublu by his maternal grandmother.
- RD Burman was nicknamed as Puncham and was popularly addressed by most of his industry friends by the same name. Apparently the nickname was given to him by actor Ashok Kumar when he heard the newborn Rahul saying the word Pa repeatedly
R D Burman was a child prodigy though Music was in his genes but he got the earlier education of music by his father

the great S D Burman.In Mumbai, R. D. Burman was trained by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan (sarod) and Samta Prasad (tabla). He also considered Salil Chowdhury as his guru.He served as an assistant to his father, and often played harmonica in his orchestras.

- RD Burman composed his first song at the age of nine which was taken for the Dev Anand's film FANTOOSH(1956)" Ai Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa" another tune was taken in PYAASA " Sar Jo Tera Chakraye".
R. D. Burman has been credited with revolutionizing the Bollywood music. He incorporated a wide range of influences from several genres in his scores. He also experimented with different musical sounds produced from methods such as rubbing sand paper and knocking bamboo sticks together. He blew into beer bottles to produce the opening beats ofMehbooba, Mehbooba. Similarly, he used cups and saucers to create the tinkling sound for the song Churaliya Hai from the film Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)
- Popular music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal played in the orchestra of RD Burman. RD Burman also gave break to several singers like Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet and Mohammad Aziz

R D Burman and Asha Bhonsle marriage photograph

R d Burman married in 1966 to Rita Patel but got Divorced in 1971. Later he married Asha Bhonsle in 1980.The Asha-RD Burman Pair created magic .Asha Bhonsle in an interview said"Pancham was the only man who understood me. We had tremendous musical compatibility. He gave me the confidence to improvise and sing better than before. He introduced me to the western style of singing.All songs I sung for him are my favorite. However, right now I feel like humming my all-time favorite “Mera Kuch Saamaan” from the film Ijaazat."
It is generally believed that puncham da was expert in giving western music but the fact is that he was equally best on Indian classical.Some of Lata Ji's melodious and semi classical songs were composed by R D Burman

Take RD’s first film itself – Chhote Nawab. The Raag Malgunji based "Ghar aaja ghir aayi badarwa sanwariya"   created a sensation and is still fresh and timeless.

The songs listed below are only representative. But it will give you the drift. Amar Prem had two gems – "Raina beeti jaye" based on Raag Lalit, and "Bada natkhat hai" based on Raag Khamaj.

In the next part watch some of the Videos of R D's classical geniu