Manna Dey

Padmabhusan Manna Dey is a legendry figure in Indian music. His fame is not restricted to the Indian domain only but has over flown to every part of the globe, where an Indian heart resides. In fact his is not merely a name that is deified everywhere, rather it creates a ripple of mixed feeling of love and worship whenever cited. People venerate him not only for his musical bearing but because he epitomizes a wonderful combination of melody and poetry. His stance in Indian music vindicates the axiom – the art outlives the artist. Born on 1st of May 1919, Manna Dey was christened by his parents as Probodh Chandra Dey. Theirs was an orthodox joint family of North Calcutta, residing in the huge ancestral house at Simla, 9 Madan Ghose Lane. Prior to Manna Dey another brilliant artist of similar stature Krishna Chandra Dey too was born in this very house. Purna Chandra Dey was Manna Dey’s father and Mahamaya Dey was his mother. Apart from them there was this legendry youngest paternal uncle Sangeetacharya Krishna Chandra Dey residing in the same house, who both loved and pampered little Mana. He received his early education, in a small pre-primary school popularly known as Indu Babur Pathshala. Thereafter he was sent to Scottish Church Collegiate School to complete both his schooling and intermediate studies. He next got admitted to Vidyasagar College for his graduations. From very childhood Manna Dey manifested a keen liking for sports events like wrestling and boxing and excelled in both. Apart from sports Manna Dey was also renowned for playing pranks upon people. His contemporaries readily acknowledged him as their leader in this field.