'Geet gata hoon main…'

Remembering Kishor Kumar on his b'day

Aa chal ke tujhe, mein le ke chaloon, ek aise gagan ke tale… The mellifluous voice of legendary Kishore Kumar truly takes you on a different orbit... Door Gagan Ki Chao Mein.
On the 81st birth anniversary of the celebrated singer today, HT City talks to some of his die-hard fans.“Kishoreda lives in my soul,” says reality show star Harshit Saxena, whose first song on stage at Lucknow Mahotsav was Ek ajnabi hasina se.
Again for his Voice of India audition, Harshit sang Kishore’s Ek hasina thi.
“Initially, my voice was quite soft, but after listening to Kishorda, I carefully modulated it to a different pitch. I like most of his songs and the list is endless. I love O Majhi se (for its calmness), Zindagi ka safar (one of the saddest songs), Dilbar mere (for its passion) and Yeh jo mohabbat hai (for romance),” he says.
According to Harshit, he wouldn’t have been where he is today had Kishore not sung Agar tum na hote…Singer Raj Kumar Chatterjee, who is fondly known as Jr Kishore Kumar, pays tribute to the legend on the eve of his birthday. “Singing Mere Mehboob, Koi Humdam and yodeling Chala Jata Hoon, I have given over 5,000 stage performances throughout the country. Twice I met my idol — in Mumbai and Kanpur where he heard me— and even today at the age of 60 I am performing for him,” he says on a nostalgic note, and then begins to hum Jeevan ke safar main rahi…
Dr Mayank Srivastava, assistant professor with BBD College recalls his college days with Kishore’s Zindagi ke safar me…. woh phir nahi aatey!’
“Singing Kishore’s songs gave me an identity in Lucknow University. His situational songs fit the youths in almost all the stages of their lives, be it Mere samne wali khidki main or Meet na mila re man ka,” he says.
And to make Yeh shaam mastani on his b’day a memorable one, Rang Bharti is organising Ek Shaam Kishore Kumar Ke Naam. Its president Shyam Kumar says, “For the last 49 years, we have been organising Kishore Kumar Nite. We were doing it even when he was alive. At Ravindralaya, on Sunday, ‘Saptarang’ orchestra will play some of Kishore’s evergreen songs, including Koi humdum, Rimjhim gire sawan and so on.” Chalte chalte…, on a parting note, nothing compares to ..kabhi alvida na kehna, which has become the signature ending to almost every musical extravaganza.