Provoked Thoughts Options

[zippoo]

Aaj HF padhhtey padhhtey desh ki bahut yaad aa gayi. Abhi ja toh nahi sakta, socha gunh gaan hee sun loon.

[rom]

Thanks!
Pankaj Mullick was an acclaimed composer as well, wasn't he? Even Saigal-saab has sung for him.

[unni]

Thanks!
Pankaj Mullick was an acclaimed composer as well, wasn't he? Even Saigal-saab has sung for him.

Yes, Pankaj Mullick was an acclaimed composer and several of Saigal-sahab's songs were composed by him.

As a little kid, I saw him at a function of the Malayalee Association in Kolkata. He was the special invitee and appeared on stage to sing a few lines of the popular Malayalam song "Ambili Amaava". It was a great honour for the Malayalee community of Kolkata, since he was a legend in his lifetime and the pride of Bengal.

Here is a brief write-up about him, from an internet site:



In 1973 Pankaj Mullick was most deservedly named for the Dadasaheb Phalke award for the year 1972. Deservedly, because music composition of Pankaj Mullick have held a unique position right from the early thirties to the present day, maintaining an unfailing popularity for both young and old.

Pankaj Mullick was son of Manimohan Mullick who had a great interest in traditional music, and would invite eminent singers and instrumentalists to perform during religious festivals. Born in a middle class Bengali family, it was here that Pankaj Mullick drew inspiration from classical Hindustani music. From a very early age, he decided that his vocation would be music, and though enrolled in college, he did not pursue higher education.

Pankaj Mullick was lucky to be introduced to the Tagore family, which was to have an everlasting influence upon him. Rabindra Sangeet became his forte, and he is the only man who has tuned a Rabindranath poem to music, Diner Seshey, Ghoomer Deshey with the great poet's total approval. The approval of the great poet came to Pankaj after endless numbers of hours of waiting on him, and the story has it that it was for a college function that Pankaj had approached the great poet to have his permission to perform one of his poetries, to which Rabindranath Tagore asked him to sing out the composition that he had in mind. It was after hearing his composition that Rabindranath was so very overcome with the tune that he granted him a total approval for all his poetries. Thus was through Pankaj Mullick's songs that Rabindra Sangeet became popular in every Bengali household, even raising great interest among Western music connoisseurs.

Pankaj Mullick regarded the balance and equanimity of the mind as his best asset, providing him with status as a human being and an artiste. Pankaj Mullick enjoyed a very close relationship with AIR (All India Radio) since its very inception in 1928, then a private broadcasting organization. For very many years, his Sunday music lessons had thousands of listeners, specially among young girls. It was at his initiative that the use of the tabla was introduced to keep rhythm for Rabindra Sangeet, which the poet had not previously adopted.

Though not really an actor, even though appearing in some six or seven films, his first experience was in a small role in Chashar Meye. It is interesting to note that when this silent film was being exhibited at Calcutta, Pankaj Mullick would conduct his orchestra to provide background music.

Pankaj Mullick and Raichand Boral supplemented each other on many occasions whilst composing music for New Theatres' films. One of the Pankaj Mulick's most notable scores was for Mukti in which director P.C. Barua had assigned him a role.

K. L. Saigal's Bengali song hits owe their existence to Pankaj Mullick, who persuaded the singer to bring down the pitch of his singing, as earlier he would sing with a high pitched voice. He trained Kanan Devi to understand and get the feel of Rabindra Sangeet.

Pankaj Mullick continued with his singing lessons on AIR for four decades, and after he retired in 1975,, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. B.C. Roy, appointed him as Advisor to the Folk Entertainment section of the Government's publicity Department. Towards the end of his career, he came to Bombay to compose music for Kasturi by Gyan Mukerji. He is the author of four books on music, which illustrated the correct structure of Ragas, the rukes and canons of Indian classical music.

Honours & Awards:
1956-Sangeet Ratnakar
1970-Padmashree
1975-Rabindra Tagoracharya
BFJA Awards :
1945-Best Music Director for Dui Purush (Bengali).