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Kishore Kumar One of All-Time Greatest Playback Singers, India. One of my most precious autographs.

Born: Aug 4, 1929 Died: Oct 13, 1987

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Kishore Kumar statue near Tollygunge movie studios in Kolkata, India. Photos taken by my friend Somnath Chatterjee.

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On December 16, 2009, I did a radio program titled
S. D. Burman and Kishore Kumar: A Melodious Partnership
at KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM .
It was great fun, but it was also my "pushpanjali" to Kishore and S.D.
The mp3 of this 1-hour program can be downloaded from Part 1 (14.5MB) and Part 2 (14.1MB), and also from itsdiff.com.

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Indian Postal Service issued a postage stamp in honor of Kishore Kumar

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For great fun and rich experience visit my friend Jay's popular hindi music portal Bollango

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Personalities like Kishore Kumar are the treasures of a nation. Yet, till very recently, almost no document of any lasting value was available on Kishore Kumar. Only material available was the video that Sandip Roy made shortly after Kishore Kumar's departure. The people who personally knew Kishore Kumar are also leaving us one by one, and taking with them invaluable memories of the great artist. It is a national loss.

I am happy to note that recently a few books on Kishore Kumar has come out trying to fill the void. I list them below.

1. Kishore Kumar - The Many Faces of a Genius ...
Researched, Complied and Edited by:
Vishwas Nerurkar, Vinod Sonthalia and Bishwanath Chatterjee

Publisher:
Gayatri Publication
2/15, Kailash Parwat, Gilbert Hill
Mumbai - 400 008
First Published: 2002

2. Kishore Kumar - Method in Madness
Derek Bose

Publisher:
Rupa & Co.
7/16 Ansari Road, Daryaganj
New Delhi, 110 002
First Published: 2004

3. Kishore Kumar - The Definitive Biography
Kishore Vakicha

Publisher:
Viking by Penguin Books India
11, Community Centre, Panchsheel Park
New Delhi, 110 017
First Published: 1998

4. Kishore Kumar Pagla File
Atanu Chakrobarty

Publisher:
Beejesh Saha
Protibhas
18/A, Gobindo Mondol Road
Kolkata - 700 002
First Published: 2011

No dicussion on Kishore Kumar can end (or begin, some might say) without the legendary music director Sachin Dev Burman, perhaps the all-time greatest music director of the Hindi movie industry. Or, the father of the all-time greatest music director of the Hindi movie industry, some might say. The regret I expressed above about the loss of first-hand research material on Kishore Kumar, and a lack of initiative of preserving his memory, applies to S. D. Burman in a much stronger way. A large number of personalities who were directly associated with him have passed away. I do not know of any account of someone actually sitting down with R. D. Burman to discuss about his father. I am amazed at this. The same comment is valid for Salil Chowdhury, who started writing his autobiography in Bengali, but passed away before finishing it.

In any case, here are a few books on Sachin Dev Burman, both in Bengali:

1. Sachin-karta-r Ganer Bhubon (Sachinkarta's World of Music)
Khagesh Dev Burman

Publisher:
Sumita Dev Burman
Prantik
GD-135, Sector -III
Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700 106
First Published: 2006

2. Sachinkarta
Pannalal Roy

Publisher:
Parul Prakashani
8/3 Chintamani Das Lane
Kolkata - 700 009
First Published: 2005

Yes! Finally books on Pancham (or Rahul Dev Burman or RD Burman or simply RD) are starting to appear. Long Overdue! I am very happy to note that the first two books that I have come across are both of high quality and based on meticulous research work.

1. Ganer Rajputra Rahul Dev Burman (Rahul Dev Burman: The Prince of Music)
Khagesh Dev Burman

Publisher:
Sumita Dev Burman
Prantik
GD-135, Sector -III
Salt Lake, Kolkata - 700 106
First Published: Book Fair, January 2009

2. R. D. Burman: The Man, The Music
Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal
The first author is a friend of a friend and the second author is an alumnus of my undergraduate university (Jadavpur University)
Extra reason to be happy and proud. Publisher:
Harper Collins Publisher India
First Published: 2011

This book has been shortlisted as the best book for a first-time author: Click here

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