The Karta of Melody

SD Burman, India's beloved music icon from Tripura, whose fame and legendary career transcended regional boundaries, remained connected to his roots, forever

- SIDDHARTH DEV VERMAN

Almost 40 years back, I had appeared for my first job interview. One of the Board members asked if I was related to SD Burman. I said, "Well, we belong to the same state of Tripura," and vaguely remembered some of my relatives referring to him as Kaka/Dada at times. The Board latched on to this and further inquired if music ran in my veins. Once again, I shook and nodded my head simultaneously, hoping to satisfy their curiosity without risking the inevitable next question.

Not convinced either way, the Board asked me to sing a few lines, which I politely declined, fearing any such rash step on my part would end the interview prematurely. I flunked the singing test by default but passed the interview!

The recent month of October was celebrated, as usual, by most Indians with a number of festivals that followed one after the other. For many music lovers, October is also special because the irresistible Sachin Dev Burman, also known as SD Burman or Dada Burman, probably the most loved of music directors of the Hindi film industry, was born on October 1 and died on October 31, sixty-nine years apart.