Whenever the name Burman crops up in the midst of a discussion about music, most people always think of the famous father and son duo, S.D. Burman and R.D. Burman. But many are unaware that there was another Burman who was the link between the father and son. This third Burman played an important role in helping the two giants of the music world to reach their full potential.
But who was the third Burman? It was Meera Dev Burman, mother of RD and wife of SD. Before she got married, Meera Dasgupta (that was her maiden name), was an accomplished musician and lyricist. She studied at Rabindranath Tagore’s Vishva Bharati University at Shanti Niketan, where her talents were highly praised.
After leaving the university, Meera Dasgupta continued to dedicate her time to learning music, singing, and writing lyrics for songs. That is how she met S.D. Burman became his pupil. At this time, S.D. Burman was becoming a well-recognised person in the music field.
In 1934, he attended the All India Music Conference at the invitation of Allahabad University, where he presented his Bengali Thumri to an illustrious audience. Several eminent persons, including Smt. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan of the Kirana Gharana were present.
SD bagged a gold medal
Later that year, SD was invited to the Bengal Music Conference in Kolkata, which was inaugurated by Rabindranath Tagore himself. Here again, he sang his Thumri and was awarded a Gold Medal.
As a teacher, SD soon perceived the potential that lay in his ward, Meera, and encouraged her to learn and practice more. They even recorded a Bengali duet together titled Oyi Gaye Je Papiya in 1937. Meera also sang a Hindi number called Dali Dali Phool Khile. She was adept at singing both Bengali and Hindi songs and wrote lyrics too.
After a few years, SD Burman, who had become a national and internationally acclaimed person then, realised that he had fallen in love with his merited pupil. By then, he had also constructed his own house in Kolkata, and the two of them got married in 1938. Thereafter, Meera Dasgupta became known as Meera Dev Burman.
Birth of RD Burman
A year later, the couple was blessed with a boy whom they named Rahul Dev, but called him Tublu at home. The increasing responsibilities of running the household and also looking after a child meant that Meera Dev Burman now did not get as much opportunity to practice her musical talent as before.
So, she began to play a supporting role. Sometimes she helped her husband, and sometimes her son. It was she who played a stellar but unrecognised role in enabling two towering personalities in her family to rise higher. She continued to write songs whenever she got ideas in her mind. The popular Bengali song Shono Go Dokhino Hawa (Sun Re Dakshin Hawa) was written by her.
Two other Bengali songs written by her, namely Borne Gondhe, Chhonde Gitite, and Bansi Sune Aar Kaaj Nayi, were sung by her husband S.D. Burman in Bengali and are very popular even today in Bengal.
Founded on Meera’s Bengali songs
The first of these was transformed into a soft and soulful Hindi song with the same tune. It is Phoolon Ke Rang Se, Dil ki Kalam Se, and it became an all-time favourite from the Dev Anand film Prem Pujari (released in 1970). It was sung by Kishore Kumar, and the music director was SD Burman. But the original song, which SD sang in Bengali, was written by his wife, Meera.
The second of the Bengali songs mentioned above, namely Bansi Sune Aar Kaaj Nayi, became the foundation for the Hindi song Neend Churaye, Chain Churaye, Daaka Dale Teri Bansi, sung by Lata Mangeshkar in the Hindi film Anurag (1972), directed by Shakti Samanta and starring Ashok Kumar, Nutan, Rajesh Khanna, and others. Again, the music director was SD Burman. The writer of the original Bengali song was Meera Dev Burman.
This talented lady passed away in 2007 at the age of 95. There is a well-known saying that behind every successful man is a woman. However, in this case, Meera contributed to the success of not one, but two of the greatest achievers in the Hindi and Bengali music worlds. She never sought fame and fortune for herself. The fact that her husband and son had reached the top was a sufficient reward for her.
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