TEAM RD

MANOHARI DA

One of the senior most member of R D Burman team, and without whom pancham’s music would not have been the same as what we hear today. Always, in credit titles in movies composed by Pancham, carried 3 important names of Basu-Manohari & Marutirao as his assistants and arrangers.

Manoharida  is considered Master of instruments like Alto Saxophone and also other blowing instruments such as many types of flute,(English flute, Pan flute, recorder, piccolo etc)clarinet and had played mandolin too in few recordings in 1960s.

Manohari da alongwith Basu da( Basu Chakravarty, Pancham’s  another assistant) came from Kolkata with music director Salil Chowdhury  to Mumbai. He was associated in playing sax there  in jazz bands as well as in the Calcutta Symphony Orchestra.

Basu & Manohari da were friends together and knew no one in Mumbai music scenario of films. Salilda introduced  Manoharida to S D Burman and started playing as musician with Sachin da and gradually came into arranging the music with so many instruments he had played and had knowledge of Brass instruments comprising of Trombones, Trumpets, Tubas, Tennor sax etc. In those days even pancham assisted dada burman alongwith manoharida and after the death of Sachinda Manohari da carried on as an arranger with pancham da.

Manohari da mainly handled the brass section and Basu da who later joined as an arranger too with pancham handled the string section of violins, violas, chellos, guitar, santoor etc.

Manoharida used to play saxophone in music clubs of Kolkata, and was so good in playing jazz style, which pancham couldn’t miss it hearing and over the years, made use of saxophone in such beautiful manner in his songs, that you can hardly miss Manoharida’s sax in any of Pancham’s compositions.

Even in S D Burman’s compositions, one cannot miss Manoharida’s sax playing  like in Guide’s Gata rahe mera dil, Sharmilee’s Khilte hain gul yahan, Jewel thief’s  Raat akeli hai….innumerable songs indeed,where one cannot move ahead while humming these songs, you unknowingly hum dada’s saxophone pieces too..they are mixed up so well in the composition. S D Burman gave Manoharida’s first break in Shakti Samanta’s  film Insaan Jaag Utha…and then on Manohari da was with Burmans through out, with occasional playing for sax & flute with other music directors like Roshan, Laxmi-Pyare, Shankar Jaikishan, Kalyanji Anandji etc.

Manohari da had arranged saxophone for Laxmi-Pyare’s  score of Amir Gareeb which had main hero Dev Anand as saxophone player. Kishore kumar’s main aaya hoon from Ameer Gareeb became immensely popular with Dada’s sax in foreground.

Manohari da was very strict when it came to arranging of music in studio, he was popularly known as “soldier” for his nature which was so strict and observed discipline all the time.

Many times he used to compose the interlude parts of songs in the car itself while going to filmcenter for recordings. Music was all the time on the minds of these great geniuses like Manohari da and pancham.

I had opportunity of  carrying Manoharida in my car twice to Pune for our Panchammagic shows and shared some great moments with him. We also interacted a lot for our instrumental shows which we conducted showing people, what brass, violins, pianos and other percussion instruments were all about in pancham’s songs. Manohari da was used to be commander in chief, arranging all the music played by his original  team mates as well as other established musicians.

In rehearsals we came to know, how each and every piece of instrument and music was important to him and was so keen on getting it perfect to achieve the correct result. All musiscians were so humble with Manohari da’s instructions and followed his arrangements with equal craftsmanship.

Even though he was not keeping well lately, manoharida was playing sax in live shows in very big way and he used to play many songs, solo  entirely on sax. His favourite solos were “Khoya khoya Chand” from Kala Pani, “Gulabi aankhen” from The Train, “O Mere Dil Ke Chain” from Mere Jeevan Saathi, “Ye Jo Mohobbat Hai” from Kati Patang etc, which always used to get never ending applause from audience.

Manohari da’s saxophone creations to name few,  “aaja aaja” from teesri manzil, “mehbooba” from Sholay,” “Ye Jawani” from Jawani Diwani, “Gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, and has endless list with pancham and S D Burman. With others like Shankar Jaikishan’s he had great playing in “Aji Roothkar Ab Kahan Jaiyega” from Arzoo, “Hai Duniya Usiki” from Kashmir Ki Kali with O P Nayyar, “Janam Janam Ka saath hai” with Shankar Jaikishan, “Jiska mujhe tha intezaar” from DON for Kalyanji Anandji, “Main aaya hoon” from Amir Gareeb for Laxmi –Pyare…the list is literally never ending.

He had played mandolin for pancham’s “Tum bin jaun kahan” alongwith Kishore Desai in Pyar Ka Mausam and  “Dil Jo Na Kah Saka” from Bheegi Raat for music director Roshan.

The success he has got is for mainly his style of playing saxophone in jazz style and was very expressive in his blowing of saxophone, for example who will forget the sax pieces he had played in “Roop Tera Mastana” from Aradhana..just mind blowing and so romantic. He had played it in two tone as well.

Born on 8^th March 1931, Manohari da also had composed music independently for films like Subse Bada Rupaiyya, Nargis, Chatpattee alongwith Basudev Chakravarty.Their duo was known as Basu-Manohari. “Dariya Kinari ek bunglow” and the “The whole thing is that ke bhaiyya” became super duper hits those days from Subse bada Rupaiyya.

Manohari da graced many shows of panchammagic, and loved all of our members so much. I still remember the standing ovation he used to get after the playing, be it flute or saxophone.We had great felicitation on stage by making wearing him a traditional Pagdi, and he looked so humble, always joining hands to audience and so much respect he was reciprocated with.

Such a fine artiste left for his heavenly abode on 13^th July 2010 and industry will miss him as musician and conductor-arranger of songs but, never the less artistes like Manohari da will always live in music lovers’ minds with his fabulous saxophone sound for as long as music exists , which is eternal.