INNUMERABLE followers of Indian music often confused her voice with that of the legendary Lata Mangeshkar. Such was the strength and charm of the voice of Suman Kalyanpur -- who passed away at age 89. Yet, in her own way, she created her tremendous fan-following for herself. Despite various tales of professional rivalry between them, Lata Mangeshkar was often known to sing praises for Suman Kalyanpur’s prowess as a play-back singer of great merit. With her passing away, India has lost a virtuoso singer with immortal voice. True, Suman Kalyanpur was best known for her innumerable songs in Hindi cinema. Yet, she also had a great fan-following for her songs in different languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Odia and Punjabi among others. She had been groomed thoroughly in classical music as well, and used those capabilities with aplomb, in the process presenting some of the finest songs in different languages -- so much so that countless fans considered her ‘Melody Queen’.

 

When she stepped into play-back singing, Suman Kalyanpur found her pitted against the mighty Mangeshkar-Bhosale sisters. Yet, she did not allow herself to be bogged down by competition and continued leaving her own stamp on Indian music of those tough times. On many occasions, competition tended to become unfair and deprived her of many good chances to pursue her career with gusto. Despite that, much to her credit, Suman Kalyanpur never fell prey to cheap temptations that often underlined the competition especially in Hindi cinema music. She stood her ground -- and never allowed anybody to victimise her. That was quintessential Suman Kalyanpur. In her long career, Suman Kalyanpur recorded as many as 3,000 songs in different languages, in the process of becoming one of the most and best known voices in Indian music.

 

he society also respected her capabilities and bestowed upon her many honours -- of course including Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian recognition in India. When that honour came her way, Suman Kalyanpur’s response was typical -- a soft smile with folded hands -- in gratitude to the Divine. Gratitude was Suman Kalyanpur’s core value. In an interview, she said softly that many factors influenced her career and guided her to glory at different levels -- and that she could never forget those factors and personalities. Her countless fans appreciated her personal culture of fine values and virtues. Sticking to those, she never got drawn into any controversy or questionable statement. So mindful she always was. There was a tough side, as well, to her personality. Suman Kalyanpur made no compromise with her music. As a play-back singer, she always followed what music director expected her to do. But there did come some occasions when she differed on issues of rendition -- and stood her ground. Most music directors respected that facet of Suman Kalyanpur’s personality and went along. Of course, technology would preserve all of Suman Kalyanpur’s songs. But the people - the larger society -- would miss her soft smile, her pleasant disposition, her amiability, her accommodation as her core virtues. Countless people believed that Suman Kalyanpur could have no rivals and enemies. Such was the impact of her personality.

 

No doubt, she did have issues to handle and challenges to tackle in her long career. Yet, her speciality was that she never allowed those to overpower her, facing each with a disarming smile (which became the signature of her eternally charming personality). In the past few years, she did withdraw herself from public life. Yet, she did not shun friends whose respect she eternally enjoyed. Possibly, those virtues saved her from becoming bitter with life’s negative experiences (of which she had her own share). Yet, to one and all, Suman Kalyanpur was known not just as a great singer but also as a great human being.