Many of us are not aware of Uma Basu; at least the present young generation in their teens and twenties. I still vividly remember that I first heard Uma Basu at the insistence of my late father. Those were the days of LP records and he had just bought a long playing record from HMV and was playing it on our old Fiesta Popular. I was too young then to value and cherish that golden voice. As time went by, I listened to her songs innumerable number of times and I was, and I am still amazed at the rich and melodious voice that she possessed.
Uma was the first child of Dharani Kumar Basu, and she was born in Kolkata (Calcutta) on the 22nd of January 1921 and she passed away on the same date in 1942 just at the age of 21. She was born in a family which had deep connections with the doyens of Hindustani classical music and therefore music was deeply ingrained into her heart and soul from childhood. She recorded her first song on HMV at the age of 13 with Harindranath Chattopadhyay. During her short career she recorded close to 27 songs including a couple of Rabindrasangeet, most of which are in my collection and I shall be providing them as a playlist in the end. She was fondly called "Hasi" (meaning smile in Bengali) and Mahatma Gandhi called her the "Nightingale of Bengal" after listening to her sweet voice at a private function. She was a disciple of Dilip Kumar Roy and his influence is very well evident in all the songs that she has recorded.
Very little, apart from what I have already told, is known about Uma Basu. What we know is that had this prodigy lived longer she would have made a mark in the Indian music scenario.
Enjoy the playlist of Uma Basu's songs.
Happy listening.
Uma was the first child of Dharani Kumar Basu, and she was born in Kolkata (Calcutta) on the 22nd of January 1921 and she passed away on the same date in 1942 just at the age of 21. She was born in a family which had deep connections with the doyens of Hindustani classical music and therefore music was deeply ingrained into her heart and soul from childhood. She recorded her first song on HMV at the age of 13 with Harindranath Chattopadhyay. During her short career she recorded close to 27 songs including a couple of Rabindrasangeet, most of which are in my collection and I shall be providing them as a playlist in the end. She was fondly called "Hasi" (meaning smile in Bengali) and Mahatma Gandhi called her the "Nightingale of Bengal" after listening to her sweet voice at a private function. She was a disciple of Dilip Kumar Roy and his influence is very well evident in all the songs that she has recorded.
Very little, apart from what I have already told, is known about Uma Basu. What we know is that had this prodigy lived longer she would have made a mark in the Indian music scenario.
Enjoy the playlist of Uma Basu's songs.
Happy listening.
Do you any songs from her test records??
ReplyDeleteDo you have any of her songs other than the ones released by hmv??, please share if possible , sourrra990@gmail.com, that's my email, please contact if you do
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