🎇 स्वरानंद - एन.दत्ता 🎇

 

Dattaram Baburao Naik (1927 –1987), active (1955-1980) Screen name N. Dutta, Born in, a small village in Goa, then a Portuguese colony. The family was very poor and to top it, Datta’s mother died when he was just two years old. A neglected child, at the age of 12, he ran away to Mumbai and was brought up by his mother's sister in Mumbai. He started leaning Harmonium and struck a close friendship with Chandrakant Bhosle who used to play rhythm with Shankar-Jaikishan's orchestra.

With that he came in contacts into the film music scene, and Datta started helping Gulam Haider. The turning point though was when Dada Burman, spotted his talent in a street music show. The maestro employed him as his assistant and while working with him, N. Datta also developed a notable career as an independent composer. His compositions showed a fine sense of melody and orchestration, using very few instruments. He almost exclusively used Sahir Ludhianvi and that’s why his songs were always blessed with meaningful and poetic lyrics.

Noted Marathi personality P.L. Deshpande famously wrote that whenever

he listened to Lata’s emotional Dhool Ka Phool title song ‘Too Mere Pyaar Kaa Phool Hai’, he got the impression that each word, each note, was rendered as if a tender flower petal was gently being placed in flowing water!

Datta Naik composed music for over 70 movies in Hindi and Marathi, and some Bhavgeets in Marathi.  

N. Datta’s later years were spent fighting ill health and commercial failure. The 1980 film Chehre Pe Chehra was his last Hindi film. He breathed his last in 1987.

This boy from the simplest of backgrounds, had the guts to run away from home at the age of 12, playing music on Mumbai streets, got picked up by the leading composer of the day, and made a mark with his melodies which are relished even 3 decades after his departure. Can there be a better tale of determination and confidence in one’s abilities.

 His most enduring songs would certainly be ‘मैंने चॉंद और सितारों की तमन्ना की थी, मुझे रातों की स्याही के सिवा और कुछ न मिला’ the Classic composition in Bhimpalasi, “ईश्वर अल्लाह तेरो नाम सबको सन्मती दे भगवान ”. And the chirpy “जान गई मैं तो जान गयी” and 'तू हिंदू बनेगा न मुसलमान बनेगा, इन्सान की औलाद है, इन्सान बनेगा' from Dhool Ka Phool.

To listen to the song "मैने चाँद और सितारोंकीं तम्मन्ना की थी" played by Shirish Purohit on Accordian click on the link above.

   

Shirish Purohit