Mumbai: Legendary playback singer Suman Kalyanpur passed away Monday at the age of 89.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari paid tribute to the playback singer.
The leaders took to social media platform X (Formerly Twitter) to mourn the loss of the veteran singer.
Nitin Gadkari wrote, “The news of the passing of Padma Bhushan Suman Kalyanpur, the popular, legendary, and senior playback singer in the Indian music world, is extremely heartbreaking. My heartfelt tribute to her. Suman Kalyanpur’s departure is a great loss to the Indian music world. In Marathi, Hindi, and many other languages, she immortalised thousands of songs with her voice.”
He added, “Popular Marathi songs like ‘Ketakichya Bani Tithe’, ‘Sang Kadhi Kalnar Tula’, ‘Nimbonyachya Jhadamaghe’ in Sumanji’s sweet voice are still on the lips of music lovers today. Her unparalleled contribution to the Indian music field is immense. May God grant peace to the departed soul and give strength to Sumanji’s near and dear ones to recover from this sorrow. Om Shanti.”
Eknath Shinde, sharing a picture of the legendary singer, wrote, “With their candid, pure, and sattvic notes that restored sanctity to music, the sad demise of the senior and supreme singer Suman Kalyanpur has snapped a melodious thread that connected two generations of music lovers. Through her voice, she expressed the emotions of many generations, gave words to love, melody to devotion, and the companionship of music to life’s tender moments.”
He further wrote, “With the strength of her gentle, pure, and emotionally resonant voice, she carved out a unique place for herself in the world of music. Over the past seven decades, she satiated connoisseurs with countless immortal songs. In the Hindi film industry, her many duets sung alongside Mohammed Rafi remain fresh in the memory of listeners even today. Songs like ‘Na Tum Humen Jano’ and ‘Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche’ further solidified the enchantment of her voice.”
Devendra Fadnavis sharing an old throwback picture of his meeting with Suman Kalyanpur wrote, “With the passing of veteran playback singer Suman Kalyanpur, a sweet, melodious, and soul-stirring voice in the Indian music world has fallen forever silent today. For over six decades, she reigned supreme in the hearts of music lovers with her unparalleled singing. Her immortal melodies in languages such as Marathi, Hindi, Bengali, Odia, and others remain an invaluable treasure of the music world.”
He added, “Honored with the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award, Sumanji enriched Indian music with her magical voice. The sweetness and emotive expression in her songs will forever linger in memory. Her demise marks a profound loss to the music world.
Talking about the legendary singer, she was born as Suman Hemmadi on January 28, 1937.
Often regarded as a contemporary who stood at par with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, Kalyanpur built a distinguished career spanning more than seven decades. Her voice was frequently compared to Lata Mangeshkar’s because of its striking similarity.
Among her most celebrated songs are ‘Na Tum Hamein Jano’, ‘Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche’, ‘Na Na Karte Pyar’, ‘Mera Pyar Bhi Tu Hai’, ‘Dil Ek Mandir Hai’, ‘Behena Ne Bhai Ki Kalai Pe’ and many acclaimed Marathi melodies. She recorded thousands of songs across Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati and other Indian languages.
Kalyanpur was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2023 in recognition of her contribution to Indian music.
The legendary singer passed away in Mumbai on May 31 at the age of 89. Her final rites are scheduled to be held June 1 in Mumbai.
IANS
