Sumit Kumar recalls watching father Kishore Kumar perform ‘Eena Meena Deeka’ during live stage shows

Mumbai, July 2 (IANS) Legendary singer Kishore Kumar’s son Sumit Kumar recalled his childhood days of watching his father sing the iconic songs, ‘Eena Meena Deeka’ & ‘Ek Chatur Naar’ at every live stage show.

The singer who recently appeared on the music reality show, Indian Idol, recalled the cherished memories after a performance by contestant Manraj on the show.

Sumit shared, “My memory of this song, Bachpan mein Bhaiya aur Baba both used to perform this song on stage. So this song, I used to recall. Aur ek gaana tha, ‘Ek Chatur Naar,’ jismein it was not planned, par end mein jugalbandi mein Baba Bhaiya ke upar aake baith jaate the aur main Bhaiya ka pithoo. I could never stand ki aise kaise ho gaya ki Bhaiya haar gaye. Main stage pe jaake dono ke upar baith jaata tha. This song, particularly ‘Eena Meena Deeka’, Baba used to perform this song in all his stage performances. Aapne bohot accha gaaya hai, maza aa gaya.”

(This song brings back so many childhood memories. When I was young, both my elder brother and my father used to perform this song on stage. Whenever I hear it, those memories come flooding back. There was another song, ‘Ek Chatur Naar.’ It wasn’t planned, but during the final jugalbandi, my father would climb onto my brother’s shoulders. I, of course, was completely on my brother’s side. I just couldn’t accept the idea of my brother losing! So I would run onto the stage and climb on top of both of them. This song in particular, ‘Eena Meena Deeka,’ was one that my father performed at almost every stage show. You sang it so beautifully, it was an absolute delight to listen to)

Talking about Kishore Kumar, the singer remains one of the most celebrated playback singers in the history of Indian cinema.

Over a career spanning more than four decades, the stalwart singer lent his voice to thousands of songs across multiple Indian languages, with evergreen classics such as ‘Roop Tera Mastana’, ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’, ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’, ‘O Mere Dil Ke Chain’, ‘Yeh Shaam Mastani’, ‘Rimjhim Gire Saawan’, ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’ and ‘Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana’ amongst many others.

As an actor, Kishore Kumar starred in memorable films including ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’, ‘Half Ticket’, ‘Padosan’, ‘Jhumroo’ and ‘Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein’.

–IANS

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