The Maestro

Sachin Dev Burman

Sachin Dev Burman was one of the most celebrated singers, musicians and composers in the history of the Indian entertainment world. He composed songs for more than 100 Bollywood and Bengali films. Sachin was also famous for his folk and classical music performances. His compositions of different genres have been performed by all the renowned singers of the subcontinent. We remember the life of this great cultural personality on his 39th death anniversary.

Sachin Dev Burman was born on October 1, 1906 in  Comilla
He was from the royal family of Tripura and his grandfather Ishanchandra Burman was Tripura’s last Maharaja
Burman completed his BA from Comilla Victoria College and MA from Calcutta University
Sachin’s first music guru was KC Dey who mentored him from 1925 to 1930

He also received training from Ustad Alauddin Khan and Kahifa Badal Khan
Poet Laureate Kazi Nazrul Islam spent several days at Sachin’s family home in Comilla and influenced Sachin's music  
In the late nineteen twienties Burman started to work as a radio singer in Calcutta radio
At that time he mainly performed Bengali folk song and classical Hindustani ragas

In 1944 Sachin moved to Mumbai and started his career as a playback singer and composer
In 1949 Sachin released one of his biggest hits ‘Shabnam’, making him an eminent composer
From late 1940s to the early 70s Sachin wrote, composed and sung in more than 100 movies
Sachin was the only composer who allowed Kishore Kumar and Muhaamad Rafi to sing an equal number of his songs

He treated eminent singer Kishore Kumar as his second son and Kishore later confessed that it was Sachin who gave him the first chance to sing in films
Sachin’s son Rahul Dev Burman was also an eminent singer and composer
The Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was named after the composer by Sachin's grandfather, who was an ardent fan of Burman
Sachin died on October 31, 1975 in Mumbai, India