Birthday Special: Here's why Kishore Kumar’s voice continues to live on forever

Kishore Kumar, He never died. Thirty three years after he went away, his voice still rules the airwaves. Long after all the imitations have faded away, Kishore Kumar’s voice continues to live on forever
So who was he? Was he the genius director who made films with either did super-hit business or bombed beyond measure? Was he the mercurial lover who married 4 times and had liaisons with top actresses? Or was he the voice that soothed you on a hard tiring day.


Kishore Da was a lived in voice, you could meet experience, you could feel pathos, you could find joy in that yodel. After he passed away, his musical soulmate RD Burman too lost his inspiration. He chugged along for seven years indifferently after Kishore. The jewels they produced reflected life be it Main Shaayar Badnaam, Kuch Toh Log Kahenge, Jane Kya Sochkar, or Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna. Kishore reserved the same empathy for Dada Burman too. Be it Dada’s swan song Badi Sooni Sooni or Aye Tum Yaad Mujhe or Gaata Rahe Mera Dil or the incredibly sexy Roop Tera Mastana.


There was the gurgling lilt of a child in him, the melancholy of a deserted island, the rumbustiousness of a circus clown in his voice. He made an average composition sparkle.

He was known to be mercurial, run away from recordings, was whimsical. He wanted to retire and settle in his native place Khandwa far from the madding crowds. He was at the peak of his form when he died of an heart attack. Songs like Aye Zindagi from Namumkin and Oh Yaara from Kaash bear testimony to the fact that he was in the peak of his prowess when he passed away.


So what makes Kishoreda still stand the test of time. Is it his Remy Martin vocals that inveigle you into dropping everything and just being with him for the moment. Is it because he touches something in your soul or transforms you forever. 


He reminds you of loss, he makes you happy and he allows your wounds to heal. Yeah that’s it. He was a healer. The voice magically allowed your scars to heal and promised you hope that everything like the movies would eventually turn out great. In a country that has no sense of preservation or archiving history, his voice continues to reign. Happy birthday legend. He would have been 94 today.