Hindi
RIP Manna Dey
MUMBAI: Manna Dey is no more.
The legendary singer, whose golden voice mesmerised audiences for decades, breathed his last early this morning at a Bengaluru hospital, where he had been admitted for respiratory problems for the past few months. He was 94 years old.
Having started his career as a playback singer in the 1943 film Tamanna, Dey has nearly 3,500 songs in languages including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Malayali, Kannada and Assamese to his credit. The more memorable among these being Pucho Na Kaise, Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua, Ae Maalik Tere Bande Hum, Kasme Vaade Pyaar Wafa, Ae Meri Johra Jabi, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Yaari Hai Imaan to name a few.
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For Kailash Kher, Dey was nothing less than an ‘institution’, whose inimitable style of singing influenced many like him to do better in their career
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The distinctive timbre and classical bent of Dey’s voice made him a hot favourite among the heroes of the time, not to mention generations of music composers. Not surprisingly, he went on to receive the country’s highest honours – the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan, among a slew of awards and accolades.
As news spread of his sad demise, the entire film industry was plunged into a state of shock and grief.
One of the first ones to tweet was Amitabh Bachchan, who wrote: “Manna Dey, stalwart of the music world, passes away. Flooded with memories and his songs. In particular his rendition of Madhushala.”
Shabana Azmi too tweeted: “Manna Dey had a unique voice. He will live on through his songs Ai Meri Zohra Jabeen/ dil ka haal suney dilwala/ poocho na kaise maine RIP.”
Not just the industry veterans, even younger artistes and composers fondly remembered the iconic singer.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, National Award-winning singer Rekha Bharadwaj said Dey had been an inspiration for almost all those interested in music.
“He had a completely distinctive style. No one can match that. Whether it was Ae Mere Pyaare Watan…, Koi Sagar Dil Ko Behlata Hai…, or Ek Chaturnaar…, he made each of these songs unique in itself with a certain pathos and melody,” said Bharadwaj, who remains a fan of all the songs from the film Anand, still humming them whenever she is in a mood.
“Ae Mere Pyaare Watan has been a favourite among almost everybody across all generations,” she said, regretting the fact that she never got a chance to meet Dey in person. “But people like Kavita Krishnamoorthy and Suresh Wadekar kept me abreast about him and also shared many anecdotes. It’s nice to know all that,” she said.
For Kailash Kher, Dey was nothing less than an ‘institution’, whose inimitable style of singing influenced many like him to do better in their career.
“He is an inspiration. He has left so much behind him for generations to come,” Kher said, recalling how as a teenager, he never knew who had sung his favourite song, Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli…, till he discovered through a magazine interview that it was none other than Dey, and became an ardent fan since.
“I had read this interview sometime in the 90s and was in awe of the singer after reading everything about him. He sung a comic song or a peppy number with as much ease as he sung an emotional song,” said Kher, also referring to the fact that Dey lent his voice not only to the Hindi film industry but also to many other languages and genres.
Shibani Kashyap thinks Dey had the ‘most unusual voice’. “I cry when I listen to the songs from Anand. Very few singers have the power to move you to tears. He is iconic. And though he is not around us any more, his songs will always keep him alive. The songs that he has sung are out of the world and they will continue to enthuse younger generations of aspiring singers and musicians,” said Kashyap, ruing the fact that he wasn’t celebrated as much as he should have been. “He hasn’t got the due that he should have. We let him leave the industry too soon. I just wish his songs stay with us forever,” she concluded.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
