Manna Dey to resume recording again

Singing legend Manna Dey is all set to record four songs in memory of his late wife Sulochana. "Despite his falling health, Manna Dey is still very much agile. Very much immersed in music. He will record the four Rabindrasangeets (tagore songs) in the next two months," Bengali music director, lyricist and one of those closely associated with Manna Dey for ages, Suparna Kanti Ghosh said today. Dey, now mostly confined within his Bangalore residence, will record the songs very soon, Ghosh said. "He wants to mark it as a tribute to Boudi (sister-in-law) whose demise made him a loner but the exact songs have not yet been decided," Ghosh said about Sulochana, who had died in January last year. Dey in a recent published interview expressed his disapproval about the current crop of Bengali contemporary music including bands and said there was no alternative to lyrics and melody. "The new album by Manna-da will be a milestone considering he had not recorded for long and people were mostly used to other genres of music by more recent singers," Ghosh said, adding the album will be studded with eight tracks - four liked by his wife and four by his late uncle. Ashok Bhattacharya, a long time associate of Dey and a singer, said, "Dey had taken personal interest for the recording of my album Anek Basanto where the tracks bear his 'gayaki'. Then we had often asked him to again resume recording. "Now it is a matter of great pride that we will get to hear him again," Bhattacharya said.