{"id":7757,"date":"2023-07-04T12:57:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T07:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=7757"},"modified":"2025-11-19T10:05:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T04:35:20","slug":"jyoti-chowdhury-remembers-salil-chowdhury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/jyoti-chowdhury-remembers-salil-chowdhury\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Feelings, Lyrics, Orchestra \u2014 Everything was Different in Salil Chowdhury’s Songs’: Jyoti Chowdhury"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Salil<\/a>

Salil Chowdhury with wife Jyoti Chowdhury and daughters Aloka, Tulika and Lipika
(Pic: Ratnottama Sengupta, Aloka Nanjappa, Tulika Mukherjee)<\/p><\/div>\n

I used to live in Bhowanipore, the only daughter of Girija Mohan Bhattacharya. My grand parents lived with us. I studied in Ramesh Mitra Institution and then graduated from Ashutosh College with Philosophy and Botany. Salil Chowdhury was my tutor \u2013 he had studied philosophy but not science, so he would read up at night in order to teach me. Like him, I was involved with the activities of Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). I did not perform but I used to attend all their programmes and meetings, and so I was acquainted with a number of personalities.<\/p>\n

Salil and I got married in 1952. Earlier that year, Bimal Roy had come to Kolkata. Satyen Bose\u2019s\u00a0Rickshawala, <\/em>from a story by Salil,\u00a0was showing in the theatres then. Kali Banerjee had played the role enacted by Balraj Sahni and my cousin Manik Chatterjee (who later worked with Bimal Roy Productions, assisted Basu Bhattacharya, directed\u00a0Ghar<\/em>, and died at the young age of 40) played the son. Ritwikda (Ghatak) took Bimalda to see the film. He liked it so much that he decided to work on it after his return to Bombay.<\/p>\n

On the morning of our wedding day \u2013 August 14 \u2013 we received his telegram, and 15 days later Salil left for Bombay. I stayed back since I had enrolled in the Govt College of Art and Craft after completing my BA.<\/p>\n

Among my teachers were Modernist painter Gopal Ghose, and Rathin Moitra who simplified iconography with free flowing lines and vibrant colours. Along with sculptor Pradosh Dasgupta and painter Nirode Mazumdar, they had founded the Calcutta Group in 1943. Gopal Ghose had a lot of affection for me, and he was a close acquaintance of Bimalda.<\/p>\n

Our principal was Ramen Chakraborty, a contemporary of Binode Behari who had himself trained in the Govt College, in Santiniketan, and in the Slade School in London, to master the techniques of woodcuts and multicoloured prints from visiting French artist Andre Karpeles and Mexican artist Fryman. Incorporating the best of both, East and West, these masters created watercolours, woodcuts, engravings, etchings, focusing on everyday life.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"\"

Lata Mangeshkar, Salil Chowdhury and Manna Dey<\/p><\/div>\n

Salil, since his childhood, was into music. His father Dr Gyanendra Chowdhury, who was the Medical Officer at the Hathikuli Tea Estate near Kaziranga in Assam from 1931 to 1951,\u00a0used to play instruments like the flute and clarinet. In order to pursue his studies Salil used to live with his maternal uncles in Kodalia, Sonarpur in South 24 Parganas. He had joined the IPTA while still in college.<\/p>\n

Actually Kolkata had this tradition of neighbourhood youths coming together to form choirs and stage plays. I had gone to see\u00a0Sirajuddaula<\/em>, an amateur production, along with my cousin Madan, my paternal aunt’s son who was Salil\u2019s friend. That\u2019s how we first met, and that\u2019s how he came to be my tutor.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

In 1952, after finalising the script of\u00a0Do Bigha Zamin<\/em>, Salil returned to Kolkata. We went again during the Christmas break, and that\u2019s when I spent two weeks in the makeshift guest room next to Bimalda\u2019s office in Mohan Studios. The meals came from an Irani hotel across the street.<\/p>\n

That room with a three-fold mirror and other paraphernalia also served as a make up room. Nirupa Roy used to do her make up there. I would also watch Balraj Sahni at work. He was always clad in a saffron dhoti. Curious to know why he wore that colour, I found out that on the black and white screen that colour would look closest to a soiled dhoti that a rickshaw puller would normally wear.<\/p>\n

\"Salil

Salil Chowdhury with daughter Aloka (Bubun)
(Pic: Ratnottama Sengupta, Aloka Nanjappa, Tulika Mukherjee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Those days I used to be very shy and reticent, so I didn\u2019t have any conversation with Bimalda, but I did meet Binadi \u2014 his wife Manobina Roy<\/a> \u2014 before I went back to Kolkata at the end of my holiday. I returned to Bombay in 1954, with our first-born Aloka whom we called ‘Bubun’ after Bimalda\u2019s youngest daughter.<\/p>\n

\"Kishore

Kishore Kumar recording a song with Salil Chowdhury as Shailendra and Cawas Lord look on. (Pic: Facebook)<\/p><\/div>\n

We stayed then at Janaki Kutir in Juhu, a rented bungalow with tiled roof, that was later home to Kaifi Azmi, his wife Shaukat and daughter Shabana. It had to be renovated because it had neither water nor light. Renowned actor Raj Kumar was our neighbour while Shailendra<\/a> and Prem Dhawan were regular visitors. We spent six months there, then we moved to Andheri to be closer to Mohan Studios, where Bimal Roy Productions office and Salil’s Music Room were located.\u00a0Later we bought a house and moved to Perry Cross Road, in Bandra.<\/p>\n

Do Bigha Zamin<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was followed by\u00a0Naukri<\/em>,\u00a0then Biraj\u00a0Bahu.<\/i>\u00a0Salil also scored for some outside productions. One was\u00a0Awaaz<\/em>\u00a0\/1956\u00a0directed by\u00a0Zia Sarhadi\u00a0for Mehboob Khan Productions. Another was\u00a0Tangewali\u00a0 1955<\/em>\u00a0directed by Lekhraj Bhakri. R K Films\u00a0Jagte Raho<\/em>\/1956, directed by Sombhu Mitra and Amit Maitra was another remarkable work.\u00a0That\u2019s how we decided to stay on in Bombay.<\/p>\n

Kanu Ghosh was his assistant at this point and Sebastian D’Souza was his music arranger.\u00a0Gradually Basu Chakraborty, Manohari\u00a0Singh, Antony and other musicians\u00a0joined him.\u00a0Years later, when Salil used to score in Madras, Rahman\u2019s father used to write the score. Rahman said this in an interview, if I\u2019m not mistaken.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"Lata

Lata Mangeshkar and Salil Chowdhury
(Pic: lataonline.com)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Salil was a composer, lyric writer, poet. He also wrote stories. But he was most at home with music. He used to pace through the room humming to himself, probably thinking of the situations and composing tunes. Prem Dhawan, Viswamitra Adil, Rajendra Krishan, Shailendra \u2014 these lyric writers would come over for discussions, Lata Mangeshkar would come to rehearse, so did Asha Bhonsle, Talat Mahmood and other singers.<\/p>\n

Binadi was always there, checking on us at Mohan Studios, helping us set up home at Janaki Kutir, making us feel at home in Bombay. When I had my other daughters \u2014 Tulika and Lipika \u2014 she was like an elder sister to me. Through her we also got acquainted with her cousin Sonali and renowned documentary filmmaker Harisadhan Dasgupta, who were also living in Bombay at that time and used to visit the studio.<\/p>\n

Binadi encouraged me to go back to painting since I was on the verge of life as an artist when I came away from Calcutta. But I had found happiness in my husband’s success!<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

\"Nargis,

The Indian Delegation in Moscow, 1959 (Third from L to R) Nargis, Bimal Roy, Nirupa Roy, Salil Chowdhury, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Radhu Karmakar (in front)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was not privy to Salil\u2019s discussions with Bimalda or other directors, only with lyricists and singers since they used to come home. So I can\u2019t throw much light on how Bimalda contributed to the songs. But working with him must have enhanced Salil’s ability to score for films. I do know that Bimalda used to give suggestions and they would regularly have extensive, exhaustive discussions before the recordings.<\/p>\n

I was seldom present for the rehearsals and the only occasion I was present at a recording was during\u00a0Do Bigha Zamin<\/em>. Lata was singing\u00a0\u00a0Aaja re aa nindiya tu aa.<\/em>\u00a0Ishaan Ghosh was the recordist, and Bimalda was present in the studio. This lullaby, along with\u00a0Nanhi kali soney chali<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0Sujata<\/em>, another of Bimalda’s films, has often been cited as the best in Hindi cinema.<\/p>\n

Aja ri aa nindiya tu aa<\/strong><\/em> (Do Bigha Zamin<\/em>, 1953) Salil Chowdhury \/ Shailendra \/ Lata Mangeshkar<\/span><\/p>\n