Manna De spends quiet 93rd birthday

Kolkata: Legendary singer Manna De, who lives in Bangalore, celebrated a quiet birthday as he turned 93 today.

"He is in not in a mood to celebrate his birthday because he is still devastated by his wife`s death. Also, he is not keeping good health," his grand nephew Sandeep De told PTI. Sulochana De, who passed away in January, was known to have been an inspiration behind a number of his evergreen love songs. De has been living in Bangalore since 2000. "Their bonding was very strong as they were married for sixty years. Now on his birthday he misses her the most," family members said. The health of the Dadasaheb Phalke awardee is also a concern. A doctor attending on the singer said for the past one year, he has been unable to leave his house due to pain in the back and legs. "He needs some support now for walking. In the last few months, he has shed 10-12 kg in weight, but other health parameters are okay now," the doctor said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had yesterday telephoned him and wished the veteran singer a long life. "He was completely flattered by the phone call. Never in the past had a chief minister called up. He was very moved," Sandeep said. De was a name to reckon with in the music industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. Having recorded more than 3,500 songs in a number of languages including Hindi and Bengali, he regaled generations of listeners with his romantic ballads, intricate raga-based songs, Qawwalis and fast-paced modern numbers, lending his voice to a number of Hindi and Bengali film stars. His popular tracks include `Poocho Na Kaise Maine` (Meri Surat Teri Aankhen), `Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen` (Waqt), `Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli` (Anand), `Yeh Dosti` (Sholay) and `Ek Chatur Naar` (Padosan). Born in Kolkata, the singer spent more than fifty years in Mumbai before moving to Bangalore. PTI