Supriyo Bhattacharya with his collection. Picture by Anup Bhattacharya

The ringtone on his mobile phone is a Kishore Kumar song. His house is a mini museum of the singing maestro and the person himself is a moving encyclopaedia on Kishore Kumar’s life and works.

Supriyo Bhattacharya has one of the largest collections of Kishore Kumar’s songs, films, articles and books written on him. His collection contains rare and unreleased songs of Kishore Kumar which many have never heard. “I have collected these from different recording studios or private collections and have made digital versions of them so that I can preserve them. Many songs are from Kishore’s basic collection, which were actually albums that Kishore had recorded at the very beginning of his career,” said Supriyo.

He also maintains an exercise book where he has a long list of all the songs that Kishore Kumar has sung in his life in different languages. “I have the names of all the songs except one in Odiya which I have not found yet,” said Supriyo.

From being a fan of Kishore songs in his youth, Supriyo gradually become a fanatic collector of all things related to the artiste. “When I was young, I listened to Kishore’s songs on radio and would write down the lyrics of each song while listening,” he said. Supriyo’s passion drove him to visiting Kishore’s home in Khandua, in Uttar Pradesh. “I have been there three times. There is no one there other than an old caretaker who lets visitors in. A memorial for Kishore Kumar has been built in the compound but other than that no attempt has been made to preserve the house,” said Supriyo. On his way back, Supriyo collected soil and a few old stoneware from the house. A sweet shop next to Kishore’s house has now become popular because the artiste would often buy jalebi from the confectionery.

Supriyo also visited Kishore’s college, Indore Christian College from where he collected a copy of his school marksheet which shows Kishore passed in third division. Supriyo also met C V David, the former principal of the college who was in office when Kishore was a student. “He told me that Kishore Kumar was a very unruly and disobedient boy. He would often run out of class and go to the field or sit under a tamarind tree and sing,” said Supriyo. While trying to find out about his music and work, Supriyo has come across many interesting anecdotes. “Kishore Kumar would practise the song Main hoon jhumroo when he was in college sitting under the tamarind tree and his friends would listen to him. The song Paanch rupaiya bara ana was based on an actual incident. Kishore had taken the money on credit for which his elder brother Anup Kumar had reprimanded him and even hit him,” said Supriyo. The song, Roop tera mastana in Aradhana was sung by Kishore after a short jog to bring the right effect.

However, Supriyo’s search is still on. There are still many unheard songs of Kishore Kumar which he is looking for.

More about supriyo

• DoB: April 15, 1961
• Born in: Howrah
• Family: Wife, son, maternal uncle
• Education: BA
• Loves: Making collections on Amitabh Bachchan and R D Burman
• Hates: Any negative remarks about Kishore

Dalia Mukherjee