Who is the greatest playback singer of Hindi cinema? The debate was raging from much before I was born (and is still on) and as soon as I could comprehend a little music (can’t sing though) I was also pulled into the ring. Kishore Kumar versus Mohammed Rafi. Much like millions of others on this side of the debate, I chose Kishore and the choice was not only because of his singing prowess (Rafi is also phenomenal) but because while Rafi stayed more of a voice, while Kishore Kumar, because of his many other avatars, appeared as a person, even though a little loony.
Today (August 4, 2013) is Kishore Kumar’s 84th birth anniversary and here are a few images that all Kishore fans would cherish.
Childhood photos of Kishore Kumar, the darling of the Ganguly family from Khandwa. The features of the infant Kishore Kumar isn’t as obvious, but the one where he is no longer a baby shows more resemblance to the Kishore we know. In fact in the second image he looks a lot like his son Amit Kumar.
And here’s Kishore Kumar getting married (for the first time) to Ruma Ghosh in 1951, though both the bride and the groom are hardly recognisable in this image.
