Legendary singer Manna Dey passed away here in the wee hours of Thursday after prolonged illness. He was 94.
Dey was suffering from chest infection, later developed other complications and was admitted to Narayana Hrudayalaya in June. He spent five months and 10 days in hospital. Following multiple organ failure, Dey breathed his last around 4 am after which his body was brought to the Samsa Open Air Auditorium behind Ravindra Kalakshetra where friends, relatives, fans and celebrities streamed in to pay their tributes to the multi-lingual singer who was living in Kalyan Nagar in the city for over 25 years.
Sumita, the younger of Dey’s two daughters told reporters he had been in poor health since 2009 after he developed back problem on returning from a concert in Singapore. Later, he also developed urinary complications. She recalled that Dey had been depressed ever since his wife Sulochana Kumaran died in January 2012. “He had not been himself from the time our mother passed away. He was practising for an album that he wanted to record in her memory and was spending hours together for riyaz. It is going to remain his unfulfilled desire,” she said.
Sumita recalled that he was very sad that she did not become a singer. “Father was sitting up and humming songs even as he was recovering in the hospital. Music was an inseparable aspect of his life. But when he felt too weak, he would slump down,” she said. She added that her older sister Shuroma was indisposed and was unable to attend the funeral.
Dey was also a passionate cook and loved preparing dishes that were greatly enjoyed by his wife and children, Sumita said. “He loved to eat cutlet curry and mutton roast. Even during his final days, I would prepare chicken broth and feed it to him with my own hands.”
Relatives and fans gathered around Dey’s body and sang songs that were close to his heart.
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