"Ningsingli meraagi thaabaldo
Thaabalna chamthoklaba maithongdo
Ekai nungshi yannana
Nangna enaakta lepkhiba"
You are a Manipuri and you can't deny having listened to this song and
liking it ! This was only one of the many masterpieces, Nongmaithem Pahari
produced in his lifetime. Considering the quality of his music and the contribution
he made towards the upliftment of modern Manipuri music,
the sobriquete assigned to him "The Melody King of Manipur" was quite apt.
Nongmaithem Pahari came to this world on the fine morning of
the 28th day of August in 1934 in Imphal, Manipur - a country bordering
Myanmar and India (now a part of India). He was the lone star of
his parents. His father Nongmaithem Thanil was one of the pioneers of
Manipuri theatre. Since the early period of his life, little Pahari
showed interest in music. He used to listen to KL Saigal,
Pankaj Maullik, etc. on the gramaphone the Nongmaithems owned. It didn't take
too long for his parents to discover the musical talent in him. The rest was
history.
Pahari's fans have welcome all of his albums and single releases. His album
"Undying Melodies" is thought to be the best album so far, or rather the best
of the best. The album features his all time hits like "Ningsingli meraagi
thabaldo", "Eigee eshei saklaroi", "Ahingda khongbee taamna", "Nangee maithong
urubada" and many more.
His number "Kellaba samjigee leirangni" has earned widespread
appreciation from the music pundits. The maestro did justice to the
mystic lyrics of Sarat Arambam with the aptly composed tune
and the mind boggling rendition.
Most of Pahari's songs have been written by the ace lyricist of Manipur
Shri B.Jayentakumar Sharma. It was not co-incidental that most songs also became 'hits'. If songs like Ningshinglee meraagi thabaldo,Khoidaba kanabu
yaobano, Ho bansi, Achamba meenok natte, Dolai thakta chatlibee and
Ho ema Manipur became all time favourites, it was because of the
maturely written lyrics and the appropriate tunes, besides the spell
carrying voice that gave life to the songs.
Pahari,incidentally, was not his actual name. He was christened
Nongmaithem Chittaranjan Singh(NC Singh). But people seemed to accept him as
Pahari.
Other than his singing career Pahari had other different careers.
He retired as the Station Director of Doordarshan Kendra Imphal(Television broadcasting station of Manipur). He was also the President of
Manipur Dramatic Union, Imphal. He also headed many other societies and
cultural groups of the state.
I had the privelege to know the legend personally. I found in him a good friend and a humble human being. I should admit that I have known only a
few man as gentle as he was. When once asked what his favourite song was
among the songs that he had sung, an undecisive Pahari quipped, "I...I don't
know, I love all the songs I have sung." But I later noted he liked Ningsinglee meraagi thaabaldo and Nangee napalgee more than the other songs.
May be he'd got his own reasons for that.
Nongmaithem Pahari breathed his last on the 18th October, 2006 at his home in Imphal. He has passed away but the legend he left behind never will.
Here's a link to an article dedicated to him. Click Here