Says this new biography that traces the musical journey, life and times of RD Burman and gives you an insiders' view of his maverick music making process

While we all know that RD Burman even wailed as a baby in tune in the fifth note and was so named Pancham by the late actor Ashok Kumar, did you know that Pancham started out by playing various musical instruments in some of his father SD Burman's famous songs? He played the harmonica in the song Hai apna dil to awara sung by Hemant Kumar in the film Solva Saal.



Or the fact that he almost didn't make it as the music director of the film Teesri Manzil because the film's hero Shammi Kapoor wanted Shankar Jaikishen instead. Kapoor put Pancham through a tough test where the musician finally passed after his rendition of Aa ja aa ja and O mere sona re. Songs which since then have made musical history.

The new book RD Burman, The Man, The Music written by Aniruda Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal is like an encyclopaedia of any RD Burman fan.

Not only is the biography peppered with trivia that is not known in the mainstream but painstakingly traces the origin, conception and development, key notes and process of many of the famous Pancham numbers.

With the advent of the internet, there are ardent RD Burman fans who fanatically debate and break down each and every RD rhythm, the use of unconventional instruments which he liked to use in his music from around the world and how he sometimes reworked his own tunes from other films into completely different ones for new films.

The book is well researched and is written in a simple, fluid style and scattered with trivia. But the fact that book also highlights Pancham's highs and lows in his personal life along with his musical career are what will keep you glued to this book.

And while you read the book you will not be able to help but hum to yourself all of Pancham's timeless tracks every time it is discussed in the pages. And you will even discover some of his tracks which you might have never heard of and find yourself searching and listening to it on You Tube.