From 1929 to Eternity – Kishore Kumar

From Nineteen Twenty-Nine
To eternity, he remains music’s sign

Encircled by the meadows green
that Sunday evening,
August the fourth it was
As Gauri Rani felt the pain,
the whole of Khandwa was to gain
Kunjilal the wrestler
was also a jester
Known mostly as a lawyer,
he was also Kishore’s father
Childhood was not all bulls and bears
a voice not quite to the ears
A sudden cut on the toe one day,
led to a series of wails as he lay
Crying he stopped that night,
only to find the lost voice right
Poor as he was in Maths,
yet rich he was in his paths
In Music and drama, he had discovered his future
These were his hands he was to nurture
Songs of brother Ashok he did sing for a price
The highest reserved for Guru Saigal, saw his rise.
From Double Pathak to Christian College,
he refused to be trapped in the conventional cage
As Ashok called him to Bombay,
he decided studies could be held at bay.
With Ziddi, started his chapter,
in no time, he mastered the laughter
With one of the busiest in the town,
his first marriage led to too many frowns
With Madhubala, he tried to mend both the hearts,
try as hard, almighty placed her in the upper berth
To Door Gagan she went,
leaving him alone to vent
With no wife and a host of tax arrear,
in live shows, his life was a whole lot merrier
Thus started a journey unique,
the one with no downhill
From Kathmandu to Munich
they found in him a baritone to heal.
From one to ten, he ruled the ranking,
The maverick was at last the undisputed king
Four wives and three heart attacks later
On thirteenth of October, he merged with matter.
Nineteen Eighty-Seven it was then,
The whole of Khandwa came out of their den
For what Krishna was to Mathura,
Kishore was integral to Khandwa’s aura.
This fourth as he turns ninety-two,
The vacant space is still held in awe
For if ever there was an eccentric genius in town
Kishore had made this term his own.