Photos: Remembering the last of the golden voices - Manna Dey

Manna Dey never intended to be a singer. In his autobiography Jibaner Jalshagharey he confessed “In my youth when I ran around creating mischief with my friends from Simlepara, boxing or wrestling in akharas – there was no desire in any corner of my mind to be a singer.” That combativeness of the young pugilist remained throughout his career. It had to. Now we salute him as the last of the legendary male voices of Indian films. But in his heyday Manna Dey had to fight for almost every song.