Unforgettable Kishore

Yodelling or singing romantic songs, adding a note of comedy or a dash of sadness, Kishore Kumar could do it all.

Blessed are those who have one exceptional talent. The eccentric Kishore Kumar had several.

To label this maverick as an actor-singer would only tell part of the story. Kishore was also a composer who created some gracious notes in Koi humdum na raha and Thandi hawa ye chandni suhani. He was also a director with an eye for the unusual, the absurd and the sensitive. In an era when genuine wit was rare and comedy the domain of the hero's sidekick, Kishore was the only comic hero. There's more. Kishore was a delightful stage performer who often made other celebrities sharing space with him seem like part of the stage furniture.

The most easily-recalled image of Kishore Kumar is of him smiling with his eyes. But to assume that he sailed through life with a song on his lips and that grin on his face would be erroneous. There was a mysterious stillness beneath the madcap facade.

Twenty years after his death, Kishore Kumar still remains everyone's favourite. His unofficial school of clones keeps growing. Remixes are inconceivable without him. He rules on flashback FM programmes. And if the 156 Orkut communities - one of them has over 86,000 members -which swear by his name are a barometer, Facebook too has fallen for him. Almost 20 years since he passed away on October 13, 1987, Kishore Kumar's voice remains as cool as it's contemporary, endearing both the old and the now.

Kishore once sang. "Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Guzar Jaate Hai Jo Muqaam Woh Phir Nahi Aate." Kishore will never return but his songs will continue to hit airwaves for generations to come.