A. Tombisana Sharma
Khanguthaki shingarei… … As the soulful voice of
Tombisana Sharma drifts in, one is sure to evoke a nostalgic moment. The uncrowned monarch of modern Manipuri
song, who ruled the roost in the early
sixties, once sent thousands of his fans
into a frenzy of ecstasy – his song being a combination of melody with certain
melancholy that was pulsed with verve
and exuberance.
Tombisana was, and
still is, an enigma. He had sung only a handful of songs compared to his
contemporaries like Pahari. But the
romantic songs he had sung are still regarded as the best ones. Recorded on 78
rpm disc manufactured and marketed by the Hindusthan of Calcutta his records are
today a collector’s items.
The versatility and range of his voice were enhanced by the
fluidity and uninhibitedness of his expressions. His rendition of songs like bidai loure pombi; khoinou itaroi etc., made it clear that he had developed his own inimitable
style. The anguish of a forlorn, unsatiated lover, and the pang of
separation between two souls were the thematic contents of the two songs respectively.
Though
moody and romantic songs were his forte, he could sing bhajan or devotional
songs also. In fact those were the days in which singing devotional songs was very popular.Tombisana took full
advantage of the time and presented evergreen popular devotional
hits like nandalal; radhe chatkhinu; koubiranu shyam etc.
The popular songwriter of the time Jayantakumar Sharma was
responsible for the success of Tombisana. Almost all the songs sung by the singer were penned by Jayantakumar. Other artistes like Gourahari, Nongthon,
Tomba and Mani also helped Tombisana in getting his
songs recorded.
However, the path to success for Tombisana was not full of
roses. He had his share of competitors like Pahari, Budha, Jaminikanta, Iboyaima, Shyam and
Rabindra. Even then, none of the singers except Pahari was a serious
threat to Tombisana’s singing career. They did not have the kind of melodious voice that Tombisana had. And as
the luck would have it, when Tombisana cut his first disc haiyu
shingel chanabiyo in 1959, Pahari
was far away in Lucknow learning hindustani sangeet. During the
period Tombisana easily established
himself as the number one singer of modern manipuri songs also called adhunik. Had it not been so his singing
fortune would have been different.
Among the evergreen oldies of the singer – nangi maithong thajana; haineine toungamba shyam; ngasi lakle eikhoi etc., were popular hits. He sang in light and
tripping tunes also. His records were so popular that no social functions in
Manipur were completed without some of his songs being played through the
loudspeakers.
Born in 1942 Tombisana today is 55 years young. But he looks
older than his age. Ravaged by bad times
and changing values, he found it difficult to reconcile to the reality. He lost his job, lost his son ( who died of
renal failure sometime back). Like a tragic hero from a bygone era, he today
walks from one spot of buried hope to the death rattle of another, searching his spiritual hardwares in the
concrete jungle of Imphal city.
Living near the old and dilapidated palace of Manipur,
around the relics and antiquities, he spends his time by singing his once
favourite number -- mingchat thiba phajaba keidano
-- a song about the fragile
values in this mundane world of shredded metaphysics.
Konjengbam Kameshore, Imphal
(Courtesy: Eastern Panorama, Shillong, Sept. 1997)
(Courtesy: Eastern Panorama, Shillong, Sept. 1997)
