It seems to be the year of the sweet voices of yesteryears going into silence. 

I always feel that once a professional moves out of the public eye (here, it's the ear), that indicates a sort of silence only. Very few personalities remain in the limelight till the end. 

The passing away of Suman Kalyanpur on May 31, 2026, made me recall her songs. It is a voice that I still like a lot, though it carries a strong semblance to the popular voice of Lataji. 

However, I have never felt that since a particular song would have been better had it been sung by Lataji since they all carried the unique charm of Suman’s vocal in her renditions. 

I had already written about her popular songs like ‘Aaj Kal tere mere’ (Brahmachari), ‘Aaya na hum ko pyaar’ (Pehchan), ‘Jahan Pyaar mile’ (Jahan Pyaar Mile), ‘Kaamdev jaisi‘ (Tum Haseen Main Jawan), ‘Behana ne bhai’ (Resham ki Dori), ‘Mera pyaar bhi tu hai’ (Saathi), ‘Na jaane kaise pal mein’ (Badaltey Rishte), ‘Ek thi Nindiaya’ (Seema), ‘Bharka bairan’ (Sabak), ‘Zindagi imtihan leti hain’ (Naseeb), ‘Tujhe pyaar karte hain,’ (April Fool), I can keep adding more songs which still I remember vividly. 

Suman’s humility is something rare. She never had any complex about that many compared her voice to Lataji’s. If I am correct, they have even sung a duet also in an insignificant movie ages back. 

Suman’s voice had been very popular among Maharashtrians as she had recorded several bhajans and devotional songs in Marathi. 

With all these, Suman Kalyanpur always kept a low profile. One shouldn’t forget that Shankar-Jaikishen duo used her mellifluous voice for many of their film songs. So also, Usha Khanna. 

Suman Kalyanpur had led a full life and left this world. 

However, those who liked Hindi film songs of yesteryears will remember her voice and songs vividly and eternally. 

That honour defines the life of a singer.