Ranjit Gazmer is an Indian film music director and a musician, who is noted for his work in Nepali-language films. He had a long association with music director R.D. Burman as a musician.

Early life

Ranjit Gazmer is from a gold merchant family of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. Gazmer was a student of

Amber Gurung Shree Amber Gurung ( ne, अम्बर गुरुङ) (26 February 1938 – 7 June 2016) was a Nepalese composer, singer, and lyricist. He composed Nepal's national anthem, " Sayaun Thunga Phulka". Early life Amber Gurung was born in Dar ...

at his Art Academy of Music in Darjeeling. His contemporaries were

Gopal Yonzon Gopal Yonzan, also spelled Yonjan, (26 August 1943 – 20 May 1997) was a Nepali lyricist, singer, and composer. He was known for his patriotic Nepali songs. His voice range allowed him to sing songs of every genre of Nepalese music. He belongs ...

, Karma Yonzon, Sharan Pradhan,

Aruna Lama Aruna Lama (9 September 19454 February 1998) was an Indian-born Nepali language singer from Darjeeling. She is popularly known as 'Nightingale of the Hills'. She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali film, and left an indelib ...

and Jitendra Bardewa, all of whom went on to be musicians. He was a part of a musical group called 'Sangam Club' and was also a drummer for 'The Hillians', the first-ever western band formed in Darjeeling. In 1966, he moved to

Birgunj Birgunj ( ne, वीरगञ्ज) is a metropolitan city in Parsa District in Madhesh Province of southern Nepal. It lies south of the capital Kathmandu, attached in the north to Raxaul in the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an entr ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

with his friends, which included

Anuradha Koirala Anuradha Koirala (born Anuradha Gurung on 14 April 1949), Okaldhunga district, is a Nepalese social activist and the founder of Maiti Nepal – a non-profit organization in Nepal, dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking. She was appoi ...

(then Anuradha Gurung), managing an English-medium private school. In 1967, Gazmer moved to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

with his friends and became a studio musician at

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave ( AM) and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts ...

. Later, he moved to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(then Bombay) to pursue his music career there with R.D. Burman.

Career

Initial works

Gazmer joined George Banks, father of

Louis Banks Louis Banks (born Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi on 11 February 1941) is an Indian film composer, record producer, keyboardist, and singer. He has often been referred to as the 'Godfather of Indian jazz'.King Mahendra Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until ...

, Ramsaran Darnal, who worked in the Academy called up Gazmer and gave him a job. Manohari Singh, a close aid of the Burmans, invited Gazmer to join him in Mumbai. Gazmer arrived in Mumbai on 25 December 1971. Singh then introduced him to R.D. Burman. After initial introduction where he played a tune composed by himself, he was asked to be present in a recording at Film Centre, Tardeo. When Gazmer reached there, he was surprised and happy to see that the tune which he had played in front of Burman when being introduced was being recorded. The song was 'Kanchi Re Kanchi Re', which had been inspired from Gazmer's composition 'Kancha Re Kancha'. After the recording, Burman told him, "This is your song. And from today, you shall be called 'Kancha'". Since then, he was a sitting member of Burman's team as a percussionist until Burman's death in 1994.

Music

Gazmer worked under R.D. Burman in Mumbai, playing

madal The madal ( ne, मादल) or maadal is a Nepalese folk musical instrument. The madal is used mainly for rhythm-keeping in Nepalese folk music. It is very popular and widely used as a hand drum in Nepal. The madal has a cylindrical body with a s ...

in several Hindi film songs. In 1982, Ranjit arranged for

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

to sing her first Nepali film song with him. Asha Bhosle's first Nepali song was however in the film

Maitighar ''Maitighar'' ( Maternal home) is a 1966 Nepali film directed by B.S. Thapa. It was the third Nepali film produced and the first featured film under a private banner. This film features bollywood actress Mala Sinha in the lead role with Nepali ...

. Ranjit he has composed music for several Nepali films such as '' Samjhana'', ''

Kusume Rumal ''Kusume Rumal'' ( ne, कुसुमे रुमाल; ) is a 1985 Nepali romantic film written and directed by Tulsi Ghimire. It was produced by Sumitra Paudel under the banner of Sayapatri Films. The film featured Bhuwan K.C, Tripti Nada ...

'', '' Lahure'', ''

Saino ''Saino'' ( ne, साईनो) is a hit 1988 Nepali film directed by Ugyen Chopel. It starred Danny Denzongpa, Bhuwan K.C., Tripti Nadakar and child actor Raksha. The music of the film was composed by Ranjit Gazmer. Danny Denzongpa wrote t ...

'', and ''

Darpan Chaya Darpan Chaya (Nepali language, Nepali: दर्पण छायाँ, English: The Illusory Mirror) is a 2001 Nepalese Romance film, romantic drama film, written and directed by Tulsi Ghimire. The film is produced by Shrawan Ghimire under the ...

''. He is based in Mumbai and records songs in the studios there.

Discography

As a music director

References

External links

Nepali Songs of Ranjit Gazmer

Guftagoo Program Rajyasabha TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gazmer, Ranjit Living people People from Darjeeling district Nepalese musicians 1941 births Musicians from West Bengal Nepali-language singers from India