R D Burman Death Anniversary: Here are 11 unknown facts about the legendary musician

Pics Courtesy: Social Media Accounts Of Adnan Sami, Gulazar, Mid Day Archives

1. Even though R D Burman's nickname was ‘Panchamda, he was also lovingly called Tablu'.

Also Read: RD Burman, a lesson in time management

2. For all those wondering the about the story behind Burman getting his nickname as ‘Panchamda', well, there are reportedly two versions of the story.

3. The first version says that RD Burman could ‘cry' in five different notes. And that is why he was called ‘Panchamda'. For the unversed, Pancham means five in Bengali. Speaking of Bengali, his first Bengali composition was sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.

Also Read: Tuesday Trivia: This is the ticket of the film in which the late Lata Mangeshkar had acted

4. The other version states that it was the late Ashok Kumar who had given him the nickname ‘Panchamda'.

5. The legendary musician had used day to day things for his songs. These included cups and saucers (for the song ‘Chura Liya Hai') and combs (for the song ‘Mere Saamne Waali Khidi mein')

6) Not many know that Panchamda had composed his first ever song at the age of nine years for the film ‘Fantoosh' which was released in the year 1956.

7) Reports state that the first ever car that R. D. Burman purchased was a Fiat, which had the registration number ‘BMC 1139'. There are also reports that say that being an ardent lover of plants, he had a whopping 200 varieties of chillies in his garden!

8) There is a story about the legendary musician. It states that once a serpent had got coiled on his leg. He reportedly effortlessly uncoiled it himself.

9) There is also a story about his association with his favourite musical instrument - mouth organ. While he had played the mouth organ, his best friends and musicians Laxmikant-Pyarelal, he had also played the instrument while floating on water in Calcutta. Not many know that he also played the mouth organ in Hai Apna Dil To Awara. The song was crooned by Hemant Kumar in the film Solva Saal.

10) Besides composing some of the memorable music, Panchamda had even acted in three films ‘Bhoot Bangla', ‘Pyaar Ka Mausam', and ‘Gayak'.

11) That he was dedicated musician par excellence is something that is known to everyone. But, his level of dedication is totally unmatched. Buzz is that the legendary composer would spend hours together in his balcony in order to record the voice of raindrops. He also recorded an international jazz album 'Pantera' which was released in 1987.

Disclaimer: All of the above information have been sourced out from the internet.