Did You Know Kishore Kumar Left His College Midway In Mumbai To Become A Singer?
Kishore Kumar left his college education midway to land in Mumbai, where he went on to become not only a great singer, but also earned fame as an actor, lyricist and director.
Kishore
Kumar
Biography:
Life
History
|
Career
|
Unknown
Facts
|
FilmiBeat
Legendary
singer
Kishore
Kumar
preferred
singing
and
music
to
studies
during
his
student
days
and
was
very
clear
in
the
formative
years
of
his
life
that
he
wanted
to
make
a
mark
in
the
fledgling
Hindi
film
industry.
Kumar
had
an
average
academic
record,
as
per
documents
available
with
the
Indore
Christian
College
(ICC),
where
he
enrolled
for
intermediate
in
1946.
He
secured
third
division
with
just
326
marks
out
of
800
in
high
school
examination
(Class
10),
according
to
the
documents
submitted
to
the
ICC
for
admission.
Kumar,
born
as
Abhas
Kumar
Ganguly
into
a
Bengali
family
in
adjoining
Khandwa
district,
did
his
high
schooling
from
his
hometown
before
moving
to
Indore
for
further
studies.
He
left
his
college
education
midway
to
land
in
Mumbai
(then
Bombay),
where
he
went
on
to
become
not
only
a
great
singer,
but
also
earned
fame
as
an
actor,
lyricist,
composer,
producer,
director
and
screenwriter.
"A
copy
of
his
marksheet
was
found
in
a
dusty
file
in
the
ICC's
record
room.
We
searched
for
it
as
it
is
related
to
memories
connected
with
the
great
artist's
school
life,"
ICC
history
department
professor
Swaroop
Vajpayee
told
PTI.
He
said
Kumar's
father,
Kunjilal
Ganguly,
admitted
his
son
to
the
ICC
to
do
intermediate
after
he
matriculated
in
1946
from
Khandwa.
Vajpayee
said
Kumar
had
cleared
high
school
exam
conducted
by
the
then
Nagpur-based
Board
of
High
School
Education
of
Central
Provinces
and
Berar
in
1946
in
Hindi
medium,
and
his
roll
number
was
4197.
His
marksheet,
issued
in
July
1946,
shows
he
secured
69
marks
out
of
175
in
English
and
a
subject
taught
along
with
it,
9
out
of
25
in
general
knowledge,
64
out
of
150
in
chemistry
and
physics,
64
out
of
150
in
geography
&
elementary
history,
67
out
of
150
in
Hindi
and
53
out
of
150
marks
in
drawing.
Vajpayee
has
gathered
memories
associated
with
the
legendary
artist
from
different
sources
and
most
of
these
are
related
to
his
stay
in
the
ICC.
He
said
Kumar
had
made
up
his
mind
about
his
career
during
his
college
days.
He
was
an
executive
member
of
the
college's
cultural
organisation,
'Bajm-e-Adab'.
"Once
during
a
civic
class,
Kishore
was
caught
thumping
his
desk
as
if
he
was
playing
tabla.
The
teacher
asked
him
to
focus
on
studies
with
suggestions
that
singing
and
music
will
not
help
him
in
any
way
in
the
future.
"With
a
broad
smile,
Kishore
told
his
teacher
politely
that
he
will
eke
out
a
living
by
singing,"
Vajpayee
said.
Kumar
often
skipped
classes
to
sing
songs
and
practice
his
trademark
yodelling
under
an
'imli'
(tamarind)
tree,
he
said.
The
legendary
singer
along
with
his
brother
Anoop
Kumar
used
to
live
in
the
college
hostel,
which
is
now
in
a
state
of
ruin.
The
hostel
had
been
abandoned
two
decades
ago.
His
room
had
tablas,
harmoniums
and
dholaks
in
abundance
but
very
few
books,
the
professor
said.
Kumar
studied
in
the
ICC
from
1946
to
1948
and
moved
to
Mumbai,
leaving
his
study
midway,
Vajpayee
said.
"He
owed
panch
rupaiya
barah
aana
(Rs
5.75)
to
the
canteen
owner
then,"
the
professor
said.
It
is
believed
that
famous
song
Panch
Rupaiya
Barah
Aana,
from
1958
film
Chalti
Ka
Naam
Gaadi,
sung
by
Kumar
and
Lata
Mangeshkar,
has
it
genesis
to
the
legend's
indebtedness.