Mala’s mystery explained

Anjan Dutta’s “Mala” is one of those songs you are bound to listen to if you are a Bangali. If not for the hopeless romantic within Anjan, “Mala” would’ve been just another regular face on the streets of Kolkata. Dutta’s “Mala” has set a benchmark for young romantics. Young Anjan repents watching Mala slip away from him, which is the primary focus of the song. At the time of its release, we wholeheartedly believed in Anjan’s insatiable love and longing. I burst out in laughter when I recall the days where we actually celebrated Mala’s birthday on the 12th of May. Imagine our shock when we realised, Anjan wasn’t referring to Mala’s birthday at all! Being an avid listener, I shouldn’t have missed out on such major details. It wasn’t actually Mala’s birthday for which he kept on sending bouquets, and it wasn’t her birthday when she left for real. In fact, “Jonmodin” was never at all referred to as ‘birthday’. Jonmodin was a famous flower shop in Kolkata where only the rich could dare to buy flowers from. Plus the shop Jonmodin had nothing to do with her departure. However, this is not the only mysterious reference in the song.As we hang on and wait till the next layer of Dutta’s lamentation, you will observe him passionately stating Oberoy Bhai’s door is always open for Mala. This is the place where celebrated cricketer of that era, Imran Khan, had coffee served by Mala - something which we states with utter remorse. Domdom is another mysterious place he addressed in the song, which is none other than the airport of Kolkota. However, it is not possible for us to crack all of the multiple layers of Anjan’s famous song, and we are yet to discover the  significance of May 12. The song ends with a legendary Dhakeshwari saree bought from Janglapar and a pair of jhumka from PC Chandra Jewellers, wearing which Mala gets married, leaving Anjan with a broken heart, which ultimately lured him to write a timeless ballad regarding these events. It requires courage to immemorialise characters in music. Anjan successfully created the perfect ballad for his listeners. One can only decipher its hidden meanings if, and only if, you have let Dutta leave a stamp on your heart.