[11][12] He started his formal music education by training under the musician K. C. Dey from 1925 to 1930; thereafter in 1932 he came under the tutelage of Bhishmadev Chattopadhyay, who was only three years his senior.

[5] In 1934, he attended the All India Music Conference, at the invitation of Allahabad University, where he presented his Bengali Thumri, all to an illustrious audience, with the likes of Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and the inimitable Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana Gharana.

Later in the year, he was invited to Bengal Music Conference, Kolkata, which was inaugurated by Rabindranath Tagore, here again he sang his Thumri, and was awarded a Gold Medal.

As a music composer, he started with the Bengali plays Sati Tirtha and Janani, and eventually gave his first score in the film Rajgee.

[13] He made his film debut singing in Yahudi ki Ladki (1933) but the songs were scrapped and re-sung by Pahari Sanyal.

In 1944, Burman moved to Bombay (now known as Mumbai),[3] at the request of Sashadhar Mukherjee of Filmistan, who asked him to give score for two Ashok Kumar starrers, Shikari (1946) and Aath Din, but his first major breakthrough came the following year with the company's Do Bhai (1947).

[8] Disillusioned with the materialism of Bombay, Burman left the Ashok Kumar starred Mashaal (1950) incomplete and decided to board the first train back to Calcutta.

In the 1950s, Burman teamed up with Dev Anand's Navketan Films to create musical hits like Taxi Driver, Nau Do Gyarah (1957) and Kala Pani (1958).

Baazi's jazzy musical score revealed a new facet of singer Geeta Dutt, who was mainly known for melancholy songs and bhajans.

It made Lata very famous as also poet Sahir Ludhianvi[5]who also wrote music for Guru Dutt's film Pyaasa (1957).

In 1959 came Sujata, and S. D. created magic again with "Jalte hain Jiske Liye" film song sung by Talat Mahmood.

[8] When Guru Dutt made comparatively light-weight films like Baazi and Jaal (1952), Burman reflected their mood with compositions like "Suno Gajar Kya Gaye" or "De Bhi Chuke Hum" and when Guru Dutt made his sombre masterpieces – Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), he was right on target with "Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind" and "Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam."

[19] In 1957, S. D. Burman fell out with Lata Mangeshkar and adopted her younger sister Asha Bhosle as his lead female singer.

The team of S. D. Burman, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle and lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri became popular for their duet songs.

[8] In 1958, S. D. Burman gave music for Kishore Kumar's house production Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi.

Rafi / Dev Anand song "Hum bekhudi mein tum" based upon the Hindustani Raga "Raag Chayyanat" and the Muslim Muezzin's call for prayers that one hears daily near a mosque.

[21] Early on in his career, Burman refused to allow his voice to be lip-synced on film by actors;[13] as a result, even later on, in Hindi cinema, his thin yet powerful voice was often used as bardic commentary to haunting results, as in "O Re Majhi Mere Sajan Hai Us Paar" from Bandini (1963), "Wahan Kaun Hai Tera" from Guide (1965), and "Saphal Hogi Teri Aradhana" from Aradhana (1969),[7] for which he received the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer in 1970.

The Dev Anand-S. D. Burman partnership, under the Navketan banner, continued to churn out musical hits like Bombai Ka Babu (1960), Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963), Guide (1965) and Jewel Thief (1967).

In 1963, he composed the soundtrack of Meri Surat Teri Aankhen (1963), in which Manna Dey sang the song "Poocho Na Kaise Maine" in raga Ahir Bhairav.

The music of the movie shaped the careers of singer Kishore Kumar, lyricist Anand Bakshi and filmmaker Shakti Samanta.

References[22] For the song "Mere Sapno ki raani", Sachin Dev made R. D. play the mouth organ.

[23][24] The singer and mimicry artist Sudesh Bhonsle frequently parodies the nasal high-pitched voice and quixotic singing style of S. D. Burman.

But recently, painter, sculptor and singer Ramita Bhaduri sang the tough songs of Burman such as "Ami chhinu aka", "Rangeela", "Aankhi Duti Jhare" etc.

On 1 October 2007, marking his 101st birth anniversary, the Indian Postal Service released a commemorative postage stamp, in Agartala, where an exhibition on his life and work was also inaugurated; the state government of Tripura also confers the yearly "Sachin Dev Burman Memorial Award" in music.

[26] His song "Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaye" from Pyaasa was re-used in the 2022 film Chup: Revenge of the Artist.