It was during his intermediate classes at Scottish Church College, Manna Dey's singing talent became apparent. During the recess beating the tables of the classroom and singing aloud to entertain his compatriots, became a common feature for the budding talent.
Later he started taking singing lessons from his uncle Krishna Chandra Dey and from Ustad Dabir Khan. And it was at this period of time Manna Dey stood first for three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing competitions.
