Naushad: A Magnum Opus

“Tune ye kya ghazab kiya, mujhko bhi fash kar diya

Main hi to ek raaz tha seena-e-kayenaat mein…….”

(Oh! What a catastrophe you have brought by ending me; I was only mystery hidden in the chest of nature.)

Perhaps like Iqbal, Naushad would ask the same question from his creator. Creator has not only snatched a beautiful musical score (which will hum and choir for centuries to come.) but clandestine has been wiped out too (which was still to be revealed completely). He was a musical genius and will be remembered as musical genius.

Here I’m not going to write about intricacies of his success story. I’m not going to narrate about number of his movies that celebrated golden, silver and diamond jubilee, and nor I’m going to tell about his art of making musical tones because they are most frequently recited stories, whenever we talk about Naushad. Rather taking traces from his struggling and artistic life and his unending urge to serve music and culture will perhaps give us stimuli to stride towards carving out a genius from ourselves. So here it is.

He was born on 25^th December 1919 in Lucknow. His upbringing was modest, his parents and relatives were modest. And modesty and simplicity became his hallmark. He was fond of music since his childhood. He learned classical music at his home from Lucknow gharana of Hindustani school of music. He would dream of becoming a big musician one day. And to pursue his dreams he came to Bombay in 1937. His struggling life started then.

He himself gave an interview to All India Radio in which he said that when he came to Bombay, he used to pray to Almighty that one day he would get success in his life. He used to sleep on footpath in front of Broadway theatre. He ticklishly said that he chose that place to sleep because lamp of cinema hall would throw light on the other side of the road that is the footpath where Naushad would dip himself in deep dream of peace. And in morning he would gaze toward his theatre and walk on to find work. Fifteen years after in 1952, when Baiju Bawra composed bu Naushad got super hit; director of the film Vijay Bhatt took him to the galleries of Broadway theatre. Naushad got stand still and emotionally stared the same footpath where he used to sleep in 1937. Tears came out of his eyes. Vijay Bhatt asked, “what happened, it id time to celebrate but you are mourning”

Naushad replied, “Sir I’m thinking that it took me 15 years to cross the road from footpath to this cinema hall”.

In the same interview he said that when his movies started getting rewards in the galleries of box office and his economic condition improved slightly, his mother called him back to Lucknow. He was told that his marriage had been arranged. He was shocked but who cared for that, his mother told that his in-laws (especially father-in-law) are very religious people, even in with humour you should not reveal that you do something with music. Naushad asked his mother, “Ami what you have told them about me, about my work?”

She replied, “I’ve told them that you are a tailor master in Bombay”.

When he sat on the chair of bridegroom and wore the choicest costume, he heard the tunes played by local bandwallahs. All the tunes were recent hits of Naushad. Naushad laughed on himself because at that time no body could think that creator of these music score is sitting here wearing the flowery Sehras. In those days media was not so fast and punctual. The spread of news was limited and slow. And artists could not be too famous to be complacent.

From the footpath he came to a friend house. He supported him, emotionally and financially. Every day he would give one rupee to Naushad for his bus fare. That rupee was used to roam about in Bombay from one director to another. One day he forgot to give money to Naushad. He would meet Naushad in the evening but could not remember that he had not given one rupee to him. After a week or so he suddenly recalled and in mellowed voice told Naushad, “I’m sorry, due to me your work hindered.”

Naushad replied-“No! My work is normally going. I go to studio everyday and come back in evening”

Naushad friend was taken a back. He said, “You everyday walk twenty kilometers on foot and never told me about that? Take out a piece of paper and write on it that one day you will become something unforgettable”.

Naushad best friend was a noted poet and lyricist Shakeel Badyami. Both of them created marvelous and unforgettable songs like. “Tu ganga ki mauj mein jamuna ki dhara” in Baiju Bawra, “Mere mehboob tujhe meri muhabbat ki kasam” in mere mahboob and no body could forget the timeless beauty when Anarkali recited-

“Chhup na sakega Ishq hamara, charon taraf hai unka nazara

Parda nahin jab koi Khuda se bandon se parda karna kiya”

Both of them would sit together with hundred percent dedication that to make beautiful art. Such was their dedication that they even forget the people who were sitting in their vicinity. Remembering his friend, Naushad once said “I sometime walk through a road where stands a very old tree under which me, Shakeel sahab sat together for hours and talk about music and literature. I hug that tree, I cry for those lovely days which couldn’t come back at any cost.”

Naushadi religion was music. Often he could describe and express his emotions for his first and true love. He not only loved music but also worshiped it. Many years ago in a T.V programme somebody asked him-“In Baiju Bawra there is a bhajan ‘Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj’ this song written by a muslim, composed by a muslim and sung by a muslim isn’t it an strange from India”

Naushad replied, “No it isn’t strange because music is itself a religion. Why not you remember a song of Mughal-e-Azam “Bekas pe karam kijiye, sarkar-e medina” it is a na’at (a poem in praise of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)) which is sung by a Brahmin girl(Lata Mangeshkar).

Naushad was very cultured man. His colleagues and people, who had worked with him, tell that he would care for young artists like his own daughters and sons. His art of talking, his art of executing work, was very delicate and elegant. He loved his cultures and traditions. He brought stalwart of Indian classical music to Indian cinema. He went in a deep ocean of classical and folk music and fetched emeralds and he moulded and polished them to present them. Many times he used western instruments like piano, banjo etc. but he loved to use tabla dholak and sitar. He was the first musician to use dholak and piano in Indian cinema.

Every great artist possesses an everlasting zeal to do something, which hasn’t been done ever. Naushad was the artist of same zest and caliber. He would often say that he had not composed his best music ever. It’s yet to be produced. He left this world, (with desire of creating most beautiful composition) to his final abode on 5^th May 2006. He was a poet too. His collection of poems has been published. It was called Alwan Sur. On death of great singer Kundan Lal Sehgal in 1947, he recited these lines:

“Is jahan se ek qalander chala gaya

Fana-o-adab ka samandar chala gaya

Mansiqui ka ek paighambar chala gaya”

………..(Some thing like that)

Which means—

(A pauper has left this world, an ocean of art and culture has left the world, a prophet of music has left the world)

The same beautiful verses can be presented in tribute to the musician our beloved, Naushad.

Milind