Naushad: End of an Era

The first time I ever heard Naushad Ali's name was in 1985. I had just bought my first cassette player, and some of the earliest cassettes were compilations of songs sung by Mohd. Rafi. Being a big fan of Rafi, I bought every cassette that I could ever locate in any store, and if you listened to Rafi, there was hardly a way not to come across Naushad's name. For me, being interested in light classical based songs, it was even more probable to be acquainted with his name.

The next time I heard his name was during a radio interview of a folk singer named Yogesh Bharali from Assam, who said that Naushad had used one of his folk songs ("Ghan baraxun pisal mati") to compose "Dukh bhare din beete re" for Mother India wthout ever contacting Bharali. In spite of being flattered by this, Bharali had written to Naushad about it, who sent him a cheque (check) for Rs. 3000/- as the compensation (or an indirect apology). It was 1957-58 and the amount was a large sum.

Over the next few years, I would listen and relisten to many of his excellent compositions for movies such as, Baijua Bawra, Dulari and Aadmi. However, for a long time, my most earnest devotion would be towards Sankar-Jaikishen.

In 1989, one of my friends would buy the soundtrack of the film "Aawaz De Kahan Hain", which was composed by Naushad. Listening to it, one could almost say that Naushad's golden days belonged in the distant past, and it was almost a mistake on his part to try to create the Naushad magic, when singers such as Mohd. Rafi or Talat Mehmood were either no more or long retired.

It was a ripe age for any human being, when finally his end came on 5th May, 2006. However, this does not diminish the gravity of the fact that Naushad Ali is no more!

In memorium: Naushad Ali (25th Dec, 1919 - 5th May, 2006)