Tag Archives: Khayyam – Music Composer

Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan (1931-2020): Open to all music forms, teacher to the greats

January 19, 2021Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders, World OpinionGhulam Mustafa Khan, Inayat Hussain Khan, Khayyam - Music Composer, Muzaffar Ali - Film Maker, Nissar Hussain Khan, Padma Bhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Padma Shri Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Padma Vibhushan Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pt Fida Hussain Khan, Rampur Sahaswan Gharana, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan - Awarded - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan - Hindustani Vocalist, Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Ut Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ut Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Ut Rashid Khan, Waris Hussain Khan, Warish Hussain Khanmpositiveone@gmail.com

Badaun, UTTAR PRADESH / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018.

In Umrao Jaan (1980), filmmaker Muzaffar Ali’s seminal film, a five-minute melody manages to put life’s ebb and flow in perspective. The raagmala Pratham dhar dhyaan dinesh illustrates the induction of the protagonist, Ameeran, into classical music and dance and showcases her metamorphosis into Lucknow’s fanciful courtesan, Umrao Jaan.

Composer Khayyam’s composition is ambitious and arduous—based on seven ragas each of which defines time, mood and colour of varied moments in life. To sing this, Ali chose Ut Ghulam Mustafa Khan—the Hindustani classical giant whose deep and dazzling voice was representative of not just an iconic lineage but also a rigorous riyaaz and years spent teaching some of the greatest musicians of our time.

Opening with an alaap that chimes with the word Allah, the melody merges into Brahma, giving a glimpse into the Awadh of the 19th century, when the syncretic fusion of cultures in music was a norm. But a more remembered piece is perhaps Jhoola kinne daala re amaraiyan in raag Desh, the story of a bedecked swing on which two lovers sway together.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa, one of the finest Hindustani classical vocalists and torchbearer of the Rampur Sahaswan gharana, died at his home in Mumbai on Sunday. He was 89.

Expressing his condolences, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “The passing away of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan Sahab leaves our cultural world poorer. He was a doyen of music, a stalwart of creativity whose works endeared him to people across generations. I have fond memories of interacting with him. Condolences…”

President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted, “…In his passing, music world has lost not only a doyen but also a mentor for young generation…”.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa was born and raised in Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. His mother was the daughter of the legendary vocalist Ut Inayat Hussain Khan, the court musician in Nawab Wajid Ali Khan’s court. He learned from his father Warish Hussain Khan, followed by tutelage under other family members, including Ut Fida Hussain Khan, court singer of Baroda’s royal durbar and then his cousin, Ut Nissar Hussain Khan.

His first performance was at a Janmashtami concert at the age of eight, where he was hailed as a child prodigy. What was also interesting about Ut Ghulam Mustafa was his openness to all forms of music, a rarity in classical maestros of his time. So when most classical singers were banishing Hindi film music, he found it easier to adapt.

According to Pune-based dhrupad maestro Uday Bhawalkar, Ut Ghulam Mustafa changed the colour and tone of how music in Rampur Sahaswan gharana sounded. “Someone like the great Ut Nissar Hussain had an aggression in the tone. Ut Ghulam Mustafa toned it down and made it softer,” says Bhawalkar.

The musician also sang in Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969), and Badnam Basti (1969) among others. Another significant performance was a part of Coke Studio @MTV where composer and Ut Ghulam Mustafa’s student AR Rahman presented his guru on stage. The musician sang a composition in raag Yaman alongside guitars and drums.

Ut Ghulam Mustafa, till he died, remained an eminent guru to many leading musicians including Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey, Ut Rashid Khan (also his nephew), Waheeda Rehman, Geeta Dutt, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam, Alisha Chinoy and Shilpa Rao.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2003, Padma Bhushan in 2006 and Padma Vibhushan in 2018.

Once at a concert in Mumbai, Ut Ghulam Mustafa sang a thumri in Pilu, and got Ut Bade Ghulam Ali Khan on his feet. “Iitne dooble patle ho, kahan se gaate ho?” asked the musician. Ut Ghulam Mustafa Khan’s music, his bracing voice, its irrepressible vigour, probably came from his strict training. But also, from the joy he got from the seven notes that represented life for him.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Art and Culture / by Suanshu Khurana, New Delhi / January 18th, 2021

Khayyam (1927-2019) | A composer who couldn’t be straitjacketed in any style

August 20, 2019Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, SCHOLARSHIPSKhayyam, Khayyam - Filmfare Awards, Khayyam - Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award, Khayyam - Indian Music Composer, Khayyam - Music Composer, Khayyam - Poet - Lyricist - Writer, Khayyam - Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Khayyam (aka) Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, Khayyam Jagjeet Kaur KPG Charitable Trust, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam - Poet - Writier - Lyricist - Music Composer, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi, Padma Bhushan - Mohammed Zahur Khayyammpositiveone@gmail.com

Rahon, PUNJAB / Mumbai, MAHARASHTRA :

A composer who understood the nuances of Urdu and Hindi as much as the ‘sargam’ itself

If there is one word or phrase to pin down Khayyam’s music , it would be ‘literary’ or ‘poetic’. He was a music composer who understood the nuances of Urdu and Hindi as much as the ‘sargam’ itself. So, in the ideal spirit of collaboration, the songs were deeply resonant both in the thought and feeling of the writer as much as Khayyam’s own melody. No wonder some of his films had the poet or the artist as a protagonist, points out film and music expert Pavan Jha. The acme of it were Umrao Jaan (1982, Rekha as a courtesan) and even more so Kabhi Kabhie (1977 Amitabh Bachchan as a ‘shayar’), two of the biggest successes of his career in Hindi cinema that began in the late 40s.

Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie also marked the peak of his steady association with poet-writer-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, the other high point of which came earlier in Phir Subah Hogi (1958) and later also in Trishul (1978).

While remaining resolutely “Indian”, Khayyam’s music spanned a range — from the classical to semi-classical, folk to ghazal. “From pahadi to Punjabi, Braj to Awadh his musical influences encompassed the entire North India. He composed one of Mohammed Rafi’s best non-film bhajans — Paoon padoon tore Shyam,” says Jha. His contribution to the light classical non-film music may have come under the shadow of the film music but was just as significant. He was the one to have composed I Write, I Recite for Meena Kumari with the actress singing her own ‘nazms’ in the album.

Changing with the times

When it came to film music itself, he never got straitjacketed in any specific style, kept adapting with the times, the subject and characters of his films. So, in a film like Kabhi Kabhie, along with a melancholic and romantic title track and Main pal do pal ka shayar hoon he also created the youthful and energetic Tere chehre se, Pyaar kar liya to kya and Chahe chale chhuriyan. In Phir Subah Hogi he composed the devastatingly satirical Aasman pe hai khuda, a brilliant comment on the sad state of the nation, which resonates till date. As do Chin-o-arab hamara and the sad yet hopeful Wo subah kabhi to aayegi. Yet in the same film soundtrack he also had the beautiful love song Phir na keeje meri gustaakh nigahee ka gila.

Though he came out with great work in every decade that he spent in the Hindi film industry, it was not until the 70s and 80s — with Kabhi Kabhie and Umrao Jaan — that he catapulted into the big league of music composers. His amazing repertoire in the two films is what most would recollect him for, but there have been gems studded all over his abundantly rich discography. Like the Sahir creation Parbaton ke pedon par shaam ka basera hai in Shagoon (1964), Majrooh Sultanpuri’s Shaam-e-gham ki kasam sung from the heart by Talat Mehmood in Footpath (1953) or Majrooh’s Rafi-Suman Kalyanpur duet Thehriye hosh mein aa loon from Mohabbat Isko Kehte Hain (1965). There are the beautiful Aankhon mein humne, Aaj bichade hain and Hazaar raahein in Thodisi Bewafai (1980) and Dikahyi diye yun, Karoge yaad to and Phir chhidi raat in Bazaar (1982).

Kaifi Azmi was another writer-lyricist with whom Khayyam created magic in Shola Aur Shabnam (1961) with songs like Jeet hi lenge baazi hum tum and later in Akhri Khat (1966) with Bhupendra singing Rut jawan jawan, raat meherbaan. Of the present lot of lyricists, though he had a great friend and admirer in Gulzar, he collaborated briefly with him in Thodisi Bewafai and later, in the 90s, on the television programme Dard (Dil ka ek chehra dikhayi dega, sung by Jagjit Kaur and Bhupendra). There was an abandoned venture of the two, called Kharidaar, in which actor Rekha is supposed to have sung one song. Also, Khayyam and his wife, singer Jagjit Kaur, are said to have organised the sangeet for Rakhee-Gulzar wedding.

Among the playback singers he worked a lot with Talat Mehmood, Mukesh and even more so with Mohammed Rafi. Perhaps one the best examples of teaming up with Rafi was the mellifluous and haunting Kahin ek naazuk masoom ladki in Shankar Hussain (1977). Not to forget Aur kuchh der theher in Akhri Khat and Jaane kya dhoondhti rehti hain ye aankhein mujh mein in Shola Aur Shabnam, the latter taking Rafi’s voice from low notes to the high in a magical seamless musical stretch.

Lata Mangeshkar sang the lilting Baharo mera jeevan bhi sanwaro in Akhri Khat under his baton, Aap yun faaslon se and Apne aap raaton mein in Shankar Hussain and Aye dil-e-nadaan and Khwaab ban kar koi aayega in Razia Sultan (1983). He was one of the crucial figures to have helped shape Asha Bhonsle’s formidable career. The two peaked in Umrao Jaan but it was in an earlier film called Footpath that Asha got the major break of getting to sing for the lead. He also gave the film industry the booming vocals of Kabban Mirza in Aayee zanjeer ki jhankar in Razia Sultan and unique voice of Jagjit Kaur, also his wife, in songs like Tum apna ranj-o-gham apni pareshani mujhe de do in Shagoon(1964) and Dekh lo aaj humko jee bhar ke, koi lauta nahin phir marr ke in Bazaar(1982), a prophetic song in retrospect.