Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Genius replayed
No reason, no occasion, except maybe the fact that it’s just another evening and I’m looking for music to go with the end of February. There’s something special or ‘unspecial’ about a month ending..bills to pay, projects inching closer to deadline, the mildest of winters switching to scorching summer, Holi aee re, you know the drift.
I try out the Grammy nominees CD (okay, 20 tracks that eventually melt like candlewax into another), the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack (too politically correct to listen to at this very minute), so how about the Best of Doors. You can’t go too wrong, it’s nostalgic, it’s now, it’s a CD that’s like a DVD of Mughal-e-Azam, Some Like it Hot, Pyaasa, Awara, Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, Pather Panchali, Amar Akbar Anthony. Worth a re-look any time, anywhere.That’s my wacko movie choice, as personal as the lack of two mm’s in my surname, perhaps.
And there’s one colossal artiste who strikes a timeless appeal. Summer, spring, winter or fall, you just have to call.. like dear ole Carole King exhorted you to. Only you want to call Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Play any one of his CDs or even a going-to-pieces cassette, and you’ve got a friend, right next to you.
That’s a voice of limitless artistry – technical as well as spiritual. If you want some one to take you higher, it’s Nusrat bhai who passed away over 11 years ago on a day when it was raining in Mumbai. The newspaper obit that had to be rushed (read hacked) in a matter of minutes couldn’t do him justice. But then which obit does?
Talking of genius
Clearly, genius can’t be encapsulated in newsprint. Nusrat bhai was one genius I was privileged to know. The other geniuses, in different scales, I’ve had the opportunity to know are M F Husain, R K Laxman, A R Rahman and Santosh Sivan. Two are ageless, the other two are relatively young, Rahman in his late 30s and Sivan, who could be on the cusp of 50.
Art is ongoing genius. It cannot be a flash in the pan, which Husain, Laxman, Nusrat bhai, Rahman and Sivan have each demonstrated with a sizeable body of admirable work. Okay, so I can already see raised eyebrows..why Santo?..is it because he has shot my films?.That would be a petty snarl really..you just have to experience how he responds to natural lighting..like the proverbial moth does to a flame.
Perhaps not in my films, but he has this knack of placing the lens at that distinct millimetre where the visual will gain depth and meaning. Of my films, the sequence that Santosh went ballistic with was the Mast mahaul song shot on Sushmita Sen for Fiza. She was being difficult, he told her, “Ma’am I’ll make you look like you’ve never looked before.” And, I think, he did.
I do ramble. PFC gives me that freedom. In my defence I can merely argue that the rambling is to the point. The serial thoughts have been inspired by an album cover of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His portrait today is photo-shopped, he looks as if he just emerged from an early morning shower, waiting to begin another day, another song. His ‘best of’ compilation has been released by some label or the other, and the cover popped up on the net.
Afreen afreen
Claims go that he recorded as many as 125 albums. Either you have one, two or dozens of his classic sufi albums (the Real World releases are the best). Then there are his brief, ready-to-radio-air tracks, his lengthy riffs, the qawwalis, the geets, the pop and movie ditties and of course the remixes.
He didn’t approve of the retreads but admitted that his music reached out to a wider, younger listenership as a result. Afreen afreen! Don’t think he was kicked about Lisa Ray walking around, seductively, in the music video though..but kept his reservations off the record.
The one album that’s a staple (read must-posess) is titled Shahen Shah, recorded way back in 1989. Each one of the six cuts here expands on re-listening, with Nusarat bhai’s voice transporting you to another realm. Close your eyes, switch off the lights and listen to Kali kali zulfon ke phande na dalo.It can be variously interpreted as a romantic ode to the beloved or as an invitation to lose yourself in worship, away from the everyday traps and deceits.On the same album, try Meri aankhon ko bakshe hain aansoon, the vocals take you to yet another life-affirming plane.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s appeal has been to the connoisseur as well as to those who connect rightaway to a snappy beat, a hookline, pithy lyrics and a voice that is distinctive to the point of being inimitable. He was 48 when he passed away in ’97 (August 16), but always sounded ageless, you couldn’t tell whether he was young or old, because he was consistently in his prime.
He was first heard in India via taperecorded cassettes, much in the manner of the music of Mehdi Hassan preceding the artiste’s visits to and concert performances in India. Allah hoo and Tere bin nahin lagda were played in homes, on tapes and on radios.
Indeed, I hoped against hope that Shyam Benegal would actually get permission to use a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan track in Mammo, which I had scripted. Benegal loved what he heard of Nusratbhai, but preferred to use a vignette by a Pakistani female vocalist. Which is the director’s prerogative. Just like he replaced the Beatles songs that I’d incorporated in the script – hey, I grew up on the moptops – with Beethoven, saying that he’d grown up on western classical. Fair enough.
In that shy mode
One of the perks of being a journalist is that I’ve been in the presence of geniuses, and could be inspired by their thoughts and values. The first time I met Nusrat bhai was at the Juhu Centaur Hotel, courtesy Shekhar Kapur who had used his music in Bandit Queen.
My subject was so shy that I thought I’d return to the office with monosyllables. Gratifyingly, it just took a question on India and Pakistani relations to connect. He opened up, his already swimmy eyes, welled over with emotion. He talked of “music that knows no borders”, and hoped to perform at an awards ceremony that I was once a part of..which well is quite another story.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was already the global flavour. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Veber, Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese used his music. To get him to perform at the show meant a coup. And also a task that would daunt a combo of Hercules-Samson-Rambo. After clearing thousands of yards of red tape, permission was secured at last for Nusrat bhai and his troupe to perform at the show.
My boss, Pradeep Guha, had the knack of achieving the impossible. So there we were on the big evening, Pradeep and I dressed in our black suits and white suits resembling penguins. Very smug, very happy. The show began…
Lucky Ali wouldn’t stop singing, his guitar going on twang-twang-twang..Dharmendra who was being presented the Lifetime Achievement Award was thrilled..we loved him, we were captivated..then it was the turn of Madhuri Dixit..and it happened. She had to frame freeze.
Power off
The cops – and the powers-that-be were then – literally switched off the power. The closing act of the function couldn’t be performed. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his troupe wouldn’t be permitted to sing. That was the first year when a “time limit” was suddenly prescribed for the award show. There had been no precedent.
The man of devotion smiled sadly, his eyes again looking wet. apologised profusely. He nodded, “It was not your fault..some things are not meant to be.” Although Pradeep and I were in the thick of many more award shows, it was never the same. We could never play our trump card, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Fortuitously, my meetings-interviews-chats with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan continued unaffected. In his hotel suite, he would appear freshly bathed and dressed most often in white or grey. He liked dressing up, and there was that hint of musk attar. I must have met him every time he returned to the Centaur. His attitude, his voice and his tentative smile remained unaltered. He asked me if I would agree to write a book about his music. “Me? Ofcourseofcourseofcourse,” I whooped.
He was to return from the U S after a spell of medical treatment for his kidney.
“Do you know my father never wanted me to sing? He wanted me to become a doctor or an engineer like all fathers do,” he had said almost inaudibly. It was at the chalisva of his father, a classical musician, that Nusrat had first sung as a child. It was at a graveyard, he would narrate, remarking, “That is why I am not afraid of death. One’s devotion can continue forever.”
I cherish the endless Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan quotes scrawled in an exercise book. I just had a quick look at them, the beats return..Mora piya ghar aaya.. Dum masst masst.. so many unforgettables, so many imperishables..his heart goes on in his music.
Tags: Bandit Queen, dharmendra, Lisa Ray, Lucky Ali, Mammo, Martin Scorsese, Music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, oliver stone, Shahen Shah
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
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Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
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Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
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Satish Kasetty
simply captivating!
what an amazing man he was!!?? the Pakistanis considered him as a national asset…his Aafreen Aafreen is my fav…all d versions of d song…
Some 2 penny singer called him a street singer once… loved Nusart’s rebuke to prove that it was an honor to be a street singer… a singer for the masses.
Good read KM about a man whose music captivates everytime you listen to the voice…
In the Shaan of Great Nusrat Saab,
——————————————————————————————————-
wahi hai bekhude-nakam, tum samajh lena
Sharabkhane se jo hoshiyar ayega!!
——————————————————————————————————-
Because
——————————————————————————————————-
Kaan wo kaan hai, jisne teri awaj suni
aankh wo aankh hai, jisne tera jalwa dekha!!
——————————————————————————————————-
Thank you Khalid Saab!
Great Great Khalid Sir
Khalid miyan it was lovely reminiscing over a genius i.e Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Unke beshumar nagme aaj bhi hamein yaad aate hain,
aur hamare beech unke hone ka izhar karte hain!!!
So maybe its time to listen to some vintage stuff from the master !!!
Kaatein hi kaatein hain mere daman mein
Har taraf phoolon ke khareedar nazar aate hain..
Some Tracks not 2 b missed
Suroor
Allahoo
Jhoomyha aaraha
Sanu ek pal n more preferably da live versions!!!!!!!!!!
Jeena kaisa pyaar bina
is duniya mein
aaye ho to
ek duje se pyaar karo
simple.
Lovely reminisces. Would’ve loved more of it, insights into the person that he was, his relationship with his music etc. Yet, interesting read.
I second to what Fatema wrote, nonetheless an interesting post.
A heart warming post…thanks a lot khalid sir…
great post sir!
Thank you so much..it’s a real pity that there is no archival footage, on camera, on Nusrat bhai..it’s a real pity that the generations to come will not have any documentary on him.
Just like we have precious little material today to remember K L Saigal or even Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Kishore Kumar, to name only a few.
Nusrat saab’s qawalis are next to Godliness.
Bulleh Shah, Pir Farid, Shiv kumar Batalvi and so many other writers have been immortalized by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Tumhein Dillagi Bhool Jaani Padegi…
Sikh Chajj koi yaar manavan da…
Tenu Rajj Rajj takk lain nain…
Sohne Mukhre Da lain de nazaara…
Yaadan Vichre Sajan Diya Aayia…
Ishq-q-ch ki rakheya………..
There is no end to my list of favorites… what’s so special about Nusrat saab is that he could sing the same kalam in all styles, be it folk, classical or sufi.
Khalid Saab,
Never thought I’d agree with you on anything, but I think you are spot on about Nusrat. Genius is a word easily abused nowadays. But if there is any Asian artiste who can be called that, then it MUST be Nusrat Saab.
By the way, I am not sure how much are you a fan of YOUTUBING AND GOOGLING, but there is a considerable amount of archival footage and two documentaries on him. I think its called “Voice from Heaven”.
Voice From Heaven
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_0KVG05XoU
Recording of old Nusrat Performance
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=nusrat+voice+from+&emb=1&aq=f#
Nusrat Fateh Ali Performance
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-788949220772659224&ei=-jypScWVNZLQjwKOrcCAAg&q=nusrat+voice+from+&emb=1
Kaali Kaali Zulfon Ke (Live)
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=nusrat+voice+from+&emb=1&aq=f#q=kaali+kaali+zulfon+ke+&emb=1
Meri Aankhon ko bakshe (Live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zByhQpcfdWE
Yaadan Vichre
http://www.desivideonetwork.com/view/1kor7b4by/nusrat-fateh-ali-khan-yadaan-vichre-sajan-diyan-aiya-1of2/
Sir, it would be an understatement to say that it’s an awesome piece of writing. Nusrat Sahab was a wonderful musician. My personal favourite is his simple rendition of the ‘Dead Man Walking’ number ‘Face of Love’ (in collaboration with Eddie Vedder)…the lyrics goes like this…
jeena kaisa pyar bina
is duniya mein aaye ho to
ek duje se pyar karo
jeena kaisa pyar bina….
Regards
Faridoon
You Tube link to ‘The Face of Love’ (Jeena kaisa pyaar bina)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxmVqLlZsg
Khalid Sir this is a praiseworthy article.
The genius of Nusrat Saab has been immortalised thought his music. The lad he took under his wing, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan seems to have inherited this genius. O Re Piya is the most mesmerising song I have heard in recent times. Genius sometimes does run in the genes. God Bless.
what can I say about this man…his music has such a special place in my life…part of the person that I am…
Hi Khalid Sir,
I’m with CNN-IBN and I’m doing graduation in Journalism from Delhi University. As part of my course, I’m doing a thesis on how Indian filmmakers are trying to project a kind of ‘Indianness’ in their films and how somehow or the other, they always end up saying that Indian is better than foreign. I would really like to include your opinion in my thesis. I would really appreciate if you could take some time out to answer my questions.
Awaiting a positive reply,
Maneesha Jacob
E-mail: maneesha.jacob@gmail.com
simply superb….i read on and on n wished it never ended…no other artist has been able to achieve wat he did…nusrat ji s simply mermerising…n khalid s ryt wen he says nusrat sounds best on a lazy afternoon..room dimly lit n eyes closed…he takes u to another level altogether…thx khalid
My only regret till date is not being able to see him perform live.
I love all his songs… He is the Shehensha of Sufi Music….
Sir,Thank You for the lovely replay! I love the way you write.Am glad you have more time for Pfc now.
KM….nice article on NUSRAT SAHIB. Back in the days 1988 to be precise, political unrest in Punjab and all that. we were adamant on searching for good punjabi music. Gurdas Mann, Hans Raj Hans to name a few were refreshing and their music was catchy. I still remember the day we were playing Hans Raj Hans on a audio cassette player called SPEEDKING—-truck drivers patronized it.( I dunno why we used to call it tape recorder) , we were gifted NUSRAT SAHIB’s ‘yaadan vichre sajjan diyan’. Man it was like what alcholics call a moment of clarity, we did’nt need any codiene fix or endless cups of chai to be transported into another world. It was magical, blissful( these cliches dont do justice to NUSRAT SAHIB’s music) it was beyond magical and blissful.
His song “Main aur meri Awaargi” from album “Sangam” is amazing. A full 15 minute song that one has to hear to believe the depth of it.
Also, his songs with Eddie Vedder from movie ‘Dead man walking’ are gems.
It was at a graveyard, he would narrate, remarking, “That is why I am not afraid of death. One’s devotion can continue forever…
I so love these lines boss.
First and foremost.. I am sooo very apologetic for not putting in my comments last week.. but der aaye durust aaye. Your pieces are classics.. as always.. give a damn to those dimwit mirza types who don’t agree with you.. Loved the piece.. keep writing.. because I don’t want to die of starvation..
Nusrat Saab will live on n on n on in our hearts
He did what nobody else could do even when the media wasnt much effective, he conquered !
You are rock Khalid. Since you left HT weekly movie reviews I was constantly looking for your wirtings. And here I found you.
Remember Nusrat Main Diwani Ganjshakar Di.. Two ways to feel His presenece in nature.. talk and listening. Nusrat voice offers later one..
it has been very disappointing last several weeks not to find your film reviews in HT. i was afraid you have left your job with HT. so i googled and found this nice as always piece of yours on the one and only Mr Fateh Ali Khan. i would be eagerly waiting for your column to be back on HT. i rarely agree with any body else’s movie review. most of them write something resembling a runnig commentry, not critiq.