HINDI FILMS- GOLDEN OLDIES AND LINGERING MEMORIES.

There are certain Hindi films of the 50s, 60s and the early 70s that had a lasting impression on us and the very mention of these films, even now, invokes nostalgic memories of our younger days. There may be several reasons for their being so close to one’s heart eventhough the story and the scenes might have faded from memory to a large extent. The main reason, for me, is, of course, the songs of these films which we are still hearing over the radio especially in the FM channels and Vividh Bharati and even now on Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in the early hours of the day. The films were an integral part of our student life and thereafter and discussing them and hearing the songs on radio and from the lips of friends who excelled in singing them were our favourite pastime. Promotional programs comprising songs and dialogues from films aired usually for fifteen minutes through ‘Radio Ceylon’ used to be a topic of hot discussion. Film weekly SCREEN in which full page advertisements on films used to be published, was the affordable(costing 25 paise) and most sought after film publication apart from Filmfare which we could read only in reading rooms!

On a mental search, the first of such film is SHAHEED, the 1948 film starring Dilip Kumar, Kamini Kausal, Leela Chitnis etc. and a film based and inspired by the Quit India Movement. I still remember seeing the film as a nine year old along with my parents more than 60years back at a small town theatre. The images of the freedom fighters facing the police and shouting slogans and the hero becoming a martyr are still vaguely in mind. But what attracted us most was the patriotic song ‘Watan ki raah mein watan ki naujawan shaheed ho’ by Muhammed Rafi, Khan Mastana and chorus(music by Ghulam Haider) which we continued to hear on the radio, in the school and college days and till recently on Independence days and Republic days over the loudspeakers! The song continues to be regarded as one of the best patriotic songs from Hindi films.

Then there is the 1957 film NAYA DAUR directed by B.R.Chopra with Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in the lead, Ajith in supporting role and Jeevan as ‘villain’. It was based on the ordinary man’s resistence to mechanisation/modernisation arising out of their genuine fear of losing their livelihood; the villain, Kundan,(Jeevan) going ahead with his plan to introduce bus service and the ‘tongawallahs’ led by Shankar(Dilip kumar)resisting it. The story ends with an exciting race in which Shankar’s tonga beats Kundan’s bus forcing Kundan to back out of his plan. The film bagged the Filmfare award for the best film. The scene in which Rajni(Vyjayanthimala) enjoying a ride in shankar’s tonga singing the duet ‘Maang ke saath tumhara’ (outstanding music score by O.P.Nayyar) is one of the memorable scenes from the film.

http://www.radioreloaded.com/tracks/?14957
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix8L9MvruAo

Producer Director Actor Guru Dutt’s film ‘C.I.D.’in black and white(1956) directed by Raj Khosla is another film having a lasting effect on us. A crime story with Dev Aanand, Waheeda Rahman, I.S.Johar and Jhony Walker it had again outstanding music by O.P.Nayyar.All the songs in the film were super hits. The Rafi-Geeta Dutt song, ‘Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan’ and the Rafi, Shamshad Begum, Aasha Bhosle chorus,’ Leke pahla pahla pyar’were on the lips of every college student in those days mainly for the rhythm and the ‘singability’, the former being the top of the chart in popularity for the year in the Binaca Geetmala programme. Shamshad Begum was at her best in the beautiful songs,’Booj mera kya naam re’ and ‘Kahin pe nighahen kahin pe nishana’. The evergreen Geeta Dutt song ‘Jaata kahan hein diwana’ and the duet with Rafi ‘Ankhon hi ankhon mein ishara hogaya,’ are also there and coupled with Jhonny walker’s comedy role as a pickpocket and Waheeda Rahman’s refreshing debut made this a memorable film.

Another great GuruDutt film was PYASA produced and directed by Guru Dutt and released in 1957. An intense romantic film, rated as one of the top 100 films of all time by Time Magazine in 2005, with scintillating music by S.D.Burman and superb acting by Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha and Waheeda Rahman was a sensation among filmgoers winning Filmfare Award for best music, best direction and best actor(Guru Dutt). All the songs in the film by Gita Dutt and Rafi were super hits and rated as one of the best film music of all time. The songs are intense, pathos filled and haunting . ‘Jane kya Tuhne kahi’and‘Aaj sanam mohe ang lagalo’ by Gita and ‘Jinhen naaz hai hind par woh kahani’ and ‘Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to Kya hai’ by Rafi gel with the mood of the film. The ending portion of the song ‘Yeh duniya’ will make the listener wonder about the power of Rafi’s voice just as  the ‘Rakhwale’ song of Baiju Bawra! The evergreen Hemant Kumar hit, ‘Jane woh kaise log the’ is also there. The only lighter scene I can remember in this emotion charged film is the one in which Jhonny Walker sang the ‘Tel malish’ song ‘Sar jo tera chakraye’(Rafi). http://www.hindigeetmala.com/song/sar_jo_tera_chakraye.htm

One film still very fresh in our mind is SUJATA (1959) produced and directed by Bimal Roy with Sunil Dutt and Nutan in the lead. The film gained wide national attention as it dealt with the caste system and untouchability so wide spread in the country those days.The film received high critical acclaim and won Filmfare award for the best story, best movie, best direction and best actress(Nutan) and All India certificate of merit in the National Awards. The big feature of the film was the melodious music by S.D.Burman. ‘Kali ghata chhaye mora’ by Asha, ‘Bachpan ke din bhi kya din’ by Asha and Geeta and ‘Nanhi kali sone chali hawa dheere aana’ by Gita were sweet and melodious. Then there is the rare song,’Suno mere bandhure, suno mere mitwa’, based on Bengali folk music and rendered in the true rustic voice of S.D.Burman himself. One of the lasting memories is the special shows of the film arranged for the students of schools and colleges at concessional rates at the local theatre.The song scene in which the the hero Sunil Dutt was singing the song ‘Jalte hain jiske liye’ over the telephone to the heroine Nutan. The scene was a novel and refreshing change from the usual picturisation of similar songs. And what a song it was? One of the very best of Talat Mahmood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X-zFcDGcZM

Bimal Roy productions’ film MADHUMATI (1958) produced and directed by Bimal Roy had caught our imagination as it was our first experience of a film dealing with the theme of reincarnation.Though the film had not received as much critical acclaim as Roy’s other films like Bandhini, Sujata etc., still, it is considered to be a landmark in Indian cinema for its theme, music, acting and the wholesome appeal it had for the audience. No wonder the film bagged the national award for best film, best direction, best supporting actor(Jhonny Walker) and best music(Salil Choudhury)and five Filmfae Awards including that for the best singer(Lata). Music by Salil Choudhury was the best feature of the film with the song ‘Aaja re’ becoming immortal. The duet of Lata and Mukesh, ‘Dil tadap tadap’ is one of the top duets ever of Hindi cinema. Rafi’s ‘Toote hue quawabon ne’ is another evergreen song. For students of the period like us the youthfulness of Dilip Kumar and the magnetic beauty of Vyjayanthimala in her captivating tribal attire were the points of discussion. Two memorable scenes were Dilip Kumar’s singing the song ‘Suhana safar aur eh mausam ‘ swinging a cane and prancing through the village and the scene in which Dilip again following the heroine and finally catching up with her and asking ‘Naam kya? and Vyjayanthinala responding fascinatingly demure. Incidentally it was one of those rare films which I managed to see twice by tightening my tight belt.

Like Madhumati there were several other films like Mahal, Kohra, Gumnam, Mera Saaya, Woh kaun thi and so on which dealt with supernatural subjects. But it was the film BEES SAAL BAAD (1962) produced by singer-music director Hemant Kumar who also tuned the haunting songs of this suspense thriller(Director: Biren Nag) that made a lasting impression. The fact that the theme was based on the Sherlock Holmes story ‘The Hound of Baskervilles’, one of our favourite detective stories, might have contributed to the film capturing our hearts.The film with Biswajeet and Waheeda Rahman in the lead had, apart from the now familier singing female ghost in white saree, several eerie scenes which took us to the edge of the seats with fear! One such scene I still remember is where the ‘servant’, who turned out to be an accomplice of the killer, was showing a lantern into the dark night as a signal.The music of the film won the Filmfare Award for best singer(Lata) for the haunting song ‘Kahin Deep chalr kahin dil’. In the two songs, ‘Kahin deep jale kahin dil’ and ‘Bekarar kar ke hamein’ singer Hemant Kumar was at his best as he usually was in songs composed by himself. Yes, this film is one of the top musical suspense thriller ever of Hindi films.

There are a few pairs of films which had such an impact on us that we could not think of one of them without thinking of the other. This inseparability may be due to several reasons depending on the person’s sentimental affinity to the actors, music, story, nostalgic memories about seeing the films, common factors of the films and so on. There is, for example, the 1962 film SAHEB BIBI AUR GHULAM of Guru Dutt Films starring Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rahman and Rahman based on a Bengali novel by Bimal Mitra and directed by Abrar Alvi. The story set on the life of a feudal family of the 19th century Bengal tells us the life of the Choti bahu of the family played true to life by Meena Kumari and ably supported by other characters played by Rahman, Guru Dutt and so on.The intensity with which Meena Kumari and Rahman played their roles had left a deep pain in the hearts of the filmgoers about the plight of women in the decaying feudal system. The drinking scenes potraying Rahman and Meena Kumari and the picture of Meena Kumari always gloriously dressed as the chotti bahu are still fresh in mind. No wonder Meena Kumari got the National award for best actress for her role in this film. The huge box-office success of the film was also largely due to the outstanding music score of Hemant Kumar and the soulful singing of Gita Dutt, who, like Jhonny Walker, was an integral part of Guru Dutt’s scheme of things. The songs ‘Piya aiso jiya mein samaaye gayo re’ and ‘Na jao saiyan chudake biyan’ are painfully sweet capturing the mood of the film. The film Saheb bibi aur ghulam always kindled memories of the film CHAUDVIN KA CHAAND(1960) yet another GuruDut Film directed by Mohammed Sadiq and starring Guru Dutt, Rahman, Waheeda Rahman and Jhonny Walker. This film tells a triangular love story in the household of a Nawab in the city of Lucknow and throws light on the life of the characters in the feudal system. The outstanding feature of the film is the music provided by music director Ravi.The song,’Chaudvin ka chaand ho’ by Rafi is, to me, one of the top 20 songs of Hindi films and it gave Rafi the Filmfare award for the best play back singer. The song scene showing Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rahman and the full moon peeping through the window and lighting up the face of the heroine is one of our enduring memories. The song ‘Ye Lucknow ki sar-zameen’(Rafi) is a poignant one capturing the mood of the film. In both films there were exquisite settings of interiors with heavy as well as light curtains, carpets, huge doors and windows, draperies, luxuriously made cots and beds and so on true to the life of the rich in those days.

Film AARADHANA(1969) and KATI PATANG(1970) both produced and directed by Sakti Samanta were such a pair of films having lasting impression on many Hindi film enthusiasts of the period. Both have Rajesh Khanna in the lead with Sharmila Tagore as heroine in Aaradhana and Asha Parekh in Kati Patang. With the huge box office success of these two films Rajesh Khanna became the first super star of Hindi Cinma. A strong common feature of these two romantic films was the musical compositions of S.D.Burman in Aaradhna and R.D.Burman in Kati Patang.The songs of the two films were trend setters bringing back Kishore Kumar as the leading play back singer and forcing a temporary eclipse on the legendary Rafi. ‘Aaradhana’ bagged the Filmfare Award for he best movie and Kishore Kumar the award for the best singer for the song ‘Roop tera mastana’. ‘Mere sapnon ki rani’ is a musical as well as a visual treat and the song scene showing Rajesh Khanna in a jeep with friend Sujit kumar at the wheel following Sharmila in a mini train casting demure glances is even now a favourite clipping in the TV channels.The duet(Kishore kumar-Lata) ‘Kora kagaz thha’ is another beautiful song. But in spite of the huge popularity and critical appreciation the Filmfare Award for the best music of the year was given to the music of Brahmachari(Shankar-Jaikishen)instead of Aaradhana. Film Kati Patang’s music had R.D.Burman at his versatile best. The song ‘Mera naam Shabnam’ is supposed to be the first rap song in Hindi films. ‘Yeh sham mustani’ and ‘yeh jo mushabbat hai’ both by Kishore are fascinating melodies. ‘Pyar Diwana hota hain mustaana’ is another melodious number by kishore even though the tune resembled that of ‘Kwaab ho tum ya koi hakikkat’ from film Teen Deviaan(S.D.Burman). Like Aaradhana, the music of Kati Patang also, to the great disaapointment of listeners, did not get Filmfare Award for 1970 inspite of huge popularity and critical acclaim!The award was bagged by Jeene ki raaah.(Lakshmikant –Pyarelal).
There are several other pairs of films also in this inseparable category like Ganga Jamuna and Leader, Nagin and Anarkali , Awara and Sree 420 and so on. There are also many more films which have a special place in our hearts. Well, about all of them, probably, in future posts.

MOHAMMED SHAFI - THE GRAMOPHONE MAN

Numerous lovers of gramophones, old valve radios, record players, records and musical antiques and accessories from all parts of India and abroad, are nowadays looking to this man, Mohammed Shafi, popularly known as Gramophone Shafi and Gramophone Man, for their requirements of these items as well as to service their equipments. For the hobbyists in this field Shafi is one of the very few persons in this part of the country who is able to satisfy their needs which are unique and at the same time varied and person specific.
Mohammed Shafi is basically a dealer in musical antiques who runs a small shop by name ‘Gramophone world’ in the city of Calicut(Kozhikode) in Kerala. Hailing from Kallai adjoining Kozhikode town he had in his younger years worked in several parts of the country like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and, being fond of travelling and seeing places, had travelled through the length and breadth of the country as well as the Gulf and has a network of friends and contacts in all these places. Even as a child he was fond of musical equipments like harmonium and record players, clocks, radios and had keen interest in learning how they worked. He continued this interest later also and he was collecting these items during all his travels and life in North India and also acquired a fair knowledge in repairing and servicing them. He later decided that music, musical equipments and antiques will be his field and coupled with his natural desire to come back to his home town, he left his job in Calcutta and returned to Calicut.

By then there was a revival of interest among people for gramophones and record players and for collecting old gramophone records. More and more people were taking this up as a hobby and the only difficulty for them was getting the right equipments and servicing them. It was here that the role of persons like Mohammed Shafi proved important. With his large collection of these items and ability to get more of them through his large network of friends and contacts he created a space for himself in the field. Besides he is one of the very few people who can and is willing to repair gramophones, record players,amplifiers, loud speakers and so on. Apart from a good stock of equipments and records of all speeds for sale he also stocks adequate quantity of spare parts like cartridges, stylus of all varieties, gramophone needles, L.P.records, valves for radios, belts for the players and so on which are in good demand because of their short supply as many of them are presently not in production.In short his shop THE GRAMOPHONE WORLD is a centre of attraction and meeting place for hobbyists from all walks of life. In fact Shafi says that meeting people from various fields, big and small, and interacting with them has been an enriching experience for him. He owns a website http://www.gramophoneworld.com/ and has an email address viz., gramophoneworld@yahoo.com. through which people from several parts of the country contact him and he is able to send them their requirements.
But what makes Shafi different from the normal antique dealer is his love for music and the fact that collection of gramophone records and musical antiques has been his hobby as well. He has with him a big collection of gramophone records from the earliest 16rpm, 78rpm, EPs and LPs covering all genres of Indian music.There are a large number of LPs of Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, ghazals and English albums.The first edition of the record of Vande Mataram, speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and recorded voice of several national leaders and so on form part of the collection.A variety of gramophones and record players from the earliest like Columbia, Victor, RCA, Deca to the popular HMV and Philips models including those with magnetic cartridges and magnetic coil catridges are also there. Valve radios like Philips( Holland)and their famous stereo radios and the nostalgic Murphy radios are there. The most coveted items are the 19th century metal record playing 'Symphonion’ and the first portable hand wound record player Mikky Phone of the size of a school boy's lunch box when closed.The three arms serving as the turn table, the sound box, the winding lever etc. are removable and can be kept in the compact box when not in use or when transported. A table fan operating on kerosene, like the one seen used by the protagonist in the Malayalam film Salt and Pepper, is a coveted item in his collection.It is a delight to see them still functioning. A still immaculate Philips(Holland)Radiogram with its changer which can hold six records and play them continuously one after the other greeted the visitors of his house and an enthusiastic Shafi explaining its working. The sound quality of the radiogram is amazing. There is also a beautiful Foot Harmonium in very good working condition.A spool tape recorder in a compact wooden box is another attraction.The famous Gipsy gramophone is also there. There are many more invaluable items offering a feast to the eyes and hearts of enthusiasts. Many of these equipments were acquired by him in a state of disrepair and they are in the present working condition only after long painstaking efforts at collecting original spares and reconstructing broken parts. Any other person could have sold them off and earned a fortune as there are several hobbyists who are prepared to pay anything to possess them. But not for Shafi and that is what makes him different.

Mohammed shafi still travels a lot to all parts of the country and his family consisting of wife and two children often accompanies him.

DOORDARSHAN, GHAZALS AND PENAAZ MASANI

There are certain enduring memories about Doordarshan of the 80s and the early 90s from the time TV telecast began in the state. Of course, the telecast was in black and white to begin with till colour sets came in the local markets mainly through KELTRON. While there were strong criticism in those days about the quality of the programs dished out by Doordarshan, the fact remains that they shine in comparison with the plethora of nauseating stuff of the countless present day channels. Yes, those were the days when news readers like Sasikumar, Geethanjali Iyer, Tejeswar Singh, Rini Simon, Komal G.B.Singh, Sarla Zariwala, Sadhana Srivastava, Neethi Ravindran, Rakesh Tandon and so on had acquired celebrity status . Unlike the present day newscasters, they never converted news into news analysis.People used to eagerly wait for Pronoy Roy’s World this Week. Even lengthy serials like Hum Log, Nukad and Bunyad had achieved outstanding popularity. Punkaj Kapur’s detective serial Karmchand and the mystery serial in which actor Rajit Kapur played a la Sherlock Holmes by name Byomkesh Bakshi ( A Bengali detective character of S. Bandhyopadhay) are still in memory.Who can forget that wonderful program, on the rich Indian cultural heritage, SURABHI, presented by Sidharth Kak and Renuka Sahane and also, later, a similar program TANA BANA presented by Sasikumar? Great emphasis was given to Indian classical music and dance. Well , they were the heydays of Dordarshan. As far as music was concerned , apart from CHITRAHAAR based on film songs, there used to be Hindustani Classical concerts of great Indian musicians. We got ample opportunity to listen to stalwarts like Bhimsen joshi, Kumar Gandharv, Pt.Ravi Shankar,Bismilla Khan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, M.S. Subbalakshmi, Balamuralikrisha, Parveen Sultana, Begum Akhtar and so on to mention a few.There used to be Kavi Sammelans, Mushairas etc. in the traditional style with a lot of ‘Wahs’ and ‘Sabashs’ from the audience eventhough, for some of us, lack of familiarity with the language was a hindering factor.For lovers of ghazals great singers like Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Begum Akthar, Chandan Das , Talat Aziz, Punkaj Udhas and so on were on frequently on the screen. Well, while on the subject of ghazals, one singer we all used to admire a lot for her charm, poise, husky/sexy voice, confident style of singing and stage presence was the young and adorable Penaaz Masani. She had a distinct style of her own, acknowledged by experts as authentic ghazal singing, and listeners used to wonder as to how this young lady could sing ghazals with such effortless ease with imaginative interpretation of each kalam and gliding through delicate nuances and variations.She was inspired by her father who himself was a disciple of of Ustad Fayas Khansaheb. She had her early training under Ustad Amanat Hussein Khan and was also groomed by that redoubtable composer Jaidev and the great singer composer Madhurani. In fact we started taking interest in ghazals only with the experience of listening to the likes of Penaaz Masani, Talat Azeez, Punkaj Udhas, Jagjit Singh and so on before beginning to understand and appreciate the work of stalwarts like Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Begum Akthar and others. Some of the beautiful [Image]ghazals of Penaaz Masaani coming to mind are ‘Dil mein rakhlo’, the traditional ‘Dil-e-naadaan tujhe hua kya hai’, ‘ Halka kabhi padega’ and the haunting ‘Ankhon ke maikade mein’. Her talent and style are evident in all of them. Her voice with a faint nasal quality captivated the listeners. It was with her album ‘Aap ki Basm Mein’ that she came into the world of gramophone records followed by ‘ A Team Come True’ with Talat Aziz and both the LPs were huge hits.There is another album “DILRUBA”containing six ghazals including ‘Halka kabhi padega’.There is also the Sayeed Rahi ghazal ‘Aankh jab band hua karte hain’. The remaining four ghazals including ‘Faisla bahaar kya kahoon’ and ‘Meri zindagi hai zalim tere gham se ashikara’, are composed by the great composer Madhurani. In 1984 Music India had organised ghazal programs titled KHAZANA in the four major cities and Hyderabad giving an opportunity to ghazal lovers to listen to their favourite singers including Penaz Masani. Music India had released albums based on these programs containing live recordings and there is one on Penaaz Masaani also titled ‘ Music India’s Khazana- Penaaz Masani live at....’ . Jaidev’s composition, ‘Tumko hum dil mein basa lenge’ and Madhurani’s ‘ Mere dil ko aazmane ka’ bring out the best in Penaaz. As the blurb goes, Penaaz had become the Dilruba of every ghazal lover with these albums.

With the eclipse of Doordarshan in the wake of the emergence of a large number of private channels motivated mainly by commercial gains ghazals have lost their space in the visual media.We could seldom ,nowadays , watch or hear a ghazal program on the channels.While it was the ‘ Indi pop’ and remixes in the late 90s and early years of this century that dominated music channels and gave a staggering blow to Ghazals and classical music on the channels it is now the reality shows that is occupying the space.The same fate has befallen Classical dances also. These trends make us yearn for the good old Doordarshan with all its well discussed demerits.May be Penaaz Masani’s not very successful entry into the field of pop music with albums like LAKEEREIN, was, perhaps the result of this trend.
Tail piece:-Are there 'Remixes' today? No, they have become the originals!

GHAZALS IN MALAYALAM - A QUICK SEARCH.

In the last decade or so listeners have been showing a lot of interest in ghazals written, tuned and sung in Malayalam and a number of such albums have come out to the delight of those who love this genre of music. Malayalees, especially from the Malabar area, has a tradition of loving Hindustani music including geets and ghazals and there was a rich culture of music clubs/groups and ‘mehfils’ where, along with Hindi film songs, the ghazals of Mirza Ghalib, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and so on had found a prominent place. In the 70s and 80s the ghazals of Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz, Anup Jalota and others were very popular among even the young generation and they continue to be so. Among filmy ghazals the soft,romantic, often grief filled ghazals of Talat Mahmood were a rage among the young and old.

As far as the ordinary Malayalee listeners were concerned, their exposure to Malayalam ghazals was limited mainly to those filmy compositions, in Hindustani ragas of Baburaj like, for example, ‘Surumaezhuthiya mizhikale”, ‘Oru pushpam mathramen”, "Prana sakhi njan” and so on. It was often pointed out that the main hurdles in the way of ghazals being made in its traditional format in Malayalam were two. First, the limitations of the language and words which make it difficult to fit them strictly into the framework/rules of ghazals. Second, the reluctance of Malayalam poets, especially the prominent among them, to allow their poems to be tuned in ghazal style as they feared that it may result in loss of beauty of their poems. But with the realisation that the strict adherence to the rules of ghazal is limiting its universal appeal and confining it to a sort of ‘experts’ zone,’ more composers started to compose ghazals in Malayalam. Poets also started to shed their inhibitions to associate with ghazal making.

It was the pioneering efforts of Cochin based singer Umbayi during the last more than a decade to compose, sing and release albums of Malayalam g that gave a huge impetus in this direction. His first album PRANAMAM was released in 1998. It contained nine poems, of Venu V. Desom, tuned in Hindusatani ragas and rendered by Umbayi himself. While all of them captured the attention of listeners, ‘ Ethrasudhamayam, ‘Manasse neeyen’ and ‘Oru nokku kanuvanai’, were, to me, the most impressive. In the wake of the success of ‘Pranamam’,Umbayi came out with his second album GHAZALMALA with ten compositions of lyrics by poet Yousafali Kecheri. This album was a bigger success and gave Umbayi a lot of recognition and space in the media. What struck a chord with the listeners is his beautiful voice and the feeling and bhav he imparted to the ghazals. ‘Veendum padaam sakhi’, Nilave kanduvo nee’and ’Manaswini madhumalini’ are outstanding ghazals for the sweetness of the voice, lyrical charm and beauty of the compositions.

Then followed the album ORUMUKHAM MATHRAM with ten ghazals from the lyrics of poet Pradeep Ashtamichira. The ghazals were sung by Umabyi and singer Gayatri. The best of the lot is the one by Umbayi and Gayatri, 'Priyane nee pournamiyakumengil”(പ്രിയനേ നീ പൌര്ന്നമിയാകുമെങ്കില്‍ ഇവിടെ ഞാന്‍ രാപ്പാടിയാകാം), the sweetness of Umbayi’s voice and trained singing of Gayatri coming to the fore.

In association with poet Sachthanandan Umbayi composed and released the album AKALE MOUNAMPOL . All the nine ghazals penned by Sachthanandan were rendered by Umbayi in his characteristic style , the title song and ‘ Ekanthamee muri ‘ impressing the most. The next album by Umbayi was ITHUVARE SAKHI NINNE KATHIRUNNU with nine compositions of poems of Pradeep Ashtamichira which was also well received by listeners.There is also an album ORIKKAL NEE PARANJU in which Umbayi gives nine ghazals out of lyrics penned by East Coast Vijayan. The ghazals were rendered by Umbayi and the talented singer Manjari.

The long cherished desire of Umbayi to create ghazals out of the lyrics of the great Malayalam poet O.N.V. Kurup bore fruit when they joined together to create the album PAADUKA SAIGAL PADU. All the nine ghazals rendered by Umbayi in the album brought the best out of Umbayi and they are examples for lyrical charm, beauty of composition and voice together resulting in great music. The title song,’Paduka Saigal Padu’(പാടുക സൈഗാള്‍ പാടു, നിന്റെ രാജ കുമാരിയെ പാടി പാടിയുറക്കു ))inspired by K.L.Saigal’s “Soja Raj Kumari’ is the best of the lot invoking nostalgia in listeners.The success of this album led the duo to create another album NANDI PRIYA SAKHI NANDI again well received by ghazal lovers. The ghazal “ Puthiyoru ragam paduka Tansen”(പുതിയൊരു രാഗം പാടുക താന്‍സെന്‍) is again nostalgic for listeners who love old Hindi film songs.

What made the efforts of Umbayi noteworthy was the sincerity with which he stuck to his task of creating ghazals in Malayalam as well as popularising ghazals in general. Through his several interviews in the TV channels he was able to explain the intricacies of ghazals to listeners and create an interest in them. He never used electronic instruments in the background or allowed the voice to be hampered/modulated by electronics and he always tried to compose within the traditional framework. The beauty of human voice is all there to enjoy in Umbayi’s ghazals.

Close on the heels of Umbayi others also came out with ghazal albums in Malayalam, two of the notables among them being ‘NEEYUM NILAVUM’ and ‘ALAKALKKU’ both by that highly gifted singer-composer Shahabaz Aman with Gayatri giving the female voice support. Shahbaz Aman is endowed with a rich, versatile voice which he used with great effect in all the ghazals he sang in the first. The solo by Gayatri, ‘Puzhayude geetham kelkkam’, penned by Poovachal Khader, is a haunting number.The album ‘ Alakalkku’ has lyrics by prominent poets like Kamaladas, Sachitanandan, D.Vinayachandran, Rose Mary, Kadammanitta and so on. The compositions are serious and within the rules making them more attractive to the experts/connoisseurs eventhough the voice and style of singing make ordinary listeners also to take note of them.

Two other notable ghazal albums are GHAZALUKAL POOKKUNNA RATRI and ETHRA MADHURAMAI PAADUNNU NEE . The first is an album of nine ghazals composed by Dr. Muhammed Shakeel using the lyrics of Sri O.N.V.Kurup and rendered by Hariharan, Vani Jayaram, Jayachandran, Aparna, Dr.Muneer and Dr.Shakeel Muhammed himself. The two ghazals ,viz., ‘Ghazalukal pookkunna ratri’ and ‘Enguninnethiyen’ by Hariharan are, in fact, a demonstration as to how a ghazal is to be rendered if one can forget the pronounciation of Malayalam words. All the ghazals are endowed with lyrical charm and the rendering of ‘Pularkala pushpame’ by Dr.Shakeel Ahmed and’Onam pinneyum vannu poyi’ by Aparna could stand up to the illustrious singers of the other ghazals. The other album ‘Ethra madhuramai padunnu nee’is by the upcoming Hindustani singer Nisa Azeezi . Of the nine ghazals penned by different poets and composed by Nisa Azeezi herself and a few others, two,viz., Neela nilavinte’ (lyrics. Alankode Leelakrishnan) and ‘Ariyatha bhazhayil(അറിയാത്ത ഭാഷയില്‍ കേള്‍ക്കാത്ത ശബ്ദത്തില്‍ എത്ര മധുരമായ് പാടുന്നു നീ) ’ penned by T.P.Rajeevan and composed by Nisa are the most appealing. The singer has a unique voice and style reminding us of the great Parveen Sultana and this is an album worth listening to.

There is one more album which came to my notice recently. It is ENIKKU NEEYENNUM , an album of ten ghazals from Jubilee Audios. Music is by Najeeb and lyrics by Sasi N, Nair andP.L.Sreedharan. The singers are Jayachandran, Jithesh and Gayathri. The beautifully rendered ghazals are a welcome addition to Malayalam ghazals.

In the current year there were two other releases of importance, The first is ENNUMEE SWARAM , containing eight ghazals penned by Rafeeq Ahmed and composed by Jithesh Sundaram (Jithesh, who rendered the beautiful ghazal ‘Rangath teri zulfon ki’ in Malayalam film Megha Malhar), the well known ghazal singer and disciple of Sri Anup Jalota, and who hails from Thalassery. One ghazal is rendered by Pankaj Udhas and another by Anup jalota. The others are by Jithesh himself. To me the best of the lot is ‘Rathriyil mazha'(രാത്രിയില്‍ മഴ പെയ്തോഴിഞ്ഞുവോ നേര്‍ത്ത തെന്നലകന്നുവോ .....) by Jithesh in his silken voice. The album, on the whole, is well made and well presented in an attractive folder. The other recent album is MRIDU MALHAR of eight ghazals composed and rendered by Pt.Ramesh Naryanan using the lyrics of Vijay Sursen with female voice by Sujatha. The composition complying with the rules of Ghazals is again a connoisseurs’ delight but a must listen album for those ghazal lovers who want to know the style of ghazals more.

I have to mention also about another album, in fact a music video, released by East Coast, containing nine ghazals rendered by Venugopal, Gayatri and Sangeetha and composed by T.C.K. Calicut using the lyrics of P.M.A. Samad. The 'sangeetha madhurima' rendered by G.Venugopal and picturised on him is very pleasing.

It is encouraging to see that more and more Malayalam ghazal albums are coming out . Yes, ghazals are for those who also love the purity of human voice, clarity of expression, beauty and content of lyrics, style of rendering especially of nuances, richness of tradition and so on. They are for serious concentrated listening.

One last line; let us have more ghazals in Malayalam. But please spare us the agony and embarrassment of listening to stalwarts, not knowing Malayalam, struggling with and mutilating words.

Tail piece: Ghazal for Ghazalians, Lajjavathiye for Lajjavathiyans, Kolaveri di for Kolaverians. There is enough space for all to play.