Mukesh, Classical Training, Complexes?
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
Particularly after listening to the Mukesh RMIM Commemorative Double-CD,
some thoughts came into my head. Mukesh has been repeatedly knocked by many
(including myself) for lack of "technical skill" and ease. Never did he
approach that level of "pure skill" of some of the other singers (Rafi,
Kishore, Manna, Talat), but lately I have been wondering about some
potentially unfair assessments about him in the film industry, and whether
Mukesh may have been unnecessarily hampered by an inferiority complex.
Many music directors (e.g. Anil Biswas) have characterized the early Mukesh
as extremely raw, with basically *no* "phirat" in his voice. Many have also
gone on to say that he progressively became better trained and more
comfortable over the years (Anil-da cited the songs of "Himalaya Ki God Men"
in an appearance on TVS Sa Re Ga Ma). Does anyone know exactly when he began
pursuing classical training and how long it lasted?
I personally disagree vehemently with some of these assessments of Mukesh's
progress - I think that particularly in solos, he is at his best early on.
Even as early as Moorti ("haseenon se haseenon ko mohabbat"), he displays
admirable Saigal-esque "phirat". He is disarmingly charming and graceful in
Anil-da's Veena ("mere sapnon ki raani re"), Naushad's Anokhi Ada ("kyon
pheri nazar dekho to idhar"), and his own "kise yaad rakhoon" has bits of
well-tempered movements which are well-executed and conceived. The CD has
other examples that I cannot immediately recall now.
What I find is that while Mukesh's voice grew in breadth over the years, I
also often find him more and more diffident, almost as though the whole
industry had drilled it into him that "you are besura", etc. etc. The
"phirat" is nowhere to be found, and folks, we're not talking about anything
like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan fireworks. Those are vocal devices whose
degradation with age and/or physical wear are understandable. Even "matvaali
naar" is a somewhat earlier song, but it seems to the suffer from the
"yeah-sure-go-ahead-and-sing-but-you-know-you-suck-at-classical" thinking.
I'm guessing that when Mukesh was relaxed, he moved about admirably, at a
comfortable speed, but most of all, *gracefully*.
I wonder if it's a function of who he was singing with too - there are duets
with Lata too, where he sounds ridiculously ill at ease (e.g. "ye samaa ye
khushi" from the CD), almost as though he is intimidated by singing with
Lata (understandable). Sure, he had his limitations, but I am really
beginning to wonder if his later renditions were also affected by people
typecasting him a certain way. Sometimes I wonder if he's simplified his
parts of songs because of a "why-bother-I-can't-do-any-better" mentality.
Anyways, I think you get my drift. Any takers on this thread?
Sanjeev
Deepak
I have always loved songs sung by Mukesh. I find comparisons between the
greats akin to intellectual masterbation (just my opinion, no offense
intended to you or any one else). Some folks find some degree of
satisfaction from that sort of exercise. But then, it was Mukesh who also
sang -
sur kii gatii mai.n kyaa jaanuu.n, ek bhajan karanaa januu.n
Cheers...
Deepak
"Sanjeev Ramabhadran" <sanjeev.r...@duke.edu> wrote in message
news:2E%ac.28274$u_2....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
Ashok
>..........................I find comparisons between the
>greats akin to intellectual masterbation (just my opinion, no offense
>intended to you or any one else).
>Deepak
What, in your opinion, is akin to intellectual copulation?
There is the kind of comparison between singers that amounts
to a pissing contest on the part of fans of the singers. Then
there is careful analysis of various singers' mode of singing,
which can lead to insightful discussion. The inability to
distinguish between the two indicates intellectual impotence.
A question to Sanjeev. Is it possible that the phenomenon is
more general and encompasses Hindi film songs as such--that is,
since the 1960s, the role of firat and such musical improvisations
declined and the mode of singing became more staid?
Ashok
Chetan Vinchhi
"Sanjeev Ramabhadran" <sanjeev.r...@duke.edu> wrote...
>
> Particularly after listening to the Mukesh RMIM Commemorative Double-CD,
> some thoughts came into my head.
Glad you liked the compilation :)
> Many music directors (e.g. Anil Biswas) have characterized the early
Mukesh
> as extremely raw, with basically *no* "phirat" in his voice.
Can you cite the source? I wonder what "phirat" means in this context.
The early Mukesh could take short murkis quite well. But his voice did
not have sufficient flexibility to negotiate quick register changes.
> What I find is that while Mukesh's voice grew in breadth over the years
What is "breadth"? His capability to take those murkis degraded over
the years. But his voice quality remained superb through the mid-60s
or so.
> I'm guessing that when Mukesh was relaxed, he moved about admirably, at a
> comfortable speed, but most of all, *gracefully*.
The operative word here seems to be "comfortable". He did well in
songs that relied more on the emotive and the expressive than on
singing prowess. Slow movement, especially through the mid and
kharj ranges, was okay. As a result, contemplative and tarannum
type of singing suited him the best.
C
Deepak Sabnis
"Ashok" <adhar...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c4iiur$2j3s63$1...@ID-74854.news.uni-berlin.de...
> to a pissing contest on the part of fans of the singers. Then
> there is careful analysis of various singers' mode of singing,
> which can lead to insightful discussion. The inability to
> distinguish between the two indicates intellectual impotence.
Ashok
I prefer to focus on the contribution of each singer and enjoy what they
helped create in the world of music. Yes, there is insight in any analysis.
It stokes the ego of many a intellectuals and provides a lot of insight that
does not (again, in my opinion) add up to any thing that I can savor. I
happily accept impotence in this area. I do find discussions that give a lot
of behind the scene information on singers, music directors, lyricists
enjoyable. What I don't find of much value is the insight into what one
singer could do and the other could not. You also sometimes confuse lack of
interest with inability. There is a difference.
I also prefer to focus on what some one did and could do as against what
they could not do.
'nough said.
Peace!!
Deepak
p.s. How come you did not catch the fact that I misspelled the word that got
you so excited?
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
"Deepak Sabnis" <deepakd...@hp.com> wrote in message
news:Za8bc.2222$Vi4....@news.cpqcorp.net...
As Ashok has pointed out, nothing *you* can savor does not mean nothing
anyone *else* can understand, enjoy, or learn from.
> p.s. How come you did not catch the fact that I misspelled the word that
got
> you so excited?
*I* did, but didn't think care to nitpick on that...there's nothing wrong
with not wanting to participate in a particular discussion, but your post
comes across as a strange desire to prove you are more non-partisan than
others on this forum.
It is peculiar and rather humorous that you describe my post in such a way
and then say "no offense meant". Please, we have enough hotshots on this
forum that unnecessarily escalate and resort to such language to sound cool.
Sanjeev
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
"Chetan Vinchhi" <mylas...@hotmailxyz.com> wrote in message
news:c4it3h$i...@netnews.proxy.lucent.com...
>
> "Sanjeev Ramabhadran" <sanjeev.r...@duke.edu> wrote...
> >
> > Particularly after listening to the Mukesh RMIM Commemorative Double-CD,
> > some thoughts came into my head.
>
> Glad you liked the compilation :)
Definitely, though CD 1 far more than CD 2 (I like the first 3-4 in CD 2).
>
> > Many music directors (e.g. Anil Biswas) have characterized the early
> Mukesh
> > as extremely raw, with basically *no* "phirat" in his voice.
>
> Can you cite the source? I wonder what "phirat" means in this context.
> The early Mukesh could take short murkis quite well. But his voice did
> not have sufficient flexibility to negotiate quick register changes.
Source for this is/was Anil-da describing Mukesh and "Dil Jalta Hai" in a
TVS Sa Re Ga Ma appearance.
> > What I find is that while Mukesh's voice grew in breadth over the years
>
> What is "breadth"?
Well, maybe sounded a little rounder in places where he would have
previously sounded sharp or twangy.
> The operative word here seems to be "comfortable". He did well in
> songs that relied more on the emotive and the expressive than on
> singing prowess. Slow movement, especially through the mid and
> kharj ranges, was okay. As a result, contemplative and tarannum
> type of singing suited him the best.
Agreed - but even these abilities appear to be hampered at times either due
to intimidation or misuse. Never mind Nitin Mukesh's singing, but he has
said in an interview that in later years MDs misused Mukesh by taking him to
notes beyond his range. I'd be curious to hear his examples.
Sanjeev
Srinivas Ganti
> Agreed - but even these abilities appear to be hampered at times either
due
> to intimidation or misuse. Never mind Nitin Mukesh's singing, but he has
> said in an interview that in later years MDs misused Mukesh by taking him
to
> notes beyond his range. I'd be curious to hear his examples.
One example I can think where Mukesh's voice negotiated
the higher notes is "mujhe raat din ye khayaal hai".
Mukesh does a fair enugh job here though.
However Mukesh's voice cud have been impacted by
such songs !
sg.
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
"Srinivas Ganti" <g#a#n#t#i#s#r#i...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c4k43u$2j7b1m$1...@ID-75004.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> One example I can think where Mukesh's voice negotiated
> the higher notes is "mujhe raat din ye khayaal hai".
> Mukesh does a fair enugh job here though.
>
> However Mukesh's voice cud have been impacted by
> such songs !
I don't quite agree with the assessment of Mukesh in this song, but in any
case, this is not the example I'm looking for, as most of the song sits in
Mukesh's comfortable range. Also it's a (comparatively) earlier song. I
think what NM was referring to is the *entire* song being placed in a range
outside of the appropriate target for Mukesh.
Sanjeev
Arun Iyengar
> Mukesh may have been unnecessarily hampered by an inferiority complex.
<snipped>
but it seems to the suffer from the
> "yeah-sure-go-ahead-and-sing-but-you-know-you-suck-at-classical" thinking.
<snipped>
I
> also often find him more and more diffident, almost as though the whole
> industry had drilled it into him that "you are besura", etc. etc.
<snipped>
Sometimes I wonder if he's simplified his
> parts of songs because of a "why-bother-I-can't-do-any-better" mentality.
These seem to be bold statements to make unless you have more data to back
them up. Has Mukesh himself or someone in his family or someone who knew him
well, have made any comments that suggest such a thing? It's a well known
fact that that he was a very humble person and very easy to deal with. He
had immense respect for Lata. In a concert he says "...jab Lata jaisii
mahaan kalaakaar stage par ho to kisii duusare kalaakaar ko kabhii stage par
aanaa nahii.n chaahiye....." He probably thought high about Rafi, Asha,
Kishore and Manna Dey as well. But to suggest that he had an inferiority
complex because of them is probably taking it a little too far IMO.
Also, what do you mean by the "whole industry" drilling into him? From what
I have read and heard so far, with the exception of Manna Dey and SDB (and
you quote AB) I haven't heard disparging comments from others about him that
have come out in the open. Have there been more? And it's not that others
have been spared from criticism either. Lata would not have been able to
rise to the heights that she did had she succumbed under all the criticism
about her Marathi accent and thin voice. The moment you put yourself on the
big stage, praise and criticism are bound to follow. Personality does play a
big role here on how a person handles them but the question is do we have
enough data on Mukesh to say he had an inferiority complex?
> What I find is that while Mukesh's voice grew in breadth over the years,
I am not sure what you mean by this statement. That he could sing peppier
songs or sing the higher notes better etc? I don't quite agree with that
statement either way.
> I wonder if it's a function of who he was singing with too - there are
duets
> with Lata too, where he sounds ridiculously ill at ease (e.g. "ye samaa ye
> khushi" from the CD), almost as though he is intimidated by singing with
> Lata (understandable).
There was a good amount of warmth between the two. They didn't compete with
each other like Rafi and Lata. He was one of the few that Lata had long
association with and had no problems whatsoever. She had only nice things to
say about him and the famous bhaiyya-behan relationship testifies well to
it. So instead of feeling intimidated, he might well have thought "I am not
competing with her. She is my little sister who is much more talented than
myself but I will hold on to my guns nevertheless". That he came out a
winner on most occasions in their tandem songs ought to have given him more
confidence than less. We might never know what his actual thoughts were. To
presuppose them without adequate first hand or second hand data is a little
presumptuous if I am say so.
A
---
(Remove 999 to reply)
Sanjeev Ramabhadran
"Arun Iyengar" <arun_iy...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c4k2fm$4...@netnews.proxy.lucent.com...
> "Sanjeev Ramabhadran" <sanjeev.r...@duke.edu> wrote in message
> news:2E%ac.28274$u_2....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
>
>
>
>
> them up. Has Mukesh himself or someone in his family or someone who knew
him
> well, have made any comments that suggest such a thing?
No, it's purely a product of some of my listening experience.
> It's a well known
> fact that that he was a very humble person and very easy to deal with. He
> had immense respect for Lata. In a concert he says "...jab Lata jaisii
> mahaan kalaakaar stage par ho to kisii duusare kalaakaar ko kabhii stage
par
> aanaa nahii.n chaahiye....." He probably thought high about Rafi, Asha,
> Kishore and Manna Dey as well. But to suggest that he had an inferiority
> complex because of them is probably taking it a little too far IMO.
I didn't quite say that - humility and being easy to deal with have nothing
to do with it. It is possible to be humble, easy to deal with, and yet get
fixated on your shortcomings to a point where it prevents you from putting
out your best.
> Also, what do you mean by the "whole industry" drilling into him? From
what
> I have read and heard so far, with the exception of Manna Dey and SDB (and
> you quote AB) I haven't heard disparging comments from others about him
that
> have come out in the open.
I know O.P. Nayyar is crazy, but for one, see his reaction to Raj Kapoor
inquiring about the Do Ustaad songs possibly being given to Mukesh - of
course, I don't know if that particular remark got back to Mukesh. Others
like Salil and Khayyam who have praised Mukesh have not specifically
referred to anything but his tone quality as far as I know.
> And it's not that others
> have been spared from criticism either. Lata would not have been able to
> rise to the heights that she did had she succumbed under all the criticism
> about her Marathi accent and thin voice.
Correct, but even with those deficiencies Lata was far ahead IMO. She also
probably rejected some criticisms as baseless and not worthwhile pursuing -
this too is a critical part of an artist's judgement.
> Personality does play a
> big role here on how a person handles them but the question is do we have
> enough data on Mukesh to say he had an inferiority complex?
Oh, I'm not saying we do, it just (IMO) *sounds* like there might be from
time to time.
> I am not sure what you mean by this statement. That he could sing peppier
> songs or sing the higher notes better etc? I don't quite agree with that
> statement either way.
No, I guess I feel like his voice got a little "rounder" - my original
statement was not quite what I intended.
>
> > I wonder if it's a function of who he was singing with too - there are
> > duets with Lata too, where he sounds ridiculously ill at ease (e.g. "ye
samaa ye
> > khushi" from the CD), almost as though he is intimidated by singing with
> > Lata (understandable).
>
>
> There was a good amount of warmth between the two. They didn't compete
with
> each other like Rafi and Lata. He was one of the few that Lata had long
> association with and had no problems whatsoever. She had only nice things
to
> say about him and the famous bhaiyya-behan relationship testifies well to
> it. So instead of feeling intimidated, he might well have thought "I am
not
> competing with her. She is my little sister who is much more talented than
> myself but I will hold on to my guns nevertheless".
Warmth aside, there is still professional pride - it's not like Lata would
have knocked Mukesh for his singing, but it is entirely possible to be
intimidated when you are so cognizant of the gap, regardless of how
good-natured you are. Rafi was not Rafi-bhaiyya to Lata, but what makes you
say they out-and-out competed? Rafi and Lata shared some warmth too - at
least Rafi was very visibly impressed with Lata, to the point of being
elated when they made up in the late 1960s.
Note too that I said "some" duets - "dam bhar jo udhar" and "kahaan ho tum
zaraa aawaaz do" do not fit this category, IMO.
> That he came out a
> winner on most occasions in their tandem songs ought to have given him
more
> confidence than less.
It is one thing singing a song you know someone of Lata's caliber has sung
or will sing later, and completely another to have her right next to you at
every turn. That too, it's not like Mukesh could read RMIM to discover that
he "came out a winner" :-)
> We might never know what his actual thoughts were. To
> presuppose them without adequate first hand or second hand data is a
little
> presumptuous if I am say so.
Hey, come on - it happens all the time on RMIM - it's called speculation.
And this is nothing slanderous - all I am saying is that while it is given
that Mukesh had limitations (and yes, everyone has them), I still think *he*
was capable of rendering some of his songs much better than they actually
came out, and am wondering about what might have kept him from doing so. In
the case of someone like say, Kishore or Rafi, I would often attribute a
sub-par performance to sloppiness and carelessness rather than diffidence.
And here, I am using the word sub-par as "relative to self", not comparing
one singer to another.
Sanjeev
Shalini Razdan
Mukesh sounds decidedly uncomfortable to me in the song "suhani chandini
raaten hamen sone nahi dete." Don't know whether it because the song is out
of his "range" or because his voice was just shot by that time.
Shalini
> Sanjeev
>
>
Sudhir
We are all aware of his first good song: Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De, set
in the style of: Saigal. I like this song a lot, but not the other relatively
unknown songs from that period.
It seems MD Roshan should be given the credit for creating a new style
for him, with the film: BAWRE NAIN, specially with the songs:
Khayalon Mein Kisi Ke Is Tarah
If one can remember the film, Raj Kapoor (for whom Mukesh gave the
playback) has no feelings for the lady (Vijaylaxmi), who lip-synched
the Geeta Roy's part. Roshan set the Mukesh part in slightly passive tone,
which fitted perfectly with film's situation and the lyrics. The result -
a very enjoyable song.
The second song from this film: Teri Duniya Mein Dil Lagta Nahin,
is also sung with the same passive tone. Roshan created few other songs
for Mukesh in similar tone: MASOOQA / O ... Dil Na Lagana, Jeene
Na Dega, BEDARDI / Dil Ne To Diya Dokha and the two very
popular songs: Baharon Ne Mera & Aaya Hai Mujhe Phir / DEVAR
Well, other MDs also exploited Mukesh's uncanny ability to bring
pathos by singing in this slightly passive tone. The list can be quite
long. Few examples are:
CHHOTI BAHEN / Jaon Kahan Bata Ae Dil
YAHUDI / Yeh Mera Deewanapan Hai
DIL BHI TERA / Mujh Ko Is Raat Ki
BANDINI / O Jaanewale Ho Sake To
KATI PATANG / Jis Gali Mein Tera Ghar No
SUDHIR
aanand
1. In a song suddenly he goes off the track.. I mean besura. this
cann't be justified.Remmber even talat had limited range but he sang
always well within his limitations. Whatever be ur range u should be
prefect in Sur.
2. His songs are very monotonus. if one phrase is repeated n time sin
song he will always sing it in same way. Its quite boring considering
normally very simple non intricate tunes are given to Mukesh and that
to he sings in such a way.
but i like his early voice. Thatis in pehli najar, anokha pyar( ab
yaad nakar)
rgds
anand.
"Sanjeev Ramabhadran" <sanjeev.r...@duke.edu> wrote in message news:<2E%ac.28274$u_2....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>...
Ritu
>
> I didn't quite say that - humility and being easy to deal with have nothing
> to do with it. It is possible to be humble, easy to deal with, and yet get
> fixated on your shortcomings to a point where it prevents you from putting
> out your best.
I can understand an artist getting typecast due to his/her limitations
(or more often than not strengths too). But for a singer as successful
as Mukesh I wonder if an inferiority complex is that plausible. Mukesh
was very popular for what he sang and in the style he sang and it is
also possible that in the later days he might have just decided to be
himself. That is not push himself beyond what he was comfortable.
It is possible that in the earlier days he was trying to be more of a
confirmist?
Regards,
Ritu
girish
>
> Agreed - but even these abilities appear to be hampered at times either due
> to intimidation or misuse. Never mind Nitin Mukesh's singing, but he has
> said in an interview that in later years MDs misused Mukesh by taking him to
> notes beyond his range. I'd be curious to hear his examples.
>
> Sanjeev
How about "jaane kahaa.n gaye wo din"?
I also recall a Mukesh-Lata duet from the 70s - "yaada rahegaa..." in
which he sounded
fairly strained and barely audible.
- Girish
Satish Kalra
news:c4k2fm$4...@netnews.proxy.lucent.com...
From what limited interaction I had with the Mukesh family, I can say that
the entire family possessed one quality consistently in high degree - self
confidence and respect for others, and that included even an oridnary person
like me who was nothing more than a college colleague of a nephew of Mukesh.
That association gave me the privilege of having heard Mukesh sing in
person, sitting in the living room of his brother's flat in New Delhi. Any
one filled with self confidence, not just because of one's own
accomplishments, but also because of a cumulative effect of what the entire
family and their members have achieved can not suffer from any sort of
"inferiority" complex. In my experience, it is the people who show
themselves off as superior to others are the ones who try to hide their
inferiority complex behind this facade of "I know better than thou...".
The period of the late mid-50's to the early mid-60's was one in which
almost every other film had to have at least one Mukesh song. The latter
part of the 60's saw, as Sanjeev hismelf has said, Rafi (and others) get
'loud', one aspect which Mukesh was incapable of. Usha Khanna came out
with some beautiful numbers with Mukesh in the 60's, utilizing his voice's
richness in soft romantic numbers such as "chaand ko kyaa maaluum...", as
well as in peppy songs like "niilii niilii ghataa...".
IMO, his voice surely aged up faster than his contemporaries, but even in
his swan year, his Kabhi Kabhie songs do not sound as by someone who was
about to depart from this planet.
...rest snipped...
--
Happy Listenings.
Satish Kalra
Arun Iyengar
news:ru2dnUz0G9o...@comcast.com...
> From what limited interaction I had with the Mukesh family, I can say that
> the entire family possessed one quality consistently in high degree - self
> confidence and respect for others, and that included even an oridnary
person
> like me who was nothing more than a college colleague of a nephew of
Mukesh.
> That association gave me the privilege of having heard Mukesh sing in
> person, sitting in the living room of his brother's flat in New Delhi.
Satishji, could you give us more details about this encounter, the songs he
sang, any tidbits exchanged, how he came across as a person and how good
were his renditions that day etc? If you have already posted this on the NG,
a link to that would be great.
A
--
(Remove 999 to reply)
Sunil Dandekar
Few others 'Jhumati Chali hawa..", "Jane kahan gaye...", "Mujhe tumse
kuchh bhi na chahiye..", "Mere toote hue dil se..". He seems to have
pulled them off well.
If you are referring to the same inverview as the one I think you do,
Nitin Mukesh did not mean that the high pitched singing was affecting
Mukesh's voice, but it presented him in a poor light as it was not his
forte.
An excerpt from an article on KA and Mukesh combination by Rajeev
Vijaykar:
"Anandjibhai also talks about their unsung songs in the unreleased
films Farishta Ya Qatil and Sweetheart. But one cannot ignore that
wondrous K-A composition that marked Mukesh's last excursion to their
music room, in 1976, ‘Chahe aaj mujhe napasand karo...' (Darinda).
Says son Nitin Mukesh, "At that time, all composers were giving my
father high-pitched songs, leading to the erroneous impression that my
father was past his vocal prime. It is with this beautiful song that
Kalyanji-Anandji proved that till the last, Mukesh was as good as
ever."
Vijay Kumar K
> But i found following 2 problems with his singing...
>
> 1. In a song suddenly he goes off the track.. I mean besura. this
> cann't be justified.Remmber even talat had limited range but he sang
> always well within his limitations. Whatever be ur range u should be
> prefect in Sur.
>
things. Can someone point out a specific song and example of the above so
that I can understand what is being talked about. Any example in that 2CD
commemorative Sanjeev started off with?
My 2c. I understand what Sanjeev is talking about. Partly because I
experience it in a very different spehere - in cricket. I am a mediocre
player. Put me in a team with others of similar ability and I usually do
well. Put me in a very strong team, I am reduced to utter strokelessness,
so conscious am I of justifying my place among all those more gifted.
And this has nothing to do with the opposition :-)
Could this have happened with Mukesh? Speculative, but absolutely possible.
And no one has answered Sanjeev's question yet - when did he start classical
training and how far/long did it go? Satish-ji?
Vijay
Satish Kalra
[No, I don't hink I ever posted anything related to this on the ng. ]
Looking back, there is not too much glamour about those sessions now. It
was a different matter at that time, though, since for me to be able to be
in the company of such a celebrity was a big time event then.
Every time I would come to know that Mukesh was coming to Delhi, I would
have my friend take me to his home whenever he went to see his uncle. On a
few such occasions, I was fortunate enough to hear him sing in person; songs
such as "hothon pe sachchaaii rehatii hai...", "mujhe tumse kuchh bhii na
chaahiye..", "tum jo hamaare miit na hote...", "jaauun kahaan bataa ai
dil...", "mujhko is raat kii tanhaaii men....", "mere tuute hue dil se...",
etc. All songs from the late 50's and the very early 60's. The time frame
was 1958 to1962. In all such sessions, I never found him to be 'besuraa' in
any song. His interaction towards me used to be the same as for his nephew.
I vividly remember him telling me, in a very friendly way, to give up
smoking the very first time he saw me doing so. {Yes, I used to be a
chain smoker - from 1956 to 1981. I was smoking up to between 70 - 80 a day
when finally my children forced me to quit. I thank them every single day
for that.}
One of the highlights of going to the Mukesh home was also the special
"aaluu ke kulle" which they used to have served to everyone who visited them
when Mukesh was in town. These "aaluu ke kulle" were made and served by a
Mr. Sultan Khan (IIRC his name) from the Chhippii Waara (near Jama Masjid)
in old Delhi. He used to normally hawk his wares like the 'chhabarii waale"
gol gappaa vendors, in the Chandni Chowk/Jama Masjid areas. With Mukesh in
town, Mr. Khan would be summoned and his 'merchandise' was contracted and
reserved for that day with Khan serving his wares in the 'chaaT kaa pattaa'
in a very hospitable way. The entire "chhaabarii" used to cost about Rs.
50, a large sum in those days.
Incidentally, my first face to face meeting with Mukesh occured in 1957,
just around the time I came to know his nephew. Mukesh, himself (and his
entire family) a total non-smoker, was hired by the makers of "New Deluxe
Tenor" cigarettes to promote thier brand anme. In one of those promotions,
he came to the Delite cinema in New Delhi, and I was able to get his
autographs (dated). Many many years later, in 1993, Nitin Mukesh came for a
concert in Allentown, PA, and I was able to get him to autograph on the
opposite page to his father's, from 1957. It was a very touching moment for
both of us since I could see the moisture in Nitin's eyes when he saw that
page opened up for him.....
--
Happy Listenings.
Satish Kalra
PS: I have that autograph book somewhere in a box in the garage, and I am
going to unearth it one of these days when I embark on spring-cleaning it
thouroughly.
Abhay Jain
>
>
> Satish Kalra
>
> PS: I have that autograph book somewhere in a box in the garage, and I am
> going to unearth it one of these days when I embark on spring-cleaning it
> thouroughly.
>
Garage is the worst place to keep such valuable documents.
There are special laminations available to preserve doucments.
Abhay Jain
Satish Kalra
news:f9e9d452.04040...@posting.google.com...
Sorry for the delay in replying to this post. But now that the
tax-deadlines are over, I should have more time to surf the NG.
Your example of your cricket abilities and performance is interesting, but
leaves one very important fact (if I may use that word) out of the picture -
and that is that you do not play cricket for a living, and hence you are
more aware of your 'talent' and 'limitations'. However, even those who are
professional cricket (or, for that matter any sport) playersdo not always
perform superbly. Taking a cue from the recently concluded test matches,
didn't Sehwag score a triple century in one test and was out for a paltry
'below a dozen' in another. It happens to every player, in every sport they
go thru a dry spell.
A professional player is called so becasue s/he gets paid for doing
something they enjoy doing anyway. The same can be said for the
professional artistes too. The only ones who really excel in their chosen
profession are those who continue enjoying what they do. The Sixers' Allen
Iverson has excelled in many a basketball game when pitted against
good/better teams/players......
Extending the above to Mukesh, he excelled because of, or despite, the
extremely talented competition he was against in his days, and continued
till the very end.
As far as Sanjeev's question re his classical music training and when/if/how
far did he go, I don't know the answer. I will have to (and I promise I
will) ask my friend the next time we converse.
On a side note, a copy of the 2-CD Mukesh commemorative set from the East
Coast 2003 RMIM meet was presented to Nitin Mukesh this past February.
Reportedly, even Nitin Mukesh was surprised to see the collection of a lot
of rare songs of his father on that set and thanked RMIM.