C U L T U R E

Ghulam Haider: Punjab Pioneering Musician-3
Harjap Singh Aujla

K. L Saigal, during those days, was the leading most male film singer in India. He hailed from Jullundur in Punjab, but it is a pity that Ghulam Haider could not have the opportunity to compose tunes for him. A second generation music director from Punjab Khurshid Anwar, was however luckier, he composed the music for a Saigal –Suraiya starrer “Parvana”, which became a very popular hit.

Rather than insistence on heavy classical compositions attempted by most of the other music directors, Ghulam Haider’s lighter style of applied classical music was better received by the cinema going public. This got him fame and a spate of invitations from Bombay, which by mid forties had replaced Calcutta as the leading film city of India.

Another brilliant Punjabi music director Shyam Sunder, with his unique style of compositions, arrived in Bombay in 1943. One of his earliest movies “Gaon Ki Gori” featuring Noorjehan’s voice became a musical hit. In 1944, Ghulam Haider also moved to Bombay lock stock and barrel, leaving behind all the glorious memories of his youth in Lahore and childhood in Amritsar.

Before settling down to the rough and tumble of film music in Bombay, he invited a fellow Lahori actress - singer Suraiya, who was racing fast towards the top, to record a couple of “Naats” in Punjabi. I (the writer) am in proud possession of this music. These perhaps are the only Punjabi numbers ever sung by Suraiya.

Ghulam Haider did music for two films in 1944. These were “Chal Chal Re Naujawan”, a big ticket film and “Phool”. “Bhai” was the next venture. Then came Mehboob Khan’s famous film “Humayun” in 1945. “Shama” (1946) was a great musical. Just like the USA, where all diverse nationalities get into the grand melting pot and become Americans, Bombay creates a unique amalgam of film and music makers that make it Bollywood. If Ghulam Haider gave a new style to Bombay, he in turn gained a lot from the grand melting pot experience of the city. As music director S. Mohinder puts it, “Every music director hailing from any part of India and arriving in Bombay, gains immensely from the music directors representing other cultures and participates in the creation of a new amalgam called the composite music of India”. Ghulam Haider’s style also underwent a see change, it happened especially after most of the members of his orchestra went back to Lahore after an explosion in Bombay.

In 1947, Ghulam Haider did the music for “Mehndi” and composed some music for film “Majboor”. Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947. Surinder Kaur and her elder sister Parkash Kaur had to leave Lahore virtually penniless. Parkash Kaur quickly moved from Amritsar to New Delhi, but Surinder Kaur stayed put in Ferozepore. Ghulam Haider had heard both sisters, while they were still in Lahore. From Bombay he sent a message to Surinder Kaur to come to the film city. By early 1948, Surinder Kaur arrived in Bombay.

Ghulam Haider had the intention to make Surinder Kaur a playback singer for film “Shaheed”. Surinder Kaur did sing a few very popular songs for “Shaheed”, but before that Husna Lal Bhagat Ram got her voice recorded for a Suraiya starrer film “Pyaar Ki Jeet”. Surinder Kaur’s first song became a hit. Soon music director Showqat Dehlavi used Surinder Kaur’s voice for a solo and a duet with Mukesh. Surinder Kaur sang five songs for Khurshid Anwar too in Madhubala starrer film “Shingaar”. But the credit for unearthing the singing stars and making playback singers out of Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum, Mohammad Rafi, Surinder Kaur and Lata Mangeshkar goes legitimately to Ghulam Haider only.

India’s independence in 1947 came with the painful partition of the country. The most disturbing communal rioting was witnessed by Ghulam Haider’s own province Punjab. Other worst hit areas included North West Frontier Province, Balochistan, the Presidency of Bengal and Delhi. Surprisingly the Presidency of Bombay, where Ghulam Haider lived experienced complete communal harmony. Some of the Hindu and Sikh instrument players, who left Bombay for Lahore in 1945, rejoined Ghulam Haider’s Orchestra in late 1947 and early 1948. Once again it was a happy family and Ghulam Haider got his soul back.

A very ominous incident happened on a local electric train in Bombay in 1947. Just like most Bombayites, Ghulam Haider was also traveling from one recording studio to another in a local train. The trains were not crowded during those days. Ghulam Haider noticed an anaemic looking small framed girl in her teens singing something. Her voice appeared very shrill and sweet. Ghulam Haider asked her to come close to his seat. He asked “Would you sing if I make a tune right now”. He used a plate and a stick to create the “”Taal” and improvised a tune. Ghulam Haider sang the song and the girl followed him. Ghulam Haider was impressed. He asked her to come on a certain date to a studio for audition in front of a mike and orchestra. The girl agreed and reached the studio well before the appointed time. Ghulam Haider conducted the audition. Her voice was feeble, but closer to the mike it sounded very impressive. She passed the audition. The girl was none other than today’s superstar Lata Mangeshkar, Ghulam Haider’s latest find.

Ghulam Haider at that time was composing the music for film “Majboor”. The song “Dil Mera Torha, Ho Mujhe Kisika Na Chhorha, Tere Pyar Ne, Haye Tere Pyaar Ne” became Lata Mangeshkar’s first ever solo. It was recorded in 1947, but the film was released in 1948. After that Ghulam Haider recorded Lata Mangeshkar’s voice in film “Aabshaar” also in 1948. Her “Aabshaar” numbers became very popular and Lata became an established singer. About that very time Noorjehan left for Lahore and later on became “Malika-e-Tarannum of Pakistan”. Lata, however, kept copying the style of Noorjehan for a long time.

Ghulam Haider was so much excited about his new find Lata Mangeshkar that he boasted about it to the other contemporary biggies like Anil Biswas and Khem Chand Prakash. But it was Shyam Sunder, another Punjabi music director, who recorded Lata’s earliest super hits in film “Bazaar” (1948). Shyam Sunder used Raga Pahari to compose Lata’s first ever super hit song “Sawan Ki Galiyan Chhod Chale, Dil Roya Ansoo Beh Na Sake”. Lata herself admits that her one song “Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, Maghar Hum Tum Juda Honge” recorded for film “Lahore” in 1949, in the music direction of Shyam Sunder is one of her life’s finest songs. Lata takes pride in giving full credit to Ghulam Haider for making her a film playback singer. She says Ghulam Haider taught her as to which word deserved more stress and which one needed a soft touch for optimum impact. Lata regrets that she could not sing for another great Punjabi music director Khushid Anwar, who left for Lahore soon after composing music of “Shingaar”.

One day in a recording studio Lata was rehearsing a Ghulam Haider tune. Being raw she was making one crucial mistake again and again. The perfectionist in Ghulam Haider got so much infuriated that he planted a slap on her face. Every member of the orchestra was stunned. One of Ghulam Haider’s most trusted harmonium players was Kartar Singh. Ghulam Haider used to make the tunes using a piano and Kartar Singh used to replicate those tunes on harmonium. Kartar Singh remarked ”Khan Sahib, why did you slap this frail little girl?, look at her face, she can’t even cry, she is totally dumb folded”. Ghulam Haider retorted back “Look Kartar Singh, I used to slap Noorjehan and see how high a pedestal she has reached, she is on top in her profession. This slap is going to catapult Lata Mangeshkar into a great singer, who will rule the World of music”. Ghulam Haider’s prophecy proved right and today Lata Mangeshkar is World’s most celebrated female playback singer and her name is encrypted in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the most recorded female voice in the World.

Between 1947 and 1949, Ghulam Haider composed music for films “Majboor”, “Padmini”, “Barsaat Ki Ek Raat”, “Aabshaar”, “Patjhar”, “Shaheed” and “Kaneez”. Film “Kaneez” had songs sung by inimitable Zeenat Begum too and Ghulam Haider gave a chance to O.P. Nayyar to compose its background music.

Ghulam Haider left Bombay for good and arrived back in Lahore towards the end of 1949. Although staying in Bombay could have been professionally a lot more satisfying, but out of sheer patriotism for the newly created nation of Pakistan, he left a very promising career as a music director in India’s leading film production center. Others who returned to Lahore included music directors Firoze Nizami, Khurshid Anwar and Rashid Atre. But Ghulam Haider had the satisfaction of leaving Bombay’s film land’s music direction in the hands of a brilliant duo of fellow Punjabi music directors Pandit Husna lal Bhagat Ram, who had ten film contracts in 1949 and nine in 1950. Even the field of lyric writing was dominated by Punjabi poets including Rajinder Krishan, Naqsh Lyallpuri, Qamar Jalalabadi, Balraj Madhok and Sahir Ludhianvi to name a few. After the death of the doyen among male film singers K.L. Saigal in 1947, the crown of being the number one male playback singer was inherited by another Punjabi singer Mohammad Rafi. Prior to Rafi’s meteoric rise another Punjabi G.M. Durrani was briefly on top, but he was seriously challenged by Mukesh of Delhi and Talat Mahmood of Lucknow.

On arrival in Lahore, Ghulam Haider in association with director S. Nazeer Ajmeri founded “Filmsaz”, a music dominated company. While in Lahore, Ghulam Haider composed the music for films “Beqarar”, “Akeli”, “Bheegi Palkein”, “Ghulam” and “Gulnar”. Somehow the music of these films, with the exception of “Gulnar” did not do too well and the market in Pakistan was too small. The Noorjehan number for Film “Gulnar”, with starting lyrics “Lo Chal Diye Voh Hamko Tassalli Diye Baghair, Ik Chand Chhup Gaya Hai Ujala Kiye Baghair” became a hit. This song was played again and again by different stations of Radio Pakistan as an “Obituary on the death of Master Ghulam Haider”.

Ghulam Haider’s life long inspiration was his beautiful, talented and intelligent wife Umro-O-Zia Begum. It is a pity that Ghulam Haider left this World for his heavenly abode in November 1953, a few months before his youngest child, another great classical, semi-classical and Sufiana singer Abida Praveen came into this World. As long as the music of the Indian Sub-continent is alive in this World, Ghulam Haider’s name will stay alive. Among other things that he did, he will be remembered for discovering a number of playback singing sensations including Umra-O-Zia Begum, Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum, Ali Bakhash Zahoor,  Mohammad Rafi, Surinder Kaur and Lata Mangeshkar.

In his life time Ghulam Haider composed the music for about two dozen movies, a quarter of them being Punjabi films. Many others have composed music for a lot more movies. But it is not sheer numbers that matter in this World, it is the quality of work that matters the most. In terms of quality of music Ghulam Haider never made any shortcuts or compromises. That is why he went to the extent of slapping Noorjehan and Lata Mangeshkar when they were both debutant singers. For an example master composer Sajjad Hussain created music for only a dozen movies, but all his music became hit and top notch musicians like Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Suraiya acclaimed his tunes as some of the finest ever made in the twentieth century.

Music directors, like other competing professionals, are generally quite jealous of each other. But contrary to that, on hearing about the demise of Master Ghulam Haider, one of his contemporaries and a highly acclaimed music director C. Ramchandra started crying. When asked about the reason C. Ramchandra said “Ghulam Haider used to compose the tunes, I used to steal those and after making minor alterations and after changing the “Taal”, I used to create hit music under my own banner. Now that fountainhead of tunes has gone dry. I have been deprived of my source of ideas. I am the person who has been hit the hardest”. Such honest admissions from a fellow music director can be the finest tribute to the departed genius. This fact was narrated to me by another music director Sardul Singh Kwatra, who admitted that Ghulam Haider and Hans Raj Behl were his (Sardul’s) sources of inspiration too.

[The author Harjap Singh Aujla lives at 16 Junction Pond Lane, Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852 USA]

BACK