Kozhikode: “Mujhe tum nazar se gira tho rahe ho
Mujhe tum kabhi bhi bhulaa na sakoge…”
The alchemy of Masroor Anwar’s lyrics and the peerless Mehdi Hassan’s divine voice would give jitters to any singer hoping to recreate that ethereal magic. But the cognoscenti of this music-besotted city were in for a welcome surprise when Kannur collector, T V Subhash gamely took on the artistic challenge.
On a balmy evening in the languid shade of a banyan gracing the courtyard of Design Ashram, abutting the cultural hub of Gudhaam Art Café in historic Gujarati Street, the IAS officer regaled a seventy something crowd with a mellow mehfil titled ‘Yaadein’. Though without formal schooling in classical music, he favours Hindusthani. It was a fellow officer, A Ajith Kumar, who ushered him into the wondrous realm of ghazals.
Subhash is an aficionado of the local legendary musical duo of Kozhikode Abdul Khader and M S Baburaj. He rendered with flair their perennially cherished tunes, ‘Paadaan oorthoru maduritha gaanam,’ and ‘Kanmani neeyen karam pidichaal’. Other evergreen hits successfully rendered include Kunadan Lal Saigal’s lullaby non-pareil, ‘Soojaa raajkumari’; the semi-classical majesty of Manna Dey in ‘Puuchona kaise meine rein bithayee’; the quavering tremolo of Talat Mahmood in ‘Kadale, neelakkadalae’; the ineffable sadness of Mukesh in ‘Saaranga teri yaad mein’; Kishore Kumar’s zestful ‘Mere naina saawan bhadon’ and the flirtatious concern of Jagjit Singh warbling ‘Tum ithna jo muskuraa rahe ho’.
In between, were other gems of Mehdi saab {‘Pyaar bhare’, ‘Rafta rafta woh meri hasti ka saaman ho gaye’}, Mallika-e-Ghazal Begum Akhtar’s immortally soulful ‘Aiy mohabat tere anjaam pe rona aaya’, her worthy heir Farida Khanum’s ‘Aaj jaane ki zidh na karo’; and the native genius of Mehboob {Cheruppathil nammal randum} and Vadakara Krishnadas {Oothu palli}.
In all, a medley of nearly thirty songs embracing the genres of ghazal, film and drama were performed. He was ably accompanied by tablist Pandit Rajendra Nakod, Pandit Sathish Kolli from Karnataka {harmonium}, and city-based flautist Nikhil Ram. Kozhikode collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao and asst. collector Shreedhanya Suresh, too attended. The district collector officially launched the website of Design Ashram.
According to the young collector of Kannur, the aim is to pass on songs to the next generation. Subhash also revealed that the musical route is also an attempt at overcoming the pressures of the contagion.
Architect Brijesh Shaijal of Design Ashram says that since this ‘City of Truth’ is a “land that celebrates the arts and culture we are endeavouring to revive the soul of the city. Design Ashram is a community for like-minded people to convene, connect and create. It is an effort to bring people from various fields closer, on a nurturing platform, striving to reinforce an interdependent and sustainable society.”
