RMIM Archive Article "314".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
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# RMIM Archives..
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# Subject: Khurshid Anwar - a composer's composer
# Author: Saeed Malik
# Source: The Nation Midweek (Pakistan)
# Contact: Khawaja Naveed Aslam (knaslam@paknet1.ptc.pk)
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Khurshid Anwar - A composers' composer
SAEED MALIK
for
The Nation, Midweek (Oct. 97)
Contact: knaslam@paknet1.ptc.pk
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The cultural capital of Pakistan, Lahore has contri-
buted much to the flowering of cinematic arts, and the
melodic culture of the Sub-continent. It has groomed a
large number of film-makers, actors-actresses and melo-
dists, whose invaluable contributions to cinema, before
and after the partition of the Sub-continent, will for-
ever remain enshrined in the cultural history of South
Asia.
Included in the list of illustrious Lahoris is composer
Khurshid Anwar (died: 30th October 1984) who was
respectfully known as Khawaja Sahib in the filmworld.
Born on March 21, 1912, with the proverbial silver
spoon in his mouth, Khurshid Anwar inherited a truly
congenial environment which was conducive to the frui-
tition of his natural talent in music.
Since his early childhood, KA was a student of uncommon
brilliance who would not stop short of winning the
first position in any examination. He topped the Punjab
University examination in 1935 for his master's degree
in philosophy. He appeared in the written ICS examina-
tion and again topped the list of successful candi-
dates. However, he did not appear in the viva voce and
preferred to join All India Radio as a programme pro-
ducer. How poor the world of music would have been, if
he had joined the fraternity of servile bureaucrats to
serve His Majesty's government in India!
Though he early showed a strong proclivity for music
and was encouraged, both by his father and grandfather,
Khurshid Anwar received virtually no formal instruction
in this performing art until he reached the age of
maturity. Before he met and became a pupil of Ustad
Tawakkal Hussain Khan, he was already a musician brim-
ming with abundant natural gift. That was the conse-
quence of his attendance in the twice-a-week soiree
held at his father's residence in Lahore where melo-
dists of All-India repute used to participate.
KA joined All India Radio in the late 30s where he pro-
duced a number of popular music programmes. Learning
about his potential, the late Mian Abdur Rashid Kardar,
once the doyen of Sub-continental filmworld, entrusted
him with the responsibility of providing musical scores
for his Punjabi movie Kurmai. Khurshid Anwar's tunes
won wide popularity. Soon thereafter, as a result of
his lilting tunes for J K Nanda's Ishaara and Sohrab
Modi's Parakh, Khurshid Anwar emerged as one of the
influential composers of undivided India.
Khurshid Anwar was one among the new clan of young and
dedicated composers who joined the world of showbiz in
the early 40s, when an injection of fresh blood was so
direly needed into the ageing veins of film industry.
Also included in that group were Rafiq Ghazanvi, Feroze
Nizami, Shayam Sundar, Naushad and Rashid Attray. This
talented lot was not only highly educated (except
Naushad and Attray), with brilliant academic records,
but had an immensely demonstrable flair for creative
inventiveness which excelled their (professional) con-
temporaries' abilities.
To the art of composition Khurshid Anwar brought the
same trenchant and restless intellect which made him so
fine a scholar, poet, producer-director and one of the
most erudite interpreters of classical music of the
Sub-continent which underwent a complete metamorphosis
during the 800-year-old Muslim rule. He believed that
music, in the long accepted classical or romantic trad-
ition, had come to the end of its tether, and the con-
temporary composer must seek out new forms, and new
avenues of expression. He also felt that the film was
the only fruitful medium of artistic self-expression
left to contemporary composers.
His melodic thinking was profound (sometimes abstruse
and esoteric) as perhaps only those who listened to his
discourses on the history and evolution of music could
best appreciate. Though he was disillusioned of and
dissatisfied with the prevailing chaos in Pakistani
film music, he did not altogether break away with it,
but persisted in his indefatigable search for new musi-
cal idioms and expressions.
KA's special gift for endowing tonality, in general,
and the trapping of microtonal pitches in his melodies,
in particular, were the striking features of his compo-
sition. The special characteristics of his tunes -- a
touch of meend (a glide from an upper note to a lower
one), deep pathos, strong emotional reverberations and
romanticism -- are perhaps nowhere more evident than in
his films Intezar, Zahr-e-Ishq, Jhoomar, Koel and Heer
Ranjha. He seemed to be at the peak of his career then
and his songs touched the apex of popularity.
An illustrious son of Lahore, Khurshid Anwar possessed
an unusual melodic gift, an orderly mind, a restless
and searching temperament, a planned approach and years
of hard-earned experience. His creativeness, fertility
of ideas, highly cultivated melodic taste, feelings and
technique have, in combination, remained unsurpassed by
any other Pakistani composer of film music. Only rarely
did another melodist succeed in maintaining the con-
sistently high level of artistry that Khurshid Anwar
displayed for so many years, for which he is rightly
considered the greatest single contributor to Pakistani
film music. Not only did he compose many hit songs, but
also showed his natural gift for being an astute
arranger. His smooth and effortless melodies were the
result of meticulous work. He was a composer who would
never stop refurbishing until he was satisfied that a
melody had reached its destined perfect shape.
Majid Hussain, an amateur singer with a good voice,
spent nearly twenty years with Khurshid Anwar, some-
times assisting him in reproducing the tunes he had
composed, and at others, helping in conducting rehear-
sals with musicians. During a recent conversation with
this scribe he talked feelingly about certain traits of
the master composer which distinguished him from oth-
ers.
Said Majid Hussain, "Khawaja Sahib used to rehearse his
songs for so many times that even seasoned instrumen-
talists got scared. For days on end he would ask the
musicians to rehearse a song until he was satisfied
that the results, as he conceived them, could be
achieved."
Asked as to how he composed a new tune, Majid Hussain
said: "Khawaja Sahib did not use any instrument while
composing a song. At times, I saw a surmandal (harp) in
his hands which he fiddled without murmuring any words.
His method of composition was intellectual as he would
invent a new tune in his mind and, when satisfied,
would command a sarangi player and a percussionist to
join him in refining the melody. After the sarangi
player had committed it to its memory, the singer was
called to rehearse the melodic lines of a song under
his supervision for several days. Later, a full dress
rehearsal with the orchestra was arranged. It was then
(during the rehearsals) that Khawaja Sahib arranged the
interludes and made fine adjustments in the song. This
process carried on for several days until the composer
was satisfied that the recording could be made".
"Even at the conceptual stage of a song", he added,
"Khawaja Sahib (sometimes) spent several days. For
example, for his popular song, Kali Kali mandlayae
Bhanwara, he visited Bagh-e-Jinnah with me for several
days to critically examine the sound produced by this
insect while hovering over flowers. This effect he
included in the interludes of the song. During the
rehearsals of this song, the musicians could not easily
produce the desired effect. Therefore, he persisted
with more rehearsals until the desired results were
achieved. No wonder that song became uproariously popu-
lar." Another song which took Khurshid Anwar several
days in rehearsing, was Saghar royae, lehrain shore
machaian (with dominant notes of Shudh Sarang). It was
only after he thought he had achieved perfect tonality
that he commanded the unit to record it.
So close became Majid Hussain to the composer after an
association of several years that the late composer
used to call him an encyclopaedia of his music, as with
a blink of the eye, he could vocalise a KA composition
entirely with its melodic interludes. Unfortunately,
Majid Hussain could not learn much from the composer,
except memorising his compositions. Coming back to KA,
despite his engagements for creating new melodies for
the films, which consumed most of his time and ener-
gies, KA's love for classical music did not diminish.
He was very much concerned about its future which
seemed to him to be pretty bleak in Pakistan. He
strongly advocated the adoption of appropriate measures
to preserve our rich musical heritage which was so
assiduously refined by our ancestors during the period
the Muslims ruled the Sub-continent. He did not accept
the notion that Sub-continental classical music was a
Hindu dissipation as the orthodox among us claim. Nei-
ther did he believe in the notion that classical music,
which is prevalent in northern India, Bangladesh and
Pakistan, had any so-called Vedic connections.
Shy, modest and introvert, Khurshid Anwar lived his
life quietly and unceremoniously, devoting himself to
compositions, and at the fag and of his life, to
unfolding mysteries of music on to budding musicians.
Of his many admirable qualities - his fine sense of
musical designs, the economy of his means, the inexor-
able logic of his melodic thinking - the most signifi-
cant was his highly refined lyricism. He had the gift
of composing sustained melodies of expressiveness. This
melodic gift became evident even with his earliest
efforts at composition.
A composer with solid grooming in classical music,
Khurshid Anwar was also influenced by the folk songs of
Hariana which he admired and learned during his stay in
early childhood in Rohtak, where his grandfather served
as Deputy Commissioner. Indeed, some of his earlier
compositions a la J K Nanda's box-office hit Ishaara
(1943) and Singhar (1945) smacked of refined varieties
of Hariana folk melodies.
The constant refining, the absence of everything
unessential and commonplace, the simple presentation of
difficult and complicated problems, gave his style a
certain exclusiveness. His songs had the irresistible
appeal of the sentiment of love and tender pathos. They
also radiated matchless beauty of music, true to nature
and daring in invention, were and still are as cap-
tivating to a child as to sophisticated adults. The
more often one listens to his songs, the more meaning
he reads into their melodies. Because they have simpli-
city of artfulness, his tunes grow richer on rehearing.
The immortal composer died on October 30, 1984 (his
13th death anniversary is being observed today) but his
immortal melodies will live for ever as the force of
his mighty and soulful personality will continue to
breathe through his compositions as long as these are
played and replayed. His varied pieces are original in
all respects and exhibit a marked individuality of
style distinct from those of his illustrious contem-
poraries in Pakistan and India.
Other composers might have occasionally equalled him in
the technical excellence of the art, or in the touching
appeal of the sentiment, but none seemed to have suc-
ceeded in excelling Khurshid Anwar in the simultaneous
presentation of both these qualities in the same meas-
ure. The commingling of sense and sound attains its
perfection in his compositions which are at once the
acme of poetic beauty and melodic wealth.
Few composers of film music possessed the charm and
grace of Khurshid Anwar. From his first composition in
Kurmai in 1941 to his last in Mirza Jat in 1983 (both
in Punjabi language) his melodies glowed with a special
liveliness that was characteristically his alone.
A KA composition is almost always recognisable, even to
the untrained ears. It has a feel, a sound that is
distinct and unique. The composition has an enduring
freshness. His melody is usually simple, but inventive,
eventful, gracefully clear and full of air. Each phrase
grows out of the preceding one. Khurshid Anwar knew the
technique of small-form compositions so well that he
was able to utilise it unconsciously.
In terms of quantity, Khurshid Anwar trailed behind
many of his contemporaries, but qualitatively few could
match his talent. During the forty-year long associa-
tion with the filmworld, he scored music only for 28
movies - nine at Bombay (six before 1947 and three
thereafter) and 19 at Lahore (one before independence
and 18 after 1952). Of these, 15 were tumultuously suc-
cessful at the box office, primarily because of their
tantalising compositions, four were moderately success-
ful, and of the rest several songs from each became
extremely popular.
In addition to inventing new tunes, Khurshid Anwar was
very meticulous in creating background music to high-
pitch the impact of a certain scene in a movie. He
would think hard, even meditate a lot, about the scene
for which sound effects were needed. It was after such
deep mental exercise that he composed music for back-
ground effects which to many appeared impromptu.
Several times during his eventful career, KA was
acclaimed as the best composer of the year, both on
Sub-continental as well as Pakistan level. In 1980, he
was awarded the Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the Government of
Pakistan for his excellence in the melodic arts.
The All India Music Directors' Association on the occa-
sion of the golden jubilee celebrations of Indian film
industry in 1982, unanimously awarded a plaque to this
genius from Pakistan which read: "Khurshid Anwar-
Mortal Man, Immortal Melodies".
So great has been his contributions to the refinement
of film music that he achieved the rare distinction of
becoming a legend during his life time. So powerful was
the impact of his creative endeavours that millions of
people thought as if they new Khurshid Anwar person-
ally, although they never had an occasion to meet the
maestro. For them, his soul-stirring melodies were
enough to establish a spiritual rapport with him.
To some, because of his excellent educational back-
ground and rich ancestry, Khurshid Anwar was a dry,
terse and an arrogant individual. But to those (like
Majid Hussain) who remained close to him, an affable,
kind and understanding person lay beneath the thin
veneer of his personality. Like all other creative
individuals, he, too, had an uncommon tangent to his
personality which distinguished him from ordinary peo-
ple. This scribe met him on many occasions, especially
during the evening of his life when he used to remin-
isce about his eventful career and talked nostalgically
about a number of his contemporaries. He was especially
kindly disposed towards singing actor K L Saigol and
singing actress Surriya, both of whom (during their
days) had captured the imagination of cinegoers in the
Sub-continent.
He was also full of praise for composers Anil Biswas, S
D Burman and Salil Chaudhry - all of whom were from
Sonar Bengla-whose compositions, as he put it, reached
the deep recesses of the hearts of millions of music
buff. Among Pakistani composers, he would single out
Master Ghulam Haider and Master Inayat Hussain for the
originality of their compositions, which he called
stylistic and distinctive.
Poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, who remained a life-long friend
of Khurshid Anwar, aptly called him the musical spokes-
man of Pakistan.
Noor Jehan, the melody queen, who have had long practi-
cal association with Khurshid Anwar, epitomised his
rare qualities by calling him "the composers' composer,
who appear on the melodic firmament only after centu-
ries". Dilating on his compositional technique, another
long-time colleague of the maestro, producer-director
Masud Parvez, restated the fact that Khawaja Sahib
never relied on any musical instrument while composing
a song. "Melodies", he said, "simply sprang up from the
depth of his heart".
Even after 13 years of KA's death, on hearing his songs
one feels his strong melodic personality pulsating
through these compositions, prompting the listeners to
wonder as if the maestro is still in their midst, ack-
nowledging the ebullient praises his fans used to
shower at him. There are certain aspects of man's
sojourn on planet Earth which even death cannot totally
obscure from our thoughts and feelings. Musical compo-
sitions rendered in mellifluous voices of singers are
an example worth quoting.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian