Punjabi Chantuese: Musarrat Nazir (refreshed link)

Musarrat Nazir

This is the second edition of this post. The first (longer) one was deleted forever by accident. 

When I first arrived in Pakistan I knew nothing about Pakistani music. I couldn’t name a single singer or musician. My life long love for that country’s music came through Musarrat Nazir, whose rendition of the Punjabi folk song Mera Laung Gawaacha (My Missing Nose ring) was a huge mid-80s hit.

As soon as she entered the tinsel foray, she was dubbed Pakistan’s first sex symbol, both for her voluptuous figure, beautiful face and springy, sexy gait. She enhanced this screen persona with close fitting outfits that included saris with low necked and torso baring blouses and an acting style that was vigorous, replete with nakhra tinged gesticulation. When she made her foray into films there were only three reigning divas that regularly made movies amid a sea full of hopefuls. These included the queen bee Noor Jehan, Yasmin and Sabiha. It was with the latter that Musarrat developed a rivalry, and often faced off with her new adversary. If Sabiha completed three films in one year, then Musarrat made damn sure she made four.

Because of her glamorous appeal and daring outfits, Musarrat often got on the wrong side of the censors during the 50′s and 60′s. In director S. Suleiman’s 50′s hit Baghi with Sudhir, Musarrat was chastised by the censors for showing too much cleavage. In the 60′s, the censors blanched at her performance in Munawwar Rashid’s Bahadur with Darpan. Other successful and memorable films in Musarrat’s repertoire were Gulfam with Darpan and Thandi Sadak with Kamal. The ever provocative siren also dared to act with a much younger actor Ejaz, in 1959 Raaz, a successful mystery film.

Musarrat ended her film career in 1965, married Dr. Arshad Majeed, and moved to Canada. She briefly returned to Pakistan in the late `70s, but not sure what she would do here returned to the land of frost. Her return to Pakistan in 1983 was momentous. For one, she looked sensational, with dewy skin, layered hair and deeply kohled beautiful eyes. The glamorous singer appeared on `The Tariq Aziz Show’ and re-wooed audiences with the hauntingly lilting Chaley to kat hi jae ga. Her ongoing popularity during this period (1983-85) made the peripatetic star a permanent resident of Lahore.

During the 1980s her nasal lilting voice was ubiquitous at many mehndi ceremonies, especially her hitsLoang Gawancha (1983) and Jogi (1985). However after a few public and tawdry drunken episodes, Dr Arshad Majeed whisked his wife back to Canada. (http://cineplot.com/mussarat-nazir/)

This collection of Punjabi songs is really good showing off Musarrat’s many vocal skills.

Track Listing:

 01 Chitti Meri Veeni

02 Ae Choorra Mendey Sajna

03 Kanwa We Kanwa

04 Janda Hoya Das Na Gaya

05 Main Hijr Wichhorra

06 Kachcha Challa

07 Nika Mota Bajra

08 Lathe De Chadar

09 Main Kamli Da Dhola

10 Kut Kut Bajra

11 Choorri Garan Di

12 Kerra Ain Way Toon

13 Kivain Ruthrra Yaar

14 Mera Laung Gawacha

15 Meri Banh Te Likha De

16 Haye O Mere Dadhia Rabba (Madhaniyan)

Listen here

 

The Wonder That Was Sindh: Mohammad Rafi and Ram Panjwani (Link updated)

Jhulelal, Sindhi Community Diety

Mohammad Rafi was one of the holy trinity of Indian playback singers that genuinely formed the soundtrack to India’s first thirty years of Independence. From the late 40’s to the late 70’s Rafi’s voice along with those of Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar filled not only every cinema but bounced off every narrow gali, blasted from every café and barbershop and wedding celebration across India. And beyond, to Russia, the Middle East and Africa.

Mohammad Rafi

Born near Amritsar but raised in Lahore Rafi was an improbable superstar. His family was not a traditional musical one and though he began singing publicly at a young age it was not until he moved to Bombay in the early 1940s that he received training from some of the greats of Indian khayal including Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. But what he lacked in pedigree he made up for in capability.  His first film work was in 1944. Four years later he was invited by the first PM of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, to sing at his home.

From then on film work increased with Rafi recording thousands of songs for the Bollywood musical directors. Some, such as O.P Nayyar, Naushad and Shankar-Jaikishan used Rafi almost exclusively at various stages in their own glorious careers.

I’ve posted some of Rafi sahib’s film work before and more will come. But tonight’s post is a record of devotional and spiritual music sung in Sindhi.  As such it is a delightful detour away from the filmi world with which he is almost always associated. 

The lyrics of these songs comes from some of Sindh’s great folk and mystical poets: Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif and Dharamdas. The music is composed by one of Sindh’s most beloved patriots Dr Ram Panjwani. He’s pictured on the front of the album with Rafi.

Ram Panjwani (playing drum)

Panjwani was born in Larkana, the same district that was the stomping ground of Pakistan’s great Bhutto political dynasty.  At Independence he, with hundreds of thousands other Hindu Sindhis, fled to India.  Pajwani (who was a writer, musician and activist) became a great organiser of the displaced Sindhis in Bombay and across India. To assist him he used the Sindhis’ community god, Jhulelal as a cultural touchstone to give them hope and solace in their ‘exile’.

Dr Panjwani with Abida Parveen

The (very crudely paraphrased) story of Jhulelal is a tale of deux–ex-machina.  In the early days of Muslim penetration of India the Hindu residents of Thatta in Sindh had the misfortune of being ruled by a Muslim ruler, Mirkshah, who was aggressive about converting the local population….by force if necessary.  Given 40 days to agree to abandon their faith and convert to Islam, the people of Thatta beseeched their gods for a way out. On the 40^th day a local woman became pregnant and eventually gave birth to a boy child. From the infant’s mouth flowed the Indus River and on the river riding a fish was an old man with a long beard.

The child/man was able to convince the Mirkshah’s vizier that he was indeed a spiritual being and eventually when confronted with Jhulelal’s powers Mirkshah himself relented and let the people keep their Hindu faith. 

When Jhulelal, also known as Uderolal, died Muslims insisted upon erecting a mini ‘kaba’ in his honor. The Hindus insisted upon a temple. Fighting ensued. Suddenly from on high a voice was heard, “ Behold! You shall make my shrine acceptable to both Hindus and Muslims. Let one face be a temple and the other a dargah (Sufi shrine).”

The story is rich with Sindhi syncretic thinking. Indeed, the vast countryside of what is now Pakistan was for centuries the home of a highly syncretic culture and religious practice. Sufi poetry is appreciated by Hindu Sindhis as much as Muslims and Jhulelal is so revered by Sindhis of all persuasions, the phrase “Jhulelal beera hee paar” is a standard greeting between Sindhis wherever they are in the world.

And of especial interest to the Washerman’s Dog is the frequent reference to Jhulelal in that great Sufi qawwali Dama Dam Mast Qalandar.

So it is with great pleasure tonight I post Hindu and Muslim spirituals from Sindh sung by a Muslim set to music composed by a Hindu who revered the tolerant diety of Sindh who wanted his resting place to be half Hindu half Muslim.

The Wonder That Was Sindh!

            Track Listing:

            01 Kahdi Karyan Mahmani (Sachal)

02 Badal Aaaya Bahar Miyan (Bhojal)

03 Jeko Sabhai Siyaka Satte (Roshan)

04 Hee Aashikan Ja Insaf (Dharmdas)

05 Tu Aheen Sahib (Sachal)

06 Dardan Ji Mari (Shah)

07 Kiya Janey Dum Koi (Bulleh Shah)

08 Kalangi Wara Lal (Ram)

Listen here.

Happy Birthday to You! Mose Allison

Mose John Allison 

I have no idea what I'm doin'. I've never seen me.

Mose Allison

Today Mose John Allison, the coolest middle class white boy whoever tickled the ivories is 84 years old.  And lest you think he’s sitting with a blanket on his knees staring at the garden, he just played the San Francisco Jazz Festival barely 10 days ago.

His voice may be a bit shakey but his wit is as sharp as a pimp's shoes and his fingers as fluid, tripsy and quick as the day he started.

To honor the man the Washerman’s Dog hit factory put together a collection of 25 Mose Allison all-time great songs.  We sent off an email asking him what he wanted for his birthday and he sent us this response.

I don't want much in this world

It's the simple things I treasure

'Till I die I would get by on fame, riches and sensual pleasure

I don't ask much in this life

No special consideration

Just treat me like His Majesty

Of a friendly OPEC nation

Some people

Just don't know when to stop

Some people

Just won't quit until they reach the top

But I'm so easy going

I'd make my way through life

On love and understanding

From a rich and beautiful wife

Some people

Just never seem to get enough

Some people

Want salvation, paradise and all that stuff

But I'm so easy going

Don't even keep the score

All I want is plenty, but I will take more

If you ask me

I will take more

Say please

And I will

Take more

Happy Birthday Mose!

Track Listing:

01 Foolkiller

02 If You Only Knew (Live)

03 I'm Not Talking (Live)

04 Dinner On the Ground

05 Gettin' There

06 I Know You Didn't Mean It

07 Stroll

08 My Kind of Love

09 Feel So Good

10 Mojo Woman

11 Middle Class White Boy (Live)

12 I'm Alright

13 Your Molecular Structure

14 I Hadn't Anyone Till You

15 Devil In The Cane Field

16 I've Got A Right To Cry

17 Prelude to a Kiss

18 You Call it Joggin'

19 Trouble In Mind

20 I Don't Want Much

21 Ever Since The World Ended (Live)

22 Do Nothin' 'til You Hear From Me

23 The More You Get

24 Top Forty

25 Parchman Farm

Listen here.

What Could Have Bin: Sukhanwar and Ustad Habib Ali Khan (Fresh Link)

Lahori manuscript depicting nobleman with musicians

Tonight’s post highlights two sets of music from Pakistan and is inspired by two articles I’ve read in the last couple of days.

The first article is actually the most recent post on the blog that goes by the name Moments of Tranquility which is hosted by Fawad Zakhriya. In the post he poignantly expresses his sadness for a ‘vanished cultural  landscape’, namely that of fine vocal music sung in cultivated Urdu. He looks back to a time when Pakistani cultural life was filled with singers, actors and artists who hailed from the Urdu-speaking heartland of India and who set the bar of performance on television and radio.  It’s really a great post and I’d urge all with an interest in Pakistani culture to have a quick read.

Touched by Fawad’s post I dug out a record of Urdu songs sung by some of Pakistan’s most feted classical/semi-classical, ghazal and film singers for the Pakistan television program Sukhanwar (Poet).  In this record you’ll hear Farida Khanum, Tahira Syed, Iqbal Bano, Mehdi Hassan and many more singing ghazals and folk tunes.  My own favorite (as always) is Amanat Ali Khan who gets pride of place with two performances, one I’ve never heard before, Mausam Badla.  While not exactly what Fawad is referring to this album nevertheless is a nice slice of that cultural landscape that seems to be in fast retreat.

         Track Listing:

         01 Shaboon Mein Attar (Mehdi Hassan)

02 Do Nain Kanwal (Nahid Akhtar)

03 Bare Dosti Mein (Akhlaq Ahmed)

04 Tu Hai Ya Tera Saya (Tahira Syed)

05 Mausam Badla (Ustad Amanat Ali Khan)

06 Ae Mitwali Badli (Nahid Akhtar)

07 Ae Gizal-e-Shab (Nahid Niazi)

08 Bairi More Naina (Iqbal Bano)

09 Chand Hi Nikla (Farida Khanum)

10 Honton Pe Kabhi (Ustad Amanat Ali Khan)

Listen here

The second article is by a Delhi filmmaker Yousef Saeed. He traced the state of classical Hindustani music in post Partition Pakistan and like Fawad’s post, one is left lamenting the near extinction of this great art form. While one can point the usual fingers at bureaucrats and military governments who never appreciated the fine arts one of the more interesting factors in the decline of the music was the loss of patronage.  Most musicians were Muslim and when many of the big names left for Pakistan they left behind their (often royal) patrons.  And many of the largest patrons in Lahore and other cities of Pakistan were Sikh or Hindu who left for India. The end result, a group of musicians cut adrift from not only their homes but their mode and culture of making music.

But read the article, published in the fine online magazine Himal, and watch some of the clips of his film interviews with Pakistani musicians on YouTube.  Absolutely fascinating stuff.

So the second collection of music is Ustad Habib Ali Khan, binkar (bin player).  The only snippet of info I can find on him is from the back of this CD.  Ustad Habib Ali Khan (1898-1971) of the Delhi gharana was of the acknowledged greats among sarangi players of his time, a position he maintained until his death in 1971. A pupil of Ustad Ahmadi Khan, he served Radio Pakistan and the PIA Arts Academy both as an instrumentalist and a composer.

One assumes he played more than the sarangi for this collection of moving, sad music is played on the bin. The bin or been is also known as the rudra veena in India.  The bin has always been the instrument of Indian classical music and was traditionally studied by all dhrupad students until the 19th century.

Bin (Rudra Veena)

It is one of the oldest instruments in Indian music. Technically a stick zither, it consists of a fingerboard with two large gourd resonators at either end. The bin usually has four main playing strings, and two or three "chikari" strings used as rhythmic drones.

I would love to know more about Ustad Habib Ali Khan. If anyone can pass on more information about him I’d love to hear. In the meantime, enjoy this very evocative and moving music from a time not too long ago when the landscape was a bit brighter.

         Track Listing:

         01 Raga Hem

02 Raga Dhanasri

03 Raga Khem

04 Raga Multani

05 Maru Behag

06 Maligora

Listen here.

With Love from Lucknow: Van Shipley

Ernest Kaʻai was a Hawa’iian entrepreneur and master of the ukulele. Indeed, he’s often referred to as “Hawaii’s greatest ukulele player”. He did much to promote the instrument and ran a couple of ukulele factories in Hawa’ii.  Like many other American and European musicians, Ernest toured many of the colonial capitals of Asia and Australia in the 1920s and after some time settled for some years in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).  He eventually returned to the USA and settled in Florida where he passed away in 1962.

Ernest Ka'ai

Few in India would remember his tour but it left a huge legacy: the practice of playing the guitar with a slide. Ernest Kaʻai could be considered then the grand (god?) father of the modern Indian guitarist. One of whom the Washerman’s Dog salutes tonight.

Lucknow, a historically important and culturally rich city in north India, was in the 1930’s and 40’s a hot bed of American and European swing, jitterbug, hot jazz and foxtrot. The city’s Goan and Anglo-Indian (Indians of mixed European and Indian parentage) played every night to large audiences of American and British servicemen, colonial administrators and European residents.

78 rpm records were available in the posh shops of Hazratganj and radio was the internet of the day, spreading news and culture across the globe at a mindboggling pace while creating hitherto unimagined communities. Anglo Indian and Goan boys listened to these records with the same determination and avidity that several decades later Mick Jagger and Keith Richards would pick apart the records of Muddy Waters, Slim Harpo and Howlin’ Wolf.

They slavishly learned the licks and then gave them a bit of local masala. Made them unique.  The lads of Lucknow combined what they heard on the radio and records with the music their father’s had of Ernest Kaʻai’s slide guitar and brought in the rich north Indian raga traditions and improvised something totally new.

Van Shipley who died in Mumbai in 2008 is often held up as India’s original electric guitarist.  While this is dubious, he was beyond a doubt one of that country’s most respected and widely recorded (and posthumously appreciated) guitarists. Van Shipley was an Anglo Indian lad from Lucknow, whose father or uncle may have played the Christmas Dinner Dances at the Ambassador Club.

The Savoyans, an Anglo-Indian, Goan swing band
Lucknow ca. 1930's

Inspired by his mother, who played the sitar, Shipley took to music at a young age. His first instrument was the violin. He attended Saharanpur to study Indian Classical music. There, he studied under Ustad Bande Hassan Khan and his son Ustad Zinda Hassan Khan, who were both famous Khyal singers from Northern India. At the same time, he took lessons in western music from an American identified as Dr. Wizer.

Shipley then returned to Lucknow to attend college, where he became involved with All India Radio. After college, we went to the city of Pune to work for the Prabhat Film Company before moving to the center of India’s film industry, Bombay (Mumbai). It was there that he caught the attention of producer and director Raj Kapoor, who spotted him performing on stage. Kapoor enlisted Shipley to play violin on the soundtrack for Barsaat (Rain) in 1949. The following year, Shipley added his electric guitar to a dream sequence in Awaara (The Tramp), which brought him to the attention of The Gramophone Co. of India. In 1955, Shipley teamed up with accordionist Enoch Daniels, who he had met while working for the Prabhat Film Company in Pune. This musical partnership ultimately lasted for many years.

Van Shipley (lft), Madan Kumar (cnt), Enoch Daniels (right)

Shipley set off the steel guitar craze in India. Other steel guitar players from the 78 era include Batuk Nandy, Brij Bhushan Kabra, Kazi Aniruddha, Mohon Bhattacharya, Nalin Mazumdar, Robin Paul, S. Hazarasingh, Sujit Nath and Sunil Ganguly. But most of these guitarists only recorded Tagore songs, with only a few (Kazi Aniruddha and S. Hazarasingh) recording Filmi tunes (Sunil Ganguly and Batuk Nandy would start doing film songs in the 60s and the 70s, respectively).

One of the most distinct things that set Shipley apart was that he played an eight string guitar, which he had designed and built to give him the drone sound that was more common in Indian Classical music than in the Film songs. Almost all of the other Indian steel guitarists played a National Dual Six Console guitar. Shipley also designed his own electric violin as well, which he dubbed the ‘Gypsy Violin’ and used on many of his later records.

Shipley’s first album, The Man with The Golden Guitar, a title that stuck with him the rest of his career, was released in 1962. He would go on to release an album every year until 1982, as well as a dozen or so EPs. He also tour the world, playing shows in Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean Islands, Suriname, Guyana and the U.S., including the cities of New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo and Detroit. Besides recording, Shipley acted in a few films as well, including 1964s Cha Cha Cha. (http://radiodiffusion.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/van-shipley/)

Van Shipley’s daughter, Ingrid lives in New York City and his nephew, Valentine, carries on the family’s musical mission as a singer and musician in Mumbai.

Many travellers of the blogosphere will know Shipley from the great collection Bollywood Steel Guitar (Sublime Frequencies). Tonight’s post is a rare album I picked up from an acquaintance in Allahabad. It features several film love songs from some of the most popular films of the early-mid 1970s, including a great version of one of my favorite Kishore Kumar hits, Yeh Lal Rang.

         Track Listing:

         01 Hum Dono Do Premi (Ajnabi)

02 Yeh Jo Mohabbat Hai (Kati Patang)

03 Zindagi Hai Kaisi Hai Paheli (Anand)

04 Aaiye Mehrbaan (Howrah Bridge)

05 Kaise Koi Jiye (Badban)

06 Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho (Hanste Zakhmi)

07 O Mere Sona (Tisri Manzil)

08 Yeh Lal Rang (Prem Nagar)

09 Pal Pal Dil ke Paas

10 Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon (Mehbooba)

11 Bhigi Bhigi Raton Mein (Ajnabi)

12 Teri Talaash Mein (Teri Talaash Mein)

Listen here.