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Non Film Song Bonanza By The Velvet Voice – Talat Mahmood

By Deepa | February 24, 2018

Born in a highly cultured but a conservative family in Lucknow on 24th February 1924, Talat Mahmood had an ear for music from his early days. As a young lad, he would enjoy the music soirees of some of the greatest artists from Indian classical music. He also studied music at Marris, Lucknow for a short period. People began to take notice of his natural talents and he got offers at a very young age. Singing ghazals of Ghalib and Mir on All India Radio, Lucknow, he began his career at a tender age of 16. His distinctly velvet voice was noticed by HMV and he was given an opportunity to record a few non-film songs for HMV in Calcutta. His first recorded song – Sab din ek samaan naheen tha, Ban jaoonga kya se kya main, iska to kuch dhyaan naheen tha, written by Fayyaz Hashmi and composed by Subal Dasgupta. In Calcutta, his style of singing was praised by none other than singer-composer Pankaj Mullick. His style of singing, with a quiver and warble in his voice was considered ideal and precise for ghazals. His expressive style, mellowness and pathos added freshness to the existing style. Over the years, this King of Ghazals has created an archive of songs for future generations to enjoy. Romantic and tragic were the moods he liked most and it was he who helped a great deal in shaping the style and method of modern ghazal singing. His voice has often been described as the softest and the most soulful male voice of the Indian sub-continent.
In the book Talat Mahmood – The Velvet Voice by Manek Premchand, it quotes – Talat Mahmood was one of the most important and significant singers of the golden era of Hindi film music. His songs are recalled by music lovers, generation after generation. The quality of his voice and the richness of his expression made him a great singer both in cinema and outside it. His melodies are a precious part of any music connoisseur’s repository and for several people around the world his is the most moving and soul-stirring voice ever. It’s a little known fact that as much as a third of his work is non-film recordings, which consists of several songs of absolutely stunning and magical melodies to touch the listener’s heart.

The article showcases some of the non film songs of this Padma Bhushan recipient –

1. Tasveer teri mera behla na sakegi – The ghazal which is considered as his first commercial success, recorded in 1944 and re-recorded in 1965.