Master Ghulam Haider: A Trailblazer

9 November 2022

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to Ghulam Haider on his 69th Remembrance Day (1908 – 9 November 1953)

(DP Rangan has been the most prolific guest writer for SOY, but it is more than a year since he last wrote. Some health issues which required hospitalisation, and his computer suddenly conking off has kept him down. But he has been restless all this while to come back to SOY. After getting over his niggling problems he is back with an exhaustive article on Ghulam Haider. There has been no exclusive article on him on this blog so far; he only makes one-third appearance in my post titled Shamshad Begum with 3G (one of the 3G, albeit the most important for Shamshad Begum’s career being Ghulam Haider).

Mr Rangan has long retired from government service and he is well into his seventies. Because of his frail health and his handicap of language I have been advising him to take it easy. But he has boundless energy. This exhaustive article is a proof. Thank you Mr Rangan for filling an important gap on the SOY. – AK)

Ghulam HaiderHuman beings are highly individualistic in nature and each has his own unique personality and attributes. What sets apart some from the multitude is their innate good nature, getting along with fellow human beings, caring for the sensibilities of others, readiness to nurture and encourage talents of those they are frequently interacting with, besides being highly proficient in their chosen field of activity. This is a sine qua non in film industry to avert ego clashes. Ghulam Haider (hereinafter referred to as GH in the post) is unique in this regard as he had all these qualities fused in him. He cared for his fellow workers and had an uncanny ability to spot talents among budding singers and nurture them in right ways. He was a pioneer in revolutionising the way music was set for films and was a pathbreaker. In his career of 18 years in film music composition from 1935 to 1953, he gave music for just about 32 films of which roughly one fourth were Punjabi films. Quality always takes precedence over quantity while judging a music director’s calibre and he came out with flying colours when viewed in this light.

It is a sad fact that for many film personalities who were born in early years of twentieth century, no authentic data about their date of birth is available. Ghulam Haider is a case in point. Majority seem to agree to the year 1908 as his emergence in terra firma, but nothing more, such as date and month and place of birth is known. He belonged to a Mirasi clan noted for its skill in playing musical instruments and singing. His ancestors were Rabbis of Amritsar and music was in his blood. As usual his father was not encouraging of his passion for pursuing music. He practised dentistry for two years with no heart in it. All along he was being tutored in classical music by Beebe Khan initially. He started learning harmonium from Haridasji and tabla from Bhai Mehr Baksh. He refined his classical musical skills under the tutelage of Babu Ganesh Lal. He arrived in Calcutta in the early thirties as it was the leading film production centre. He was a skilled harmonium player and joined Alfred Theatrical Company as such and switched over to Alexandra Theatrical Company later while in Calcutta. Not satisfied at being merely an instrumentalist there as part of an orchestra, he called it quits and shifted to his hometown Lahore in search of better prospects in his chosen field of music composition.

Ghulam Haider entered the music world as a freelance director and was composing music for live music concerts. Janki Nath Kumar Brothers started a music recording studio in Lahore and opened a record selling store at Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore. They employed him as music director for their Jenophone Recording Company. The studio was turning out music records in Punjabi and Urdu, both film and non-film. His initial venture as music composer for Punjabi films, Swarag Ki Seerhi (1935) and Majnu (1935), did not create any waves among the viewing public. But in another aspect he was lucky. He came into contact with Umrao Zia Begum who was the heroine of the film Swarg Ki Seerhi and a noted singer too. Love blossomed and they got married. The good lady that she was, she gave up her film career after marriage and was a housewife thereafter. For next three years he had no movies and was composing non-film 78-rpm music discs in Punjabi and Urdu. Those were the years when New Theatres, Calcutta was ruling the roost and dominated the film industry with well-known figures as R.C. Boral, K.C. Dey, Pankaj Mullick. Kundan Lal Saigal was the undisputed top ranked singer working for them. Film studios were not yet prominent in Lahore to pose a challenge.

Bad times do not last for long and wheels of fortune turned upwards for Ghulam Haider in 1939. The famous Pancholi family with Roshan Lal Shori as its head made the film Gul-e-Bakawali in Punjabi in the film studio owned by them in Lahore and it was well received by film buffs because of the scintillating music of GH. This was the first film which marked his gradual ascendency.

His penchant for spotting singers with potential talents took root. He brought to the fore and groomed the careers of singers as Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum, Lata Mangeshkar, Sudha Malhotra, Surinder Kaur et al. Inam Nadeem’s presentation with the first three singers are picturised as you tube videos in which the singers themselves describe how GH was responsible for their entry into films. I will start with Noorjehan’s interview which took place on 9th November 2006, fifty-third death anniversary of GH.

GH had heard of a young singer trained in classical music. He called Noorjehan to Pancholi Studios for audition test. GH complimented her that her voice was very mature for her age, and on his prompting she sang his song Shala jawaniyaan maane. She told him that he was her mentor and groomed her for a career in film industry. She remained forever indebted to him. I am giving an extract of her interview (courtesy of the blog writer Ms. Khanta Mahadevan)

Master Ghulam Haider saab ke liye main kehna chahthi hoon: haqeeqat kee toh yeh baat hai, ki main film line main jab se aayi hoon, unhi ki shagird hoon. Unhone hee mujhe mike pe khade hona bataya hai, alfaaz kehne, gaate hue bol ginna, bataya hai; Mere film line ke wahi ustad hain.

Unki ek aadat thi ki kabhi kisi ko daad nahi dete they …bilawajah … Baharhaal, unhone mujh pe badi meherbaaniyan keen. Aur unhi ki tufail mein aaj film line mein alfaaz ke bayan karne mein mujhe logon se daad milti hai.

(As told in Tarannum program on PTV and in Part 1 of the video tribute by Inaam Nadeem).

Baby Noorjehan introduced as such by GH became prominent from his film, Gul-e-Bakawali onwards. The two solo songs she sang under the direction of Ghulam Haider, i.e., Shala jawanian maane, and Pinjre de vich quaid jawaji were a precursor to her illustrious career in filmdom which was to unfold over subsequent years.

Shamshad Begum was a child artist and singing was in her blood. She was a regular singer in AIR, Lahore for a few years. GH was very much impressed with her performance. She started her career in singing for films with the Punjabi film Yamla Jatt (1940) and persisted with her for many more years. She is all praise for him as one primarily responsible for shaping her career in the initial years. Here is an extract from the article of Ms. Khanta Mahadevan.

My uncle took me to an audition to Jenophone Recording Company whose music composer was Master Ghulam Haider. During the audition, I sang a Bhahadur Shah Zafar ghazal, Mera yaar gar mile mujhe jaan dil fida karoon and some marsiya. Master Sahab was impressed by my voice and told me to sign the contract the same day. I was offered a contract to sing twelve songs at a rate of Rs. 12.50 each which was a big amount in those times (1937). I asked him, taleem (training)? He said that I didn’t need formal training and just following his instructions would be enough. Master Sahab was a great man. He took personal interest in ensuring that we were able to absorb the nuances of singing and music. He had his own unique style of training where, while making us sing various kinds of songs, he was able to chisel our voices to be able to sing any kind of song. His method of training was hundred times more effective than formal method of training and was akin to polishing of a diamond. I can never forget all that he has done. Mera Ustaad jannat mein jhoole. He used to call me his Chaumukhiya (versatile) artist who could do justice to any song.

(As told to Gajendra Khanna in an interview done on January 26, 2012, a year before her demise.)

Master ji would say, “Accept offers from all composers. Learn their style. Don’t impose your style on them”.

He taught me two very important things. “First, Be a good person, and, second, just like water takes shape of the utensil, you should also mould yourself according to the situation.” (Taken from her last interview to Filmfare)

GH’s success in identifying the prodigious singing talent in a lean teenager Lata Mangeshkar can be viewed as a farrago of fact and myth. According to one version GH while travelling in a suburban train in Bombay in 1947 heard a fellow traveller, i.e., a girl singing in a low voice. Much impressed at the calibre of singing, invited her to sing a tune composed by him there itself and she obliged. He invited her to come to the studio for audition test. A second version avers she was picked as a result of a singing talent test conducted. It is also bandied about that she was sent to GH by an agency. Both the individuals are no longer alive to unravel this conundrum. Lata Mangeshkar, in an interview, had herself stated that she was escorted to GH by an agency run by a pathan Balamanand supplying junior artists and we may perhaps accept this version as true. GH was the music director of the film (in making in 1947) Shaheed and took Lata Mangeshkar to the producer S. Mukherjee. After listening, Shashadar Mukherjee rejected her on the ground that her singing voice was too thin and not suitable for film singing. GH with his panglossian outlook and instinctive precognition about her emergence as a quality singer in future, did not agree with him and in fury declared that he was making a great mistake in assessing her talent and he would himself in future beg her to sing in his new ventures. He took her immediately to Bombay Studios and convinced the owners to accept her for singing songs he would compose as music director for the film, Majboor. S. Mukherjee admitted to his fault and Lata Mangeshkar was the main singer in his films, Anarkali and Naagin. GH’s instincts were faultless and Lata Mangeshkar reigned supreme in the film world, thereafter, in an unmatched career of a few decades.

According to me Ghulam Haider’s career map can be trifurcated as follows:

1.  Lahore (then India) –  1939 to 1944
2.  Bombay (now Mumbai) – 1944 to 1949
3.  Back to Lahore (Pakistan) – 1949 till death in 1953

Lahore (India) 1939-1944

Subsequent to Gul-e-Bakawali he gave music to a few more Punjabi films as Yamla Jatt (1940), Sassi Punnoo (1940), Chaudhry (1941), Sehti Murad (1941) and Gul Baloch (1943). Many of the songs from these films showcased his talent. Notable examples are Kankan diyan faslan pakkiyan ne and Aa dukhre phol laiye from Yamla Jatt, Bas bas ve dholna, Chum chum ohdi kaisi sohni chaal, Ik duniya navin vasa laiye and Sajne tere bina from Chaudhry. He created a revolution in film music by his preludes and interludes to these songs.

Bhai Santa Singh of Amritsar was a bosom friend of GH. He was a leading singer of Gurbani music and was patronised by All India Radio, Lahore. He persuaded Bhai Santa Singh to add orchestration to his music keeping the original tunes. The results were a great revelation of GH genius and the 8 pieces of religious music of 3 minutes apiece brought out as 78 rpm records then is appreciated even after a lapse of several decades.

Next in line were Hindi films produced in Lahore as Khazanchi (1941), Zameendar (1942), Khandaan (1942) and Poonji (1943) for which he composed music. Thanks to GH, the background music reverberated in film songs through introduction of dholak and drums which was well received by the film viewers. He created light music based on Hindustani classical and his own innovations with the gusto of music from Punjab.

Before bidding au revoir to Lahore, he invited a budding singing actress Suraiya and got her to sing two ‘naats’ in Punjabi and it is said that these two pieces are the only songs sung in Punjabi by her. I did come across a Punjabi naat and presume its music was composed by GH.

Bombay (Mumbai) (India) – 1944-1949

Bombay rose from shadows and emerged as the epicentre of film production eclipsing Calcutta and Lahore. Aspirants, in the hope of carving out a career in the tinsel world, landed on its shores. GH was also lured to it and arrived there in 1944. His fame had already preceded him and he was mobbed by film producers for composing music. He started with three films in 1944: Chal Chal Re Naujawan, Phool and Bhai. Next in line were Humayun (1945), Shama, Bairam Khan and Jag Biti in 1946, and Manjhdhar in 1947.

The year 1947 was a watershed moment for the Indian subcontinent. Independence was achieved from the British but at the cost of partition into India and Pakistan. It had its ramifications in the film world. Many artists and others associated with film industry left for Pakistan in the hope of carving out their niche in the nascent film industry there. In hindsight several would have regretted their move but that is not part of the post. GH stayed put for two more years and in the process gave good music for several films, such as Menhdi (1947), Majbhoor, Shaheed, Padmini, Barsat Ki Ek Raat, Patjhar in 1948, Kaneez in 1949 (last film in India).

Back to Lahore (Pakistan): 1949 – 1953

In those days music directors had their own dedicated and loyal orchestra group and carried their distinct stamp in the songs composed and one could identify the music directors based on the background music of songs. GH had his unit too and crème de la creme from among them migrated to Pakistan after it was carved out. GH pleaded with them to stay put in Bombay and offered them monetary incentives too, but to no avail. Obsessed with a desire to establish themselves in a budding film industry there, they abandoned Bombay and shifted to Lahore. GH also decided to follow suit and switched over to Lahore at the end of 1949.

After settling down, he formed a film production company, ‘Filmsaaz’, in association with director S. Nazeer Azmiri and actor S. Gul. He was the music director for six films in Pakistan, i.e., Shahida, Beqarar, Akeli, Bheegi Palken, Ghulam and Gulnar. He did not taste the success he had in Bombay as film industry did not flourish well in Pakistan. Gulnar was his last film as music director, released a few days before his demise. Once again he was associated with Noorjehan and her solos reflected his genius in composition. Its songs are still popular today.

It is right time to post a few songs that will reveal his innovation in orchestration of preludes and interludes, application of unusual taals he mastered during his travels with a music troupe in Punjab including those from Gurbani music. Peculiarity of his compositions are interjections of phrases like “haha”, “aa raa ra”, etc. Listening to the tunes he composed will reveal his genius.

Lahore (India): 1939-1944

1. Pinjare de wich qaid jawani by Baby Noorjehan from Gul-e-Bakawali (1939), lyrics Wali Saheb

GH’s innate ability in spotting this juvenile singer with future potential to be a top class singing artist is incredulous. Noorjehan as a thirteen year old did full justice to the two songs she sang in this film, the other being Shala jawaniyaan maane. The song starts in a slow tempo gradually rising to a crescendo and then dipping back to the original scale. Subtle orchestration in background is very soothing and the faultless rendition by the singer was a precursor of how she will reach pinnacle in later years.

2. Kachiyaan ve kaliyaan tu na tod by Noorjehan from Yamla Jatt (1940), lyrics Wali Saheb

Just after a year from her debut, the voice was still immature.

3. Bas bas ve dholna by Noorjehan and Ghulam Haider from Chaudhry (1941), lyrics F D Sharaf

Leading roles were by Noorjehan and Pran. This duet is typical of GH touch and far ahead of its time.

4. Unchi marhi te dudh payi rirhkan by Shamshad Begum from Sehti Muraad (1941), lyrics Manohar Singh Sahraj

5. Nainon ke baan ki reet anokhi by Shamshad Begum and Ghulam Haider from Khazanchi (1941), lyrics Wali Saheb

I could locate 9 songs (8 solos by Shamshad Begum and one duet with GH). The song Sawan ke nazaare hain broke new grounds of novelty and innovation and GH displayed his mastery over orchestration. A chorus song with Ramola Devi and cohorts riding bicycles was the first of its kind. I had already posted it in my earlier writeup about songs on bicycles. Here I choose the only duet from the film. Shamshad Begum is in her element and GH made his contribution.

6. Ek kali nazon ki pali by Shamshad Begum from Khazanchi (1941), lyrics Wali Saheb

Having listened to all the eight solos I choose this song, which was truly revolutionary for its time. Another stellar singing from Shamshad Begum. I surmise it is based on a Hindustani classical raga. The other seven songs are unique and worth inclusion but space does not permit.

7. Hey Natwar Girdhari by Shanta Apte from Zameendar (1942), lyrics Nazim Panipati

A Pancholi production with leading stars Ghulam Mohammad and Shanta Apte. There were eleven songs penned by four lyricists. Shanta Apte sang four songs. A bhajan song is uploaded. GH is equally at home in composing songs of this genre. ‘Duniyan mein garibon ko aram nahin milta’ by Shamshad Begum is well known.

8. Log mujhko khush samajhate hain magar main gham mein hun by Ghulam Haider from Zameendar (1942), lyrics Behzad Lakhanavi

A ghazal sung by Ghulam Haider himself.

9. Maar gayi re hamein teri najariya by Noorjahan & two others from Khandan (1942), lyrics M D Taseer

There was a lot of publicity pre-release and this film from Pancholi banners was a great success. Pran Sikander and Noorjehan were the main actors. Three lyricists wrote songs. Noorjehan sang eight solos, Shamshad Begum one and there was a duet by both. This song has a long interlude of more than one minute, again an innovation by GH.

10. Kya mast hawayein hain by Ghulam Haider and Shamshad Begum from Poonji (1943), lyrics(?)

This film under Pancholi Banners had ten songs shared by Ghulam Haider and Shamshad Begum. There were three lyricists – D.N. Madhok, Shaukat Thanvi and Behzad Lakhanavi. But there is no information who wrote which song. This duet, one of the two, is presented from this movie.

Bombay (Mumbai) (India): 1944 – 1949

11. Mujhe madhur lagata hai unse apna pyar chhupana by Naseem Bano and Ashok Kumar from Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944), lyrics Kavi Pradeep

All the songs were penned by Kavi Pradeep. With an aim to cover as many singers as possible, this song was chosen. The tune is good but the singing does not match. It is a love duet.

12. Kahin dil lenewala by Suraiya from Phool (1944), lyrics Rammoorthy

Prithviraj Kapoor, Suraiya and Durga Khote were the lead actors. K. Asif debuted as a director.  The film was the fourth highest grosser in the year. A romantic song rendered in the silken voice of Suraiya, is another gem of GH’s music composition.

13. Duniya ki ye khushi hai by Zeenat Begum from Bhai (1944), lyrics Shatir Ghaznavi

Very few songs are available. This solo is pathos laden. There is a patriotic song sung by Zeenat Begum and chorus: Bharat ke rahnewale jaago. Seems very relevant in current days.

14. Aye chaand tu bata de by Rajkumari from Humayun (1945), lyrics Shams Lakhanavi

Mehboob Khan‘s production with Ashok Kumar and Nargis in stellar roles is quite absorbing. The film’s theme is mainly to do with Babar, Humayun and a Rajput princess played by Veena. Babar guarantees her throne and Humayun is forced to quit his kingdom to keep his father’s promise. To me it appears as a figment of imagination. There are 8 songs, all of them musical gems and choice was difficult. Hamida Bano (Nargis) is courted by Humayun and she is not sure whether to accept as revealed in this song.

https://youtu.be/l2eSoTD6IDI?t=4

15. Dil thandi hawa mein uda jaye, piya ki yaad aye by Shamshad Begum from Shama (1946), lyrics Shams Lakhanavi

Ulhas Wasti and Mehtab are in lead roles. Four lyricists have written ten songs. A song of bliss dreaming about her lover, it is flowing like a smooth rivulet with splendid interludes.

16. Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi by G.M. Durrani and Shamshad Begum from Shama (1946), lyrics Ehsan Rizwi

Another well-known song from the film. The hero is chewing the cud about his love.

17. Gulshan pe hai bahar, koel ki hai pukar, piya aa ja re by Suraiya from Jag Beeti (1946), lyrics (?)

Shadiq Ali, Suraiya and Sulochana Chatterjee are in lead roles. Suraiya has sung quite a few songs and I just chose one.

18. Premnagar ki ore chalein by Khursheed Bano and Surendra from Manjhdhar (1946), lyrics Shams Lakhanavi

I could access two duets from the above pair and just one of them which appealed to me. Tabassum aged 4 acted in baby role.

19. Tum kis liye aate nahin by Shamshad Begum from Bairam Khan (1946), lyrics Pt. Butaram Sharma

Paucity of song resources narrows down the choice. I choose this from two solos of Shamshad Begum.

20. Allah khata kya hai garibon ki bata de by Zeenat Begum and Imdad Hussain from Menhdi (1947), lyrics Sagar Nizami

A philosophical song describing the plight of poor in the world in supplication to Allah.

21. Ab kaun hai is toote huye dil ka sahara by G M Durrani from But Tarash (1947), lyrics Ameen Gilani

G M Durrani and Shamshad Begum have major slice of eleven songs and only a duet is by Mukesh and Hamida Banu. A song of pathos, Arshad is mourning his lost love and is questioning his fate for this state of affairs.

22. Ab darne ki koi baat nahin angrezi chhora chala gaya by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar from Majboor (1948), lyrics Nizam Panipatti

Lata Mangeshkar’s career as a singer was given recognition by the perspicacious GH from this film. Her songs Dil mera toda and Ab koyi jee ke kya kare were a precursor of her hidden skills which would lead her to the pinnacle. This is the first song she sang for GH as a duet with Mukesh. The song describes the feeling of the nation after achieving independence from British, who ruled us for nearly previous two hundred years. A fast paced delightful song.

23. Badnam na ho jaye mohabbat ka fasana by Surinder Kaur from Shaheed (1948), lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi

This film is about the fight for independence by a freedom fighter (Dilip Kumar) and his love for a woman (Kamini Kaushal) which is not fruitful as the fighter gives up his life in the struggle. Khan Mastana and Mohammad Rafi’s iconic song Watan ki raah mein is immortal. GH brought to the fore a new singer Surinder Kaur from Punjab. Partition in 1947 played havoc with her life. She was called from Firozpur where she was living in dire straits, to Bombay by GH who had heard her singing in Lahore. Thus she started her singing career in Bombay. Most of the songs of Surinder Kaur has a strain of grief.

24. Sapera been bajayo re by Geeta Roy and Ashok Kumar from Padmini (1948), lyrics Wali Saheb

In the absence of videos I presume this is an episode from the life of Queen Padmini of Chittor. Wali Saheb wrote all the nine songs. Ashok Kumar and Mumtaz Shanti are the lead actors. Lata Mangeshkar’s song – ‘Bedard tere dard ko seene se laga ke’ – is a well-known song. I choose this duet describing the love dialogues between them.

25. Ghat kaali kaali chhayi by Begum Parveen from Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1948), lyrics D N Madhok

This duet by the lead actors of the film is chosen in keeping with my objective of introducing new singers to the extent available. Shaukat Thanvi, Deena Nath Madhok, Mulkraj Bhakri are the lyricists. Munawar Sultana (singer and not actor) and Zeenat Begum too have rendered songs.

Patjhad (1948) had as music director GH and S D Batish. Kaneez (1949) was the last movie for which Ghulam Haider gave music in India. Hansraj Behl was also a co-music director for this film.

Aabshar (1953) has three music directors – Mohammad Shafi, Bhola Shreshtha and Ghulam Haider and songs were penned by three lyricists – Qateel Shifai, Sarshar Sailani, Waahid Qureshi. Qateel Shifai is a lyricist from Pakistan. Songs were sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Munawar Sultana and Rajkumari. GH had composed music for three songs, all sung by Munawar Sultana. Considering GH was already in Pakistan since late 1949, this seems to be cross border production. Only our encyclopaedia Arunkumarji can unravel this.

Back to Lahore (Pakistan): 1949 – 1953

In 1949 he shifted gears and took a retrograde step in moving to Lahore, now part of Pakistan. His career did not flourish; his last film Gulnar (1953) out of six under his music direction was alone worthy of note.

26. Bachpan ki yaadgaro by Noorjehan from Gulnar (1953), lyrics Qateel Shifai

The film was released on 6th November 1953. This song is so wonderfully sung by Malika-e-Tarannum Noorjehan, and GH wove his magic wand which established he was still in his elements. It seemed to me that by this song Noorjehan seemed to indulge in nostalgic reminiscence of her career launched by GH in 1939. Another song by Fazal Hussain – Gila hai aasmanwale is worthy of note.

GH scored another first in raising the status of music directors and compelling film producers to recognise them as equally important in the conglomerate. Film magnates of those years were virtual tyrants holding the artists and workers under them in thraldom. He demanded and got high remuneration for music composition and opened the eyes of other music directors as to their potential.

Ghulam Haider was suffering from terminal cancer and succumbed to it on the 9th November 1953 at the age of 45 years. As usual praise poured in from all quarters. Anil Biswas, Naushad had high regard for his musical talents. It is averred that noted music director C. Ramchandra with tears in his eyes stated, “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”.

He created a temblor amidst music composing fraternity. He was truly a thaumaturgist in the sphere of music composition. In conclusion I may state that his tunes/compositions were ornate, orotund and orphic. He eminently deserved the title, MASTER, conferred on him by the adoring public of those days. I am now uploading one more song from Gulnar by Noorjehan which seemed to be a forerunner of impending departure of GH from the mother earth.

27. Lo chal diye by Noorjehan from Gulnar (1953), lyrics Qateel Shifai

I fondly hope that the blog followers will weigh my post on this giant among mortals in the musical world on merit and would urge them to post more gems which I may be aware of but could not include as this has already become lengthy.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The YT links of songs have been embedded only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over the songs, which belongs to the respective owners.

In some songs playing on another site has been blocked, but by clicking on the links you can play it on YT.

{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Mahesh November 10, 2022 at 12:41 am

Rangan ji,

Kudos to such elaborate and well deserved post on a composer who ought to be celebrated and remembered much more.

Though Mukesh and Lata had duets in Anokha Pyar 1948 too, this particular duet from Majboor 1948 is considered their very first having been recorded probably in 1947.

Incidentally, his first duet with Geeta Dutt from Gaon 1947 under Khemchand Prakash was also a patriotic song. Sorry for the digression.

2 Shelomit November 10, 2022 at 4:36 am

Thank you for this detailed post, DK ji. It is a clear labor of love, though I hope you are also being solicitous of your own health! I appreciate how you have brought to light aspects of Ghulam Haider’s career that are less well remembered, especially his non-film songs and his work in Punjabi. In your narrative, it is striking how extraordinarily supportive GH was of his colleague musicians. Few people have the patience and humility to mentor so many others. His impact on Hindustani music will have been not only through his own compositions, but also of the career of every other musician whom he guided or promoted.

3 D P Rangan November 10, 2022 at 9:41 pm

Maheshji
Thanks for your appreciation of the post. As a pioneer in revolutionizing film music he deserves a high pedestal from film music lovers. All information about old music like Rafi’s first duet with Geeta Dutt is always welcome.
Shelomitji
Thanks for your views about my post. GH was an exception and his consideration for fellow artists and his orchestra group was well known. The very fact that a maestro like C Ramchandra shed tears over his demise and expressed how he was inspiration to him is all revealing.

4 D P Rangan November 11, 2022 at 12:41 am

AKji
Song No. 25 – You are correct in pointing out my fault. Please correct the title as a solo by Begum Parveen only.
Song No. 14 – only link is printed and no a diagrammatic presentation.

5 AK November 11, 2022 at 7:43 am

#25: Corrected
#14: Some video links do not permit embedding on a different site. You can click the link and watch it play on YT on a different screen

6 Sivanandam November 14, 2022 at 11:32 am

Rangan Ji
A well researched , meticuluosly written article on the legendary composer Master Ghulam Haider. For a person like me, not much into the vintage era, I only knew he was the person to played a major role in bringing Lata Mangeshkar to the industry. After reading this blog I could know so much about him. I am yet to listen to all the songs..will do so soon. At a glance I could recognize only Badnaam na ho jaaye as a song that I have heard many times…without realising who the composer was!!

7 D P Rangan November 15, 2022 at 7:01 am

Sivanandamji
Very grateful for going through my post and offering your comments. I am happy I could post an informative writeup on this pioneer. This was possible because of encouragement of AKji. Please do post other songs of this m.d.

8 Mehfil Mein Meri November 15, 2022 at 6:41 pm

Rangan ji,
Hats off to you!
Such an insightful and thorough article. It took me some days to read fully and enjoy the songs.
Good song selection.

Gori Chali Piya ke des is another of my favourite by G H.

Thank you for this exhaustive post.

Anup
🙂

9 neeruahaf November 18, 2022 at 3:04 pm

Rangan ji
Thank you for a very informative article. Such a good singer too with Log mujhe khush samajhte hain, absolutely wonderful.
Here are some of his songs which I love:

Umeedon par udhasi chha gayi… (Surinder Kaur/ Kaneez/ Harish Chander Akhter 1949)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9UI3SEG8ug

Jab tum na rahe phir meri duniya mein raha kaya…. (Munawar Sultana/ Mehndi/Sagar Nizami/ 1947)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDI5nWzFl38

Tu kaun si badli mein mere chand… (Noorjehan/ Khandan/ D.N. Madhok/ 1942)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_bB8tfImYA

Duniya mein ghareebon ko…. (Shamshad Begum/ Zamindaar/ Qamar Jalalibadi/ 1942)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J1iBFm_2Oc

Mere angna Kaag na bole (Geeta Roy/ Padmini/ Wali Sahib/ 1948)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBtZ45n0xWs

10 D P Rangan November 18, 2022 at 9:25 pm

Anupji
Thanks for your appreciation of the post. GH was really a legendary music composer and I must thank AKji for encouraging me to write this post. Here is the link for the song you mentioned. It is from Shama (1946), lyrics Shewan Rizvi.
https://youtu.be/msnuRf8Y36E

11 D. P. Rangan November 22, 2022 at 5:49 am

Ms. Neeruahaf

Very good of you for appreciating my post on this great music composer. I also listened to the songs you had uploaded. I was aware of almost all of them except that of Kaneez. From my sources I could not identify any of the songs of Kaneez with a music director. I am happy you could post one attributable to Ghulam Haider.

12 neeruahaf November 22, 2022 at 10:23 am

Rangan saab

According to web sources, only the two Geeta Roy songs in Kaneez were composed by Master Hansraj Behl who rated her highly. Here is info from one such source:

“Kaneez (1949) had music by the original Masterji, Ghulam Haider who migrated to Pakistan halfway. Hansraj Behl scored the remaining two songs, both solos by Geeta. Paake nazron ka ishaara is a dreamy song filmed on Kuldeep Kaur on piano seducing handsome Shyam. Jiya mora haale dole ho is another cheerful dance number filmed on Kuldeep Kaur as a club song with signature Punjabi rhythm. One can feel the swing in her voice…..

The full article can be read here:

https://learningandcreativity.com/silhouette/geeta-dutt-sings-for-four-music-directors/

13 D P Rangan November 22, 2022 at 6:04 pm

Ms. Neeruahaf

Very much appreciate your response and giving valuable information on this. Such data would go towards unravelling niggles which one comes across when digging through old records. Someone in future may give a better post than this on this music composer using this kind of articles. Will go through the article you had given a link.

14 neeruahaf November 24, 2022 at 8:02 am

Rangan Saab

Thank you for your kind words.

15 S Joseph November 25, 2022 at 11:06 pm

I learnt so much about the great Master GH from this write up. A great amount of labour has gone into compiling this information. This certaily qualifies as a brief biography of Master Ghulam Haider. I guess there is no biography of this MD and this is not surprising as after 1947 he was on this side of the line only for 2 years and on the other side for only 4 years as unfortunately his life was cut short due to cancer.

GH could rise only because of his talent and determination as even his family did not support him for music.

Lata would have made a place for herself in the music world sooner or later but the support from GH for an unknown Lata is remarkable and it shows that he had a great music sense as well as a wonderful heart. I do not know if Ghulam Haider had spotted any male singing talents.

As he was a great person and also having so much music sense , I believe he had thought well before going to the other side of the line in 1949 and it may not be proper to call this a retrograde step. As life was not on his side we cannot say what plans he had .

Though he had many gems to his credit , I am of the view that perhaps this composition from ‘ Shaheed (1948) ‘ must have been his most popular song .This song was even taken up by many schools .

There has also been a lot of discussion about the word ‘ watan ‘ used in this song . This word allows the song to be used in any country.

‘ Watan ki raah…’ / 1948 / SHAHEED / Raja Mehdi Ali Khan / Ghulam Haider / Rafi, Khan Mastana and chorus

https://youtu.be/MG7grL3i6J0

16 D P Rangan November 26, 2022 at 6:38 am

Josephji
Your detailed comments and observations are well appreciated. It is indeed a none too easy task to compile an accurate biography long afterwards and even this is possible only because of internet and modern communications technology. Pakistan offered a very restricted field for film production and his music for 6 pictures were average and only his last film Gulnar was a success. Only Arunkumarji can throw light on whether he nurtured any male singing talent. I checked dictionary and watan is defined as swadeshi. This would perhaps confer a generic quality to it.
What you had posted is indeed an iconic song of patriotism and superbly sung by Mohammad Rafi, especially the slow melancholic version.

17 Kuljeet Singh December 15, 2022 at 10:01 pm

Dear Rangan Ji,

Thanks for this great article. Regarding punjabi naat of Suraiya, please have a look at this second naat.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vhf1PB8aqW8
When I listened to it for first time a few days back, I had a feeling that the music very much resembles GH style but after reading your article today its confirmed.

18 D P Rangan December 17, 2022 at 2:00 am

Kuljeetji
Extremely touched by your appreciation of the post. You have hit the nail on the head. This is the second naat I could not get. Thanks for uploading. This naat has the signature of Ghulam Haider. The interludes speak for themselves. I have downloaded mp3. version for my record.
I had also mentioned of the 8 pieces of gurbani music he tuned released as 78 rpm record. If you can locate any you tube or mp3 link please post it.

19 Kuljeet Singh December 18, 2022 at 6:20 am

Dear Rangan Ji

Regarding those gurbani recordings a little search yielded following results. The GH musical signature is very much present and the uploader also mentions in title the age of these recordings(around 80 years).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OVM6ryz8Bog
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BAD3iNj7sf8
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=35pnHlunuJc
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0l6cIDaN3So
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JzhPfZMxZ7Q

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F0jkfb3Hm5Yn

20 D P Rangan December 18, 2022 at 11:15 pm

Kuljeetji
You are really great. Thanks for these 6 gurbanis. Will extract MP3 for collection. Hoping for comments from you in any future biographies I may post. Many more are yet to be covered.

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