It was a day of joy, it was a day of sorrow. It was an evening of celebration, it was an evening of mourning. It was a late legend's 75th birth anniversary, it was also a great poet’s final journey.
The date was February 8, 2016. At a Sion auditorium, throngs attended the tribute concert for late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh. Wife Chitra Singh cut a cake after Kathak maestro Pandit Birju Maharaj, flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, tabla genius Ustad Zakir Hussain, violinist Deepak Pandit, and singers Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and Suresh Wadkar performed. Everyone applauded, deservedly.
Nobody mentioned Nida Fazli at the show, though social media was abuzz with his song links and the formal ‘RIP’. In distant Versova, Andheri, family members and a few well-wishers like actor Raza Murad and singers Talat Aziz and Alhad Kashikar bid farewell to the poet.
Not many would have heard of Pune-based Kashikar, but here’s his story. He had a mission long before that evening. He had been associated with Fazli’s works for 15 years, first by translating his Urdu articles into Marathi. On the writer’s birthday last month, an online version of his album Nida Between The Lines was released. And on Friday evening, a show named Shaam-e-Nida: Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya will pay exclusive tribute to the poet. The event will also feature Fazli’s wife, Malti Joshi Fazli, and Kashikar’s partner, singer Swati Kohe.
‘ Hoshwalon ’ was one of the most popular Jagjit-Fazli combinations, besides classics like ‘ Duniya Jisey Kehte Hain ’, ‘ Har Taraf Har Jagah ’ and ‘ Kiska Chehra Ab Main Dekhoon ’. Kashikar says, “I will definitely sing ‘ Hoshwalon ’ at the show, besides songs from my album. And also ‘ Kabhi Kisiko Muqammal ’, which Bhupinder ji sang.”
Kashikar is a multi-faceted personality. He’s played chess at the national level, works as a management and human resources consultant, been a social activist, and delivered lectures on Socrates, Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, economics, sociology, international history and political theory. In appearance, with his fair complexion, brown beard, geek spectacles and stylish kurtas, he would pass off as an American rooted in Indian culture and diction.
His major passion has been ghazals, of course. In concert, he is accompanied by Kohe, who has shared his journey. While Kashikar has learnt vocals from Bhavdeep Jaipurwale and Urdu diction from many people, Kohe has studied singing from Sandhyatai Kathavate, while pursuing a career in law and spearheading many social awareness programmes.
Kashikar explains his upbringing. He says, “As a child, I was exposed to ghazals. Though we spoke Marathi at home, I met people who spoke different languages and who belonged to different religions. I read a lot of Hindi literature, and soon got into a lot of other cultures.”
His biggest singing influences have been Mehdi Hassan and Jagjit. “Both had wonderful voices, soulfulness and great compositions. Moreover, the way they expressed words was special.”
The poetry of Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Bashir Badr and Fazli have also fascinated Kashikar. Earlier this year, he released the video ‘ Insaaniyat ’, written by Noor Mohammed Noor. He says, “I am releasing the album ‘ Insaaniyat ’ in February. Besides this song, it will feature the poetry of Jan Nisar Akhtar, Bashir Badr and Fazli saab .”
Obviously, Fazli has been a great influence. Says Kashikar, “He was unique. After Partition, his entire family shifted to Pakistan, and became very rich. He refused to go with them, and preferred to stay back in India. He actually struggled a lot and didn’t accept his father's invitation to join them. He was fearless, and wrote openly on various issues, without being afraid of fundamentalists.”
Kashikar says that despite the huge age gap and the sheer respect he had for the poet, his relationship with Fazli was more of friendship. And by taking the maestro’s poetry forward, he’s surely fulfilling a dream and a cause.
The author is a freelance music writer
Shaam-e-Nida: Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya will take place at St Andrew’s auditorium at 6.30 p.m. today. For free passes to the event, SMS your name to 7588301137/8055045995
