Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Me 'khayyam' Aata Hai

Cheeniya · Jun 10, 2018

Mohammed Zahur "Khayyam" Hashmi popularly known as Khayyam is one of the legendary music directors. He was born in 1927 around the time my parents got married. He is 91 now. He composed music for films for nearly four decades from from early 1950's.
"Khayyam was born as Sa'aadat Hussain in undivided Punjab in Rahon, a town in Nawanshahr District which was then the Nawanshahr tehsil of Jalandhar District. As a boy Khayyam ran away to Delhi to learn music but was forced to return to complete his education. Khayyam then went to Lahore to learn music from the famous Baba Chishti.

He was never interested in studies and was always fascinated by the music of Indian cinema. He was inclined to music since a very young age. He often escaped to the city to watch movies. Khayyam soon ran away to his uncle's house in Delhi, in the hope of becoming an actor. Khayyam's uncle enrolled him in a school, but when he saw his passion for films, he allowed him to learn music, which was actually a step forward in realizing his ambitions. He got his training in music under Pandit Amar Nath."- Courtesy Wikipedia

He has composed some amazing songs and I give three of my picks below:

From the film Phir Suba Hoghi (1958)

This is from Umrao Jaan (1981) sung beautifully by Asha.

This is from Kabhi Kabhi sung by Mukesh and Latha

ratan · Jun 10, 2018

These trio songs are my favorate. Nice information abt Khayyamji.

Cheeniya · Jun 10, 2018

@ratan
Dear ratan
Nice to know that you found my post informative. Thank you for coming in.
Sri

Iravati · Jun 10, 2018

Cheeniya said: ↑

Mohammed Zahur "Khayyam" Hashmi
Click to expand...

Kabhie Kabhie IL mein kashish aata hai, not just any kashish but a musical phenomenon and attraction in the form of Cheeniya's thoughtful enterprise to goad everyone to look up these artists ..who are they ...what did they compose ..where are they now. Must I add, I am discovering much of the golden age of Indian music with your orchestral ramble.

Khayyam is heard but not known to me. His ascendancy from a truant to a reputed composer is phenomenal. I am cherishing these yesteryear artists more with the spotlight on their personal labor alongside their musical accomplishments.

GeetaKashyap · Jun 10, 2018

Khayyam's music had this rare quality of reflecting atmospheric moods and I always felt his songs did not need any visual enhancement. They also had a certain addictive nature that made one hum his songs endlessly. Who can forget his songs from Noorie, Umrao Jaan and Bazaar?

Mistt · Jun 10, 2018

@Cheeniya Sir,
I have been reading your musical series so eagerly from last few days because to add missed wonderful songs to my favorite list and want to know more things about music composers.
While watching old classical hits of Hindi I came to know

And it became my favorite but i was keep on postponing to check the music composer of that song. After reading your post I checked wiki of khayyam then I found that he was the composer of that song. Kabhi kabhi my favorite too but first time I heard "woh subah aayegi " .

Gauri03 · Jun 10, 2018

@Cheeniya Sir, really enjoying this series of musical threads reminiscing about the golden days of Hindi music.

Of all Khayyam compositions this one from Razia Sultan tops my list.

The juxtaposition of the santoor with the silent interludes in the song is masterful. Jan Nisar Akhtar's poetry is sublime but the song belongs to Lata Mangeshkar. Her voice is magical, almost otherworldly. It easily ranks among my top 10 all time favorites.

Greenbay · Jun 10, 2018

Ae Dil E Naadan from Razia Sultan is another gem from this composer who was least celebrated among usual chart buster music directors.

Beautiful lyrics too. Especially the lines,
‘kyo bhatakte Hain,Dastao sehra mein
Aisa lagata hai, Mauj pyasee hai apne dariya mein’ ( why do we wander in this deserted wilderness, it seems as if I am a wave thirsty in my own river).

Apart from his composition, you forgot to mention one important note from his personality. He donated almost all his earnings to a trust to encourage budding artists. 10 crores from a music composer who didn’t earn like the hero/heroines is no mean task and takes an extremely large heart to do so.

Legendary composer Khayyam donates his entire wealth for aspiring artists

Cheeniya · Jun 11, 2018

@Iravati
I am extremely crazy about KL Saigal. Those days, a song of his would be broadcast over Radio Ceylon at 7.55a.m. daily. I used to wait for it and would attend to my daily chores only after his song was over. I had a colleague in State Bank who would sing exactly like Saigal and I would make him sing for me over a glass of whatever on weekends.

Cheeniya · Jun 11, 2018

@GeetaKashyap
Very true Geeta. And remember, they created all this magic when they did not have any sophisticated technology. We had a gramophone and the songs would come on discs that would run 78 times per minute technically known as 78 RPM. The sound reproducer would run over the rotating disc with a sharp needle. To maintain the speed at 78 RPM we would need to wind the spring that rotated the disk. If the spring loses its tension, the song would take a grotesque shape! Life was indeed fun those days. Fun of a different kind I mean
Sri