Aligarh Wale Talat Mahmood: The Era of Golden Voice That Never Gets Old

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh is not only a seat of higher learning and education, it has created a galaxy of stars, who glittered in every field of life. One of them was—Talat Mahmood (1924-19980), A bright star of AMU galaxy. The Ghazal Samrat”, the Golden Voice of India.

The nostalgia voice for many of generations. He sang about 800 songs in his long career. His songs are still popular among the music lovers.

Those were the days of Radio Cylone Amin Syani and Binaca Geet mala, when in peaceful silence of nights, I heard his first song on radio; ‘Ai dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho’ (Arzoo).

Later I became a great fan of Talat Mahmood In that craziness, I purchased a new gramophone and L.P records of Saregama HMV ‘Golden Collection’ of Talat Mahmood ghazals.

I instantly fell in love to velvet singing of Talat Mahmood for his 8 songs.He was an obsession for me. :

1- ‘Ae Mere Dil Kahin Aur Chal’ (Daag).

2- ‘Main Dil Hoon Ek Armaan Bhara’ (Anhonee)

3- ‘Ae Ghame Dil Kya Karoon’ (Thokar)

4- ‘Shaam-E-Gham Ki Kasam’ (Footpath)

5- ‘Raat ne kya kya khwab dikhaye’ (from ‘Ek Gaon Ki Kahani’).

6- ‘Aansoon samajh ke’ (Chhaya)

7- ‘Seene mein sulaghte hain armaan’ (with Lata Mangeshkar in Taraana).

8-Tasavir banata hun, Tasavir nahi banati(Baradari)

Once Dilip Kumar said Talat as "a perfect gentleman". He was a fine gentleman who always had time and respect for his admirers.

Talat was known for his unique style of singing.  He had a characteristic quiver in his voice that was unique.  Initially many music directors saw this as a flaw, but it was Anil Biswas who saw this as a characteristic that had potential.

Born in Lucknow on February 24, 1924, in a conservative Muslim family, Talat's father was averse to his singing pursuits. But his peternal aunt, phoophi, encouraged her nephew's singing talent and also convinced her brother not to smother his son's passion for music. 

After completing his initial studies in Aligarh he came back to Lucknow and joined the Marris College of Music in 1938, like many singers of that period. He was very active in the 1950s and early 1960's and has many notable films to his credit.

Talat's musical career was marked by a steady rise.  His training began under Pandit S.C.R. Bhat at the Morris Music College Lucknow in the 1930's. In 1939 when he was only 16 years old, he began to sing gazals on All India Radio.

  

In 1944 came the smash hit "Tasveer teri dil mera behela na sakegi" sold over 100,000 copies; It took the country by storm. Its popularity was so phenomenal and unrivalled that even today it remains one of the biggest non-film hits! 

This disc brought Talat fame throughout India and soon he was beckoned by the Calcutta Film Industry, which was then the premiere hub of film production in the 40's.

He moved to Calcutta and began to sing and act for the film industry there.  While in Calcutta he often performed under the name Tapan Kumar. 

Talat received Padma Bhushan in 1992, in recognition of his artistic contributions in the spheres of cinematic and ghazal music. he had a unique, elegant and profoundly artistic style of singing. Talat was a very gifted singer in every sense.

In 1949 Talat moved to Bombay, to sing for the Hindi film industry. His name and fame had already preceded him and soon he was flooded with offers.

His big break came with the song “Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho” composed by music director Anil Biswas for the soundtrack of the movie Arzoo. The song proved to be extremely popular. 

However, Talat who was the first Indian singer to go on foreign concert tours in 1956 to East Africa found eager fans awaiting his arrival in other foreign countries.

His last recording was Mere Shareek-e-Safar, recorded in 1985.  He died on May 9, 1998, at the age of 74.

The Love story of “Talat Mahmood” that ended in happy marriage 

Young and handsome Talat Mahmood was the heart-throb of the nation and he had no dearth of girls, from beautiful movie-stars to sophisticated Maharani's, practically throwing themselves at him vying for his attention! 

But his heart was stolen by a beautiful Bengali girl called Latika Mullick.  Latika had been a child star and had starred in hit films like 'kashinath' and others. 

She was a great fan of Talat's and was thrilled to meet him during one of his many trips to Calcutta for his recording and acting sessions. 

Love soon blossomed and the two decided to marry. But in those days it was unimaginable for anybody to marry against the wishes of their parents. 

Talat was worried that his orthodox father would throw a fit if he came to know that Talat was planning to marry a Christian Bengali!  So Talat and Latika decided to marry on the quiet!

However, the Press soon got wind of the "quiet marriage" and within days splashed stories of their marriage, including photo's of the 'Nikahnama' or marriage certificate, on the front pages of their publications! 

Talat's family in Lucknow came to know of his marriage when some well-meaning family friends showed these Press revelations to them. 

His father was upset but only for a very short while and soon gave his daughter-in-law Latika, whose new married name was now Nasreen Mahmood, his blessings for a happy married life. And so, this became a love story that had a happy ending!!!

Talat and Nasreen married on 20th Feb 1951 and have two children: Khalid born in 1953 and Sabina born in 1959. 

Written with help of Wikipedia, many other write ups on Talat Mahmood and photos available on internt and with an special thanks Mr Khalid Mahmood son of Talay Mahmood.

The End