Indian classical music is made up of Ragas, which are melodic frameworks for improvisation. Each Raga is an array of structures with musical motifs which have the ability to invoke emotions akin to the time of the day, seasons and occasions. A Raga consists of at least five notes, and each Raga provides the musician with a framework within which to improvise. This musical form is a result of centuries of work behind it, right from the Vedic era.

Sounds complex, erudite, within the reach of a few? Well, it actually was till about 80 years back. Naushad Ali appeared on the Hindi film music scene around 1940 and changed this forever. Before him, Classical music was patronized and loved by the royalty and performed by the trained musicians and courtesans, for the royalty. The art-form had remained limited to a certain set of people.Naushad, with his melodious musical pouring into movies made it accessible to every almost Indian.

How did he do it? The answer lies in his musical upbringing and training. Coming from a traditional Moslem family from Lucknow, he grew up listening to Qawwalis. He also learnt Classical music local Ustads. He also formed his own troupe and explored the folk music of various regions.

Naushad got his understanding of what works with the masses from his folk music explorations. And he already had a strong foundation in Classical music. So, when he started composing for Hindi films, he deftly fused the two genres. He would take a particular Raga, and turn it into a melody which would become hummable by the masses and hence popular. And that did it. Suddenly, the entire nation was humming Classical Ragas. Let me take some of his highly popular songs to demonstrate this.

Take Tu Ganga Ki Mauj, a Lata + Rafi duet from ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952). On first listening it will almost certainly come across as a lovely folk song from North India, to everyone. Dig deeper and one will unearth RaagBharavi as itsbackbone. Or take Mohe Panghat Pe, a Bhajan sung by Lata from the iconic ‘Mughal-E-Azam’ (1960). It’s a lovely traditional Holi festival melody. Sink inside it and you will uncover the rare, Raag Gaara. Or pick up the suave and almost urban Mukesh solo, Tu Kahe Agar from ‘Andaz’ (1949). It would be almost impossible to figure out that it’s based on Raag Kirwani. The list of these kinds of songs are endless in Naushad’s repertoire from great musicals like ‘Uran Khatola’, ‘Mere Mehboob’, ‘Dil Diya Dard Liya’, amongst many others.

And that is his giant contribution to the nation. He made Classical music accessible to the masses and got them humming Raags. Why is it giant? Because it raised the musical quotient of a nation and has become an essential ingredient of our culture.

By Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Hyderabad/Mumbai based marketing and communications professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music, the vinyl way. His 31 year old Technics SL Q3 turntable, along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues, Classical and Hindi Film Music (among others) are his prized possessions.