The Story of the 'Richly Evergreen'......(Part12)

The final words....

          So, as a music lover, how can we finish the composition named "O P Nayyar"? Well, tough act! Before coming to the conclusion, here are some questions that occur to our minds. He had been such a successful composer, why then did he have to vanish from the scene? Was not there more music left in him? How can it be that he had such a meteoric rise? And how can it be that he got forgotten and went into oblivion so soon?

                               I do not think we have answers to these questions apart from a few points that we mentioned earlier. First, he was a musician with profound knowledge of music and singing style. He was a singer himself, and all those small brushes of improvisations, all those gentle movements of tunes, all those variations in tempo, speed and beats were his own - very much his own.

                                                                                            Second, here was a composer who knew how to handle prelude, interlude and the ending bit of a song. How did he do it usually? He would use sitar, santoor, sarengi, jal-tarang, tabla, mridang, dumroo, dholak, flute, harmonium and various other traditional Indian instruments. Of course, he sometimes even used the sonority of Western instruments like bongo, guitar, saxophone, bass guitar etc. Not to forget the usage of vocals - many of those songs that we have touched upon start with a very interesting vocal piece sung by the lead singer! So, he was someone who knew exactly how to decorate a song and how much effort was needed to decorate it. He never created a piece that looked out of place! And this style was absolutely his own and he pursued with this style song after song, track after track, movie after movie!          

          Third, he had an unending pursuit to stick to his style and not fall in the traps of market demands. It could be that this unflinching artistic arrogance brought about his eventual downfall; the fact that he did not want to change his style with the changing tastes of the generation perhaps affected his popularity. All in all, his school of music entirely remained his own. His photo being shown on the movie posters of those era together with the leading actors continues to remain a testimonial of his life and times.

                                                            After some years of ailment and a near dissociation from his family, he passed away quietly. At the time of his death he was not even living in his own house. He was rather living in a friend's house, totally detached from all those who had once surrounded him and would work for him at the drop of a hat. Talking about hats, this man used to wear a white shirt and a white trouser together with a white hat - perhaps to assert a very strong style quotient, even during those last few years when he was practicing homeopathy and often seen in TV shows as a judge. A very suave musician ushering in the golden era of Hindi cinema has not been given his due; not even a Padmasree was offered to him during his lifetime. The only award that he could get for himself was one Filmfare Best Music Award for the unparalleled soundtrack of Naya Daur. Despite the lack of recognition for his talent, he was one of those rare creative legends that are often produced in one generation and receives his due in the subsequent generations. Every time someone from later generation uses his creation he is honored, albeit posthumously. So, when a Sonu Nigam sings "Dil ki Awaz bhi sun", it reaffirms that the legend of O P has not died, rather it is taking a re-birth!