If Music Be the Food of Love

Peshawar, Pakistan: The war in Iraq and the steady obliteration of Iraqi resistance has cast a pall in this northwest corner of Pakistan as it has elsewhere in the world with the possible and notable exception of a few world capitals. There are protest marches against the US and Britain. They are in support of the Iraqi people and not necessarily in support of Saddam Hussein even though his presumed ignominious end has garnered some measure of sympathy for him also.

About two weeks ago one Tuesday a general strike called by the religious political parties shut down all businesses and paralyzed the entire country. The strike did not have the support of the government but then in a tight-rope balancing act the government cannot afford to lean too much in one direction. To escape from the sensory overload of war coverage I went to a place of solace and tranquility even if only for a few hours.

For the past number of years whenever I am in this city of my birth I visit a friend of mine who lives in a non-descript home tucked away in one of the narrow labyrinthine streets of this ancient city. Once I step off the street and into his courtyard, the world and its problems are left outside. Here I enter into an enchanting world of music.

Meet Allahdad Khan.

Allahdad, a wiry man in his mid sixties, has been collecting Indian music - classical, semi-classical and also musical scores and songs from the movies - for the past 50 years. His collection of Indian and Pakistani music is perhaps the largest private collection in the subcontinent. The bulk of his collection consists of fourteen thousand 78 rpm records, some of them in mint condition. In addition he has a large video library of vintage Indian and Pakistani movies.

It all started when he was a young boy in his early teens. He would often skip school in the afternoon to catch a matinee of a new Bollywood release from Bombay. One thing led to another and after acquiring a used His Master’s Voice gramophone he embarked on his life-long quest to collect music. Along the way he dropped out of high school as well. He worked as a draftsman in the city government but never allowed the inconveniences of every day life to interfere with his favorite past time. Even after he got married and had a family he continued to spend part of his meager income on acquiring music, often foregoing some of the conveniences and hard-to-come luxuries that a bit of extra cash could provide. As his collection grew and word spread it became easier to acquire rare records to fill in the small gaps in the collection. On occasions he has also received gifts of music records from other private collectors in India.

And what a marvelous collection it is. Stacked in cardboard boxes ,fifteen to twenty records to each box with each box properly labeled and each record still in its protective cover, it is a sensual reminder of a bygone age. It is also a chronological history of Indian and Pakistani music. Starting from 1905 he has an almost complete record until the sixties.

The oldest is a record from 1905 in the voice of Gohar Jan that was cut in Calcutta a thousand mile to the east of here. She was from Charsadda a town not too far from here and ran away to Calcutta to pursue fame and fortune. She found both. In Allahdad Khan’s collection there are many of my all time favorites from the forties and fifties that I grew up with. And then there is the enchanting devotional music, Hindu and Muslim, that can still move one to tears and ecstasy. These sounds transport us to a world that now exists only in our minds.

Being from Peshawar I know my city has played a significant part in the development and evolution of Indian music. Amir Bai Karnatki had her roots also in Charsadda, the lotus city of Kanishka. She was the one who sang the immortal song Ghari Ghari Panghat Pai Aana in the movie Ratan. Then there was the legendary GM Durrani who sang the classic Neend Hamari, Khab Tumhare in Nai Kahani in 1945. The list of singers who were either born in Peshawar or took their start from here is long and fascinating; Rafiq Ghaznavi, Eedan Bai, Shamshad Begum and Miss Dulari, to name a few. Zohra Bai Ambale Wali who sang that all time beautiful song Akhian Mila ke, Jia barma Ke, Chale Nahin Jaana was also from our area. Many readers will also remember Sitara Kanpuri who sang Pardesi Kyun Yaad Aata Hai. But they may not know that she also paid her musical tribute to the father of our nation. Her song Allah Allah Hosla Hai Quaid-e-Azam Tera became a hit during the turbulent forties.

Allahdad Khan reminds me of the postal worker from New York City who for over fifty years collected contemporary art and in time amassed a fabulous collection worthy of a prestigious museum. That collection did end up in special gallery in the National Museum in Washington. Allahdad’s collection is still waiting to be preserved for posterity.

What this humble and unassuming man of limited means has been able to achieve is remarkable. Such a feat is beyond the pail of apolitically correct nationalist or an emotionally charged zealot, for they both are hamstrung by their respective prejudices. It is only possible by eccentric visionaries who are able to transcend racial, political and religious boundaries to achieve something that others are unwilling or unable to achieve.

So that particular Tuesday as the cluster bombs were raining havoc in Baghdad and the charged mobs were protesting out on the streets of Peshawar, Allahdad Khan helped me escape to another world, even if for a short time.

Dr. Sayed Amjad Hussain wrote this piece during his recent visit to Peshawar where his latest Urdu book of profiles ‘Chitran Wala Katora’ was launched by the governor NWFP.