Evergreen. Vintage. Golden. Velvet. Silk. Whichever way you describe it, Talat Mahmood’s voice lives on 18 years after his demise. Songs like ‘ Jaaye toh jaaye kahan’ ( Taxi Driver ), ‘Aye mere dil kahin’ ( Daag ) and ‘Jalte hain jiske liye’ ( Sujata ) still create ripples.

Today, on his death anniversary, let’s look at the Talat phenomenon of the 1950s. But before that, a personal story.

Strangely, I became a Mahmood’s fan a few days after he passed away. When the news came, I was asked to write an obituary. I was clueless, as the only song that came to mind was ‘Tasveer banata hoon’ , a Vividh Bharati favourite. Only later, I discovered it was from the film Baradari . In 1998, there was no Google or YouTube, and one couldn’t even do a quick-fix piece. So I had to refuse.

The newspaper approached a senior journalist. Reading his piece, I figured I actually knew a few Talat Mahmood songs without realising they were his. Besides the three songs mentioned in the first paragraph, they included ‘Itna na mujhse’ ( Chaaya ), ‘Shaam-e-gham ki kasam’ ( Footpath ) and ‘Phir wohi shaam’ ( Jahan Ara ).

Through radio, I heard his first song ‘Ai dil mujhe aisi jagah’ ( Arzoo ). Soon, I picked up the Saregama HMV ‘Golden Collection’. I instantly fell for three songs: ‘Raat ne kya kya khwab dikhaye’ (from ‘Ek Gaon Ki Kahani’ ), ‘Aansoon samajh ke’ ( Chhaya ) and ‘Seene mein sulaghte hain armaan’ (with Lata Mangeshkar in Taraana ). Soon, Talat became an obsession.

Let’s now look at his contribution. Before Hindi films, he had been recognised as one of the best ghazal singers, presenting the poetry of Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir, Jigar Morarabadi and Daagh Dehlvi. His song ‘Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi’ was a super-hit. He also sang a string of Bengali classics under the name Tapan Kumar.

By the time he arrived in Mumbai from Kolkata in 1949, the legendary K.L. Saigal had passed away. Rafi and Mukesh were on the rise, and Manna Dey was prolific. The same year, Kishore Kumar settled in this city, and Hemant Kumar followed two years later.

In the 1950s, Hindi male playback singing was ruled by these six names: Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore, Manna Dey, Talat and Hemant Kumar. In the following decade, Mahendra Kapoor had many huge hits.

Each had their own speciality. Rafi and Kishore sang a variety of styles, and had a large number of songs. Manna Dey could sing anything under the sun, though he was identified more with classical tunes. Mukesh had his trademark nasal voice, and many hits with Raj Kapoor. Hemant Kumar had a deep voice which suited specific actors and situations, but he had some major hits. Kapoor was more for the love songs and patriotic numbers.

Mahmood’s voice was perfect for romance and pathos. Some believed he had the softest voice in the sub-continent. His mastery over diction and his natural expression made him distinct. He was a major influence on ghazal singers like Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Rajendra Mehta, Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz and Ghulam Ali.

Yet, probably because he focused on the slower, sadder numbers and also stopped singing by the late 1960s, the later generation never really caught on to his music. Audience tastes changed, and radio stations now play only a few select songs.

For the earlier lot, Mahmood remains special. In the early 1950s, Rafi, Mukesh and Mahmood were described as the golden troika. He had a cult following, and his devotees admire him even today.

Narendra Kusnur is a freelance music writer

Mahmood’s voice was perfect for romance and pathos. Some believed he had the softest voice in the sub-continent