Hussain brothers to regale Patiala audience

Tribune News Service

Patiala, October 21

Music lovers in Patiala will be able to enjoy the soulful renditions of the ghazal maestros, Hussain brothers, Ustad Ahmed Hussain and Ustad Mohammed Hussain of Jaipur.

They will perform at the Central Public Library Auditorium, here, on Sunday at 6.30 pm.

The event is being organised by the Mehak Cultural Forum to celebrate its fifth foundation day.

The brothers are inheritors of a rich classical culture. Music flows in their blood. Born in 1951 and 1953 in Jaipur, the brothers are heirs to renowned music family. Their father the late Ustad Afzal Hussain was a great musician of his times. Rigorous training started in childhood itself. The duo performed as child artistes and were, even then, acknowledged as prodigies.

Today they have a unique skillful personal style, which they have blended to perfection, even though the two ustads have very different voices. These differences are woven together harmoniously in a wonderfully balanced rhythmic union and modulation.

Their fame has travelled far and wide. Like their music, their popularity goes much beyond the narrow geographical and linguistic confines. They have reached beyond the seven seas with their art; music lovers in far-away Big Apple, New York, have established a fan club.

The famous duo performed before Fakaruddin Ahmed, the then President of India, in 1976 and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi released their LP record in 1982.

Hussains started their journey in 1958 and have attained dazzling heights. They have 52 cassettes to their name.

They also tread the world of popular art, and dazzle with their knowledge and expertise.

King of romance, Yash Chopra, acknowledged their talent and they obliged him by singing a soulful sufi quawwali in the blockbuster movie Veer-Zara The qawwali was picturised on Shah Rukh Khan, who goes to Pakistan to meet his lover at the dargah of a Sufi saint.

They sang, “Aya hai dar par diwana”. This is a chance for music lovers in this once royal city to pay obeisance to their music.

Music within
SD Sharma

All genres of music, including folk and devotional, express the voice of the human soul through the medium of sound. And music has been an ibadat for us ever since our ancestor Ustad Mamman Singh made it our family legacy. We represent the seventh generation," say ghazal singers Ustad Ahmed Hussain and Ustad Mohammad Hussain Khan, who are in the city on the invitation of Haryana Cultural Affairs Department for a devotional concert at the ongoing Navratra fair.

Hailing from the Jaipur Gharana, they have 70 hit ghazal albums to their credit in addition to a few devotional songs in Hindi and Punjabi. "The number is too small compared to our four decades of active music career, but we believe more in quality than quantity," says the elder brother Ahmed Hussain (60).

"We were initiated into music by our father Ustad Afzal Hussain. We first recorded a comedy song at AIR, Jaipur, and were paid Rs 5 for it," recollects Mohammad Hussain (58). Now, they see the future of their musical legacy in their singer sons Javed Hussain, Mazzam Hussian and Imran Hussain.

On the contemporary music scene, they opine that although there is more awakening and talent, both the teacher and taught lack devotion and appreciation for the sanctity of music. "The reality show culture, biased attitude of music companies that do not promote ghazals, qawwalis or classical albums, and media encouraging half-baked but influential artistes contributes to the downfall of good music," says Mohammad.

Adds Ahmed Hussain, "We are not against westernisation of Indian music or experiments with fusion; it's just that music should not lose its original content. Many of our professional counterparts count their foreign trips as a qualification, but I feel the real test lies in front of the Indian audience."

As for the budding artistes, the duo suggests that it is important to be patient and work really hard.