Naqsh Lyallpuri, 88, to be honoured at Mum show

MUMBAI: If a certain lyricist in India
carries a quill from a past life it is Naqsh
Lyallpuri. The gentleman with the uncanny
ability to write haunting lyrics about
reincarnation and eternity turns 88 years of
age today.
Decades after they were written, songs like
'Kho diye hain sanam teri talash mein', 'Kai
sadiyon se kai janmon se' and 'Main toh
har mod par tujhko doonga sada' resonate
with listeners who believe love is timeless.
 Thursday evening, Naqsh Sahab will be
honoured at a special musical show in
Shanmukhananda Hall that is being
organised by Anup Jalota's foundation.
Despite his failing faculty of hearing, the
lyricist will make the effort to attend in
person.
The writer became famous through his pen
name although he was born Jaswant Rai
Sharma in Lyallpur (now Faisalabad in
Pakistan) on February 24, 1928. After
Partition he moved to Lucknow and then
Mumbai where his film career began in
1952. He now lives in Jogeshwari with his
wife Kamlesh and three sons.
. . The words of 'Rasme ulfat', 'Ulfat mein
zamane ki' and 'Tumhein ho na ho' reflect
Naqsh Sahab's affinity for picking real-life
situations rather than romantic similes
about the moon and the stars. Even small
obscure films like 'Parinay' and 'Maan Jaiye'
are strengthened by 'Mitwa mitwa more
man mitwa' and 'Yeh wohi geet hai'.
. . Fortunately, destiny paired Naqsh Sahab
with genius composers like Jaidev, Sapan
Jagmohan, Khayyam and Brij Bhushan who
were masters of the offbeat as well.
. Singer Anup Jalota who is shining the
spotlight on his genius said his foundation
would honour one lyricist as an annual
feature. "Lyrics are the soul of any good
song so lyricists must get the recognition
they deserve. We are making an effort to do
so by organising such felicitation
functions,'' he said.
. . Apart from Jalota, other artistes who will
perform at Thursday's event are Talat Aziz,
Anuradha Paudwal, Suresh Wadkar, Richa
Sharma, Madhushree, Shailaja
Subramanium and Kshitij Tarey.