100 years of Mehboob: A legacy that lives on

Opposite Aspinwall House successful Fort Kochi stands the bureau of the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra — a sanctuary of memories dedicated to H Mehboob, Kerala’s beloved vocalist who ne'er failed to delight his audiences, connected the signifier and disconnected it. 

Mehboob’s bequest remains intact present — aged photographs bent connected the walls and the signifier successful the cardinal hallway showcases paintings of him and vocalist Mohammed Rafi (Mehboob idolised the legendary singer).

Members of the “club”, arsenic they telephone it, get unneurotic present each Friday and connection their humble signifier to aspiring musicians. “This is however we support the tone of his euphony alive,” says K A Hussain, caput and 1 of Mehboob Memorial Orchestra’s (MMO) earliest members. The gathering itself is implicit 130 years old, adds Hussain. 

Seated successful a seat beside the model overlooking the thoroughfare and the past raintree, Hussain talks astir Mehboob, curating his words with care. “Bhai was 1 of a benignant — a existent maverick. No 1 could conjecture what helium had up his sleeve and that was portion of his appeal.” 

Founded arsenic an informal corporate called Raag a twelvemonth earlier Mehboob’s decease successful 1981, the MMO was formally launched successful 1985, to observe his beingness and music. Among the founding members was the precocious ghazal vocalist Umbayee, who shared a adjacent enslaved with Mehboob and has performed alongside him connected respective stages. 

Mehboob, an emotion

Over 4 decades, the MMO has continued to dispersed the joyousness of music, overmuch similar Mehboob himself, whose communicative was among the astir melodramatic and important successful Kerala’s euphony history. For everyone who grew up successful the Fort Kochi-Mattancherry portion during his heyday, Mehboob was an emotion, says Hussain. “He was ‘Bhai’ to everyone. He had a uncommon knack to link with people. There was a clip erstwhile his signifier shows would gully much crowds than adjacent KJ Yesudas’s,” says Hussain, stopping often to recite a couplet oregon 2 from Mehboob’s celebrated songs. 

“His benignant was unsocial — determination was a interaction of humour, psyche and spontaneity successful everything helium sang. Even his sartorial choices were alternatively unique. He wore escaped shirts, which added to his persona,” recalls Hussain. 

Born successful 1926, Mattancherry, Mehboob grew up successful an impoverished family; helium practically spent his puerility successful the subject barracks astatine Pattalam, Fort Kochi. His intrinsic endowment endeared him to the people, and helium was singing everyplace — astatine weddings, mehfils, oregon conscionable with a clump of friends nether Fort Kochi’s benevolent canopies. 

Along with lyricists Nelson Fernandez and Meppally Balan, Mehboob created a fig of archetypal songs, immoderate of which were aboriginal utilized successful mainstream Malayalam films (such arsenic Annayum Rasoolum (Kayalinarike…).  

Films and fame

It didn’t instrumentality agelong earlier his endowment was noticed by the movie world. Actor TS Muthaiah recommended his sanction to composer V Dakshinamoorthy, who gave him 3 songs successful the movie Jeevithanouka. However, it was K Raghavan’s creation ‘Maanennum vilikkilla’ from Neelakkuyil (1954) that catapulted him to filmy fame. Soon, helium was singing for each the apical Malayalam movie euphony composers.

But Mehboob didn’t truly attraction for fame. According to euphony historians, helium was the “elusive”. “That was besides portion of Mehboob’s Sufiesque charm. He was a poetic wanderer, who didn’t privation to person anything. Ask anyone — from a barber to a food monger successful Fort Kochi and Mattancherry and they would talk with a consciousness of warmth that fewer artists tin elicit,” says K Pradeep, seasoned writer and 1 of the founders of Kraft, a literate and thought festival. The caller variation of the festival included a session, ‘Mehboob@100’, which spotlighted the vocalist and his beingness successful music.

A mentor to Junior Mehboob

Among the fewer surviving musicians successful Kochi who person shared the signifier with Mehboob is Junior Mehboob, who says helium earned his sanction from the legendary singer. He started singing with Mehboob astatine the property of six. “He virtually took maine nether his wing; I would travel him to his shows and sing with him. I americium a instrumentalist contiguous due to the fact that of him. He showed maine the way,” says Junior.

At 75, Junior remains a surviving archive of Mehboob’s philharmonic legacy. “I cognize each of his songs by heart. He has sung implicit 60 songs. I person been a portion of astir each the Mehboob memorial concerts, and person adjacent performed astatine concerts dedicated to him abroad,” says Junior.

“His benignant is inimitable. Take the opus ‘Kathu sookshichoru kasthuri mambazham...’ from the movie Nair Pidicha Pulivaal, for instance. His added his magic to the song, composed successful a qawwali format. Few singers could infuse with specified individuality and charisma,” says Junior.

He describes his mentor arsenic an affectionate person. “He utilized to code maine arsenic ‘kutty’ (meaning kid successful Malayalam). And helium was so similar a begetter to me. He was the 1 who took maine to Madras (Chennai) for the archetypal time,” Junior recalls.

For the past 40 years, helium has been singing astatine Hotel Abad Plaza, a passionateness helium attributes to his mentor. “The Bhai I cognize is simply a fantastic quality being,”

Everyone has a Mehboob story

For TV shaper and manager Diana Silvester, the enslaved with Mehboob goes backmost to her childhood. Diana’s begetter CR Silvester was a patron of the arts and would big mehfils at their location successful Nazreth, Fort Kochi. And Mehboob was a regular.

However, astir of what Diana knows astir Mehoob is done the colourful stories her parents Silvester and Amy told her. “Anecdotes astir Mehboob abound, but what strikes maine the astir is that helium would sing the aforesaid opus successful antithetic tunes. His beingness was similar that excessively — each 1 has their ain Mehboob story,” she says.

In the precocious 1990s, Diana made a documentary connected the musician, which captured the essence of his genius. 

“What was intended arsenic a two-episode documentary went connected to go 10 episodes. While shooting, we had radical travel successful with their ain stories of Mehboob. It was an acquisition worthy cherishing,” says Diana.

In his last days, Mehboob spent a fewer days astatine Diana’s home. She recalls a faint representation of him sitting successful the plot of their past caller location successful Chullikkal, with a clump of people, singing a lilting English ditty, ‘Tomy and Laura were lovers….’

Mehboob died connected April 22, 1981, astatine the property of 55. Forty-five years later, his stories, songs and antics proceed to beryllium retold successful vivid colours, by generations of euphony lovers.