“He Wrote One Of My Most Memorable Ghazals Rasm-e-Ulfat Ko Nibhayen”…..Lata Mangeshkar Remembers Naqsh Lyallpuri

(AS TOLD TO SUBHASH K JHA)

“I was not as close to Naqsh Saab as I was to Majrooh Sultanpuri Saab. But I would meet him at many of my recordings. He wrote some of my most beautiful songs including three of my personal favourites, Sapan-Jagmohan’s Ulfat mein zamanein ki harr rasm kothukrao(Call Girl),  Jaidev’s Tumhe dekhti hoon toh lagta hai aise ke jaise yugon setumhe jaanti hoon(from Basu Chatterjee’s Tumhare Liye) and  Madan Mohan’s Rasm-e-ulfat ko nibhayen toh nibhayen kaise(from B R Ishara’s Dil Ki Raahen). I vividly remember these recordings because the poetry was  so heartstopping in its  beauty. The lyrics were beautifully romantic . The words were simple and eloquent. Over the years I must have sung dozens of Naqsh Saab’s lyrics. I remember him sitting quietly at the recordings just listening to my singing. Rasm-e-ulfat was one of my biggest challenges  as a singer. It was a very difficult  number to put across . What a  composition and what lyrics! I’d say I contributed very little to its overall beauty.I can’t remember the last time I sang one of Naqsh Saab’s songs. But I remember his quiet attentive unobtrusive presence at every recording.”