Khaleej Times - Naushad’s magic - 8 May 2006

THE Indian film industry has lost one of the greatest composers of our times. A living legend, Naushad Ali breathed his last in the Nanavati hospital, Mumbai. In the age of re-mix ,where the repeat value of the song and the composer wither like leaves of the fall, his evergreen compositions from Mughal-e-Azam, Baiju Bawra, Kohinoor, Mother India, Dil Diya Dard Liya etc. still resonate in our ears.

Leaving his ancestral home for Mumbai to get a much-needed break as a composer in the films, he had the sobering experience of spending his life on the footpath. Success never eluded him due to his dexterity and love for music.

Finally with Baiju Bawra became a mammoth success and he never looked back. He was the first composer to combine the flute and the clarinet, the sitar and mandolin.

In addition, holding a rare distinction of introducing Hindustani classical music and singers to film music as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan in Mughal-e-Azam and D.V. Pulaskar in Baiju Bawra, he was inspired by the ragas.
- Yasmin Banu, Abu Dhabi