Calling him merely a musicologist is not enough, as Sultan Arshad was an encyclopaedia of Indian and Pakistani film music. He died on April 13, bringing to an end the wonderful evenings at a music club in Karachi’s DHA area which specialised in entertaining the audience with film songs from the golden era of music in the subcontinent.
The most popular music club in Karachi, Amateur Melodies, was formed by Sultan Sahib, as we used to call him, and a few others in April 1999. Its monthly gatherings were held regularly at the residence of volunteering members who had the physical and financial space to accommodate around a hundred guests.
Since 2011, programmes had been held regularly at the Creek Club till the Covid pandemic brought an abrupt end to it in February 2020.
As Sultan Sahib would organise the event with great zeal and passion, he was quite demoralised with sudden discontinuation of the programme. Even after the restoration of normal life, he could not muster the same spirit and held few programmes at different locations, but with lack of pre-Covid enthusiasm.
During his stay in Mumbai as a manager at the offices of the national airlines, from 1987 to 1996, Sultan Sahib had developed close rapport with several composers, especially maestros O.P. Nayyar and Anil Biswas.
This association with two of the legends in the field acted as a catalyst, and he developed a taste for the intricacies of making unforgettable melodies.
The famous broadcaster of Radio Ceylon, the legendary Ameen Sayani, had visited Karachi in 2008. The Amateur Melodies club organised a programme in his honour at the Karachi Arts Council. Sayani was quite fascinated by the quality of songs rendered by amateur singers and the accompanying orchestra.
Besides a few books on film music, Sultan Sahib gave a parting gift to the music lovers in the shape of 101 Melody Makers of India and Pakistan and Their Representative Work which was launched at the Karachi Arts Council in late 2021. The speakers on the occasion, including the likes of Javed Jabbar and Bushra Ansari, paid tribute to the stupendous effort of the author. The finely printed and error-free book is an encyclopaedia of Indian and Pakistani film music.
Comprising 656 pages and 177 pictures, it describes in detail the work of 101 music composers, 228 lyricists and 223 singers. Besides, he has also written about a few famous instrumentalists who are usually ignored by the authors of books on music.
Sultan Sahib was a unique person who devoted his entire life to entertaining music aficionados. It will be really hard to find another one like him in this sphere.
PARVEZ RAHIM
KARACHI
