Progressive Urdu poet Sardar Jafri often quoted from a Pakistani poet’s poem to illustrate the power of music over politics.
It was music, he said, which had bound India and Pakistan through ups and downs since their inception.
“Two Indian and Pakistani men, surrounded by their supporters in a restaurant, were fiercely defending their countries,” Jafri Sahab recalled. “Suddenly, the voice of Lata Mangeshkar arrived on the radio and the quarrel stopped in obeisance. The packed restaurant was riveted to the song.”
What Sardar Jafri did not say was that it would be almost impossible for an Indian, leave alone a Pakistani, to hear Lata Mangeshkar or Mohammed Rafi on the radio were it not for the rebellious endeavours of radio jockey Ameen Sayani.
Sayani, who died at 91 in Mumbai on Tuesday, owned the legendary voice with which he introduced the sub-continent to the radiance and…
