When Wajid wowed all at HT Woman Award!
he HT Woman Awards, 2013 edition, saw a different side of composer-singer Wajid Khan. The musician, who passed away on June 1, was the guest of honour along with Shabana Azmi and politician Dimple Yadav.
Composer duo and brothers, Sajid and Wajid, were born in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Their father, Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan, was an accomplished tabla player who trained them from an early age.
“My mother, who comes from Kirana Gharana, was my first guru. I learnt my music from her. We grew up in a close-knit family in a small kholi,” he said.
He also sang a few lines from the song ‘Saachi saachi teri nazrein’ from ‘Dabangg’ before awarding women achievers.
The duo composed for films shot in Uttar Pradesh and Wajid said it was his roots that reflected in their composition. “Uttar Pradesh se dil juda hua hai apna (our hearts are connected to UP)! My father hailed from Saharanpur. Music of this region, especially folk music, is something which is something we have grown up listening to. In marriages we attended as children, we had songs for every occasion. In UP you have sehra, shayari, folk and instrumental, and all that is infused in our blood. So, whenever we get a chance to do a film which is in this region we try and bring in that flavour,” he had said during that visit.
They had composed for ‘Bullett Raja’ and ‘Family of Thakurganj’ shot largely in UP. The latter had a Holi song on which he said, “The festival of colours is celebrated in a big way here and the way people celebrate in this belt we have tried to give it a similar rhythm. We have given it a ‘UP ka tadka’!”