Child prodigy — Master Madan

Shriniwas Joshi

Master Madan, the great singer, who died in Shimla at the young age of 15, would not have lived even this much had his elder sister not lured the monkey with an orange. 

A monkey had picked him up in Delhi, when he was only a month-and-a-half old and carried him to the roof of the house. Shanti Devi, his elder sister, prayed to the monkey to release her brother, but the monkey cared a damn. It was an orange placed by Shanti Devi on the ground that ultimately did the trick. The monkey came down with the child on his lap, placed the child on the ground, not a scratch on him, and ran away with the orange.

I think those who are fond of music must have heard two ghazals 'yun na reh reh kar hamein tarsaaiye' and 'hairat se tak raha hai jahane wafa mujhe' by Master Madan sung at the age of eight only on a 78 rpm gramophone in 1935. These ghazals were penned by Saagar Nizaami. I feel proud, as a Shimlaite, to feel that such a singer ever lived here at Butail building, Lower Bazaar, Shimla, who with his mature, modulated and melodious voice created a sensation in the world of singing. The ghazal 'hairat se tak raha hai jahane wafa mujhe' is a reflection of the marvel that this child prodigy himself was and those who hear him sing fall in 'hairat' (amazement). But recently, when I reached close to the Butail building and enquired from the nearby shopkeepers and others as to where did Master Madan live, almost all asked with blank faces, "Who Master Madan?" 

The Language and Culture Department preferred to be silent on his birth anniversary that falls on December 28. His immortal voice used to keep listeners spellbound by his command over laykaari and surtaal (rhyme and rhythm). It is a pity that the archives of AIR have blank shelves as far as his recordings are concerned, though he sang from 1931 to 1942 for the AIR. The only eight recording renderings of this great singer are available - two ghazals, two Punjabi songs, two Thumris and two pieces of Gurbaani. It is a matter of great pride that AIR, Lahore (started in 1936), had boasted of the great names of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Dalip Chander Vedi, Dina Qawaal, Mubarak Ali Fateh Ali and of the nine-year-old Master Madan as its singers in classical Indian music.

Madan was born on December 28, 1927, at Khankhana village in Jalandhar to Amar Singh and Puran Devi. Madan, perhaps, grew in the cradle of classical singing and that is why when he sang "Vandan hai shaarda naman karun" in raag mishrit kafi, at Dharampur Sanitarium (Solan), for the first time on a public stage and the audience was awestruck. It was June 1930 and the child at that time was only three-and-a-half-year-old. Amar Singh was in service of the British government that used to move to Shimla during the summer season. So, he lived in a house called New Butail Building in Lower Bazaar. Kundan Lal Sehgal, who was then working in Remington Rand in Shimla, heard of the fame and singing abilities of the little child and started visiting their house for soirees and this friendship continued even after Sehgal left for New Theatres, Kolkata, in 1931. 

Sanatan Dharm School was the nearest, where the family of Amar Singh lived, so Madan studied there for some time and matriculated from Ramjas, Delhi.

Master Madan was a sober and pious child. His family revered him like a 'balyogi' - a child ascetic. Shanti Devi had once told that Madan always carried with him a portrait of Guru Nanak wrapped in silk, a rosary and a gutka. His music gurus were none other than his parents, both music lovers. He was a disciple of Sant Kaleraanvaale who, it is said, had foretold of Madan's premature death.

His name and fame travelled to each corner of India. His final stage performance was in Kolkata at the age of 14. He sang "Vinati suno mori avadhapur ke basaiyaa" in raag bageshwari with such nobility that he was honoured with nine medals of pure gold besides cash prize. He came back to Delhi and continued singing for AIR for another three months but felt sick there with non-declining mild fever. It is suspected that he was given mercury mixed in milk by an upcoming songster, who was jealous of his achievements.

The tiny capsule of the Master's lifetime was dissolved when he returned to Shimla in the summer of 1942 and died on June 5. Shimla remained closed that day and a huge gathering accompanied him in his last journey to the cremation ground.

Tailpiece

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on” -Keats