Opposite Aspinwall House in Fort Kochi stands the office of the Mehboob Memorial Orchestra — a sanctuary of memories dedicated to H Mehboob, Kerala’s beloved singer who never failed to delight his audiences, on the stage and off it.
Mehboob’s legacy remains intact here — old photographs hang on the walls and the stage in the central hall showcases paintings of him and singer Mohammed Rafi (Mehboob idolised the legendary singer).
Members of the “club”, as they call it, get together here every Friday and offer their modest stage to aspiring musicians. “This is how we keep the spirit of his music alive,” says K A Hussain, secretary and one of Mehboob Memorial Orchestra’s (MMO) earliest members. The building itself is over 130 years old, adds Hussain.
Seated in a chair beside the window overlooking the street and the ancient raintree, Hussain talks about Mehboob, curating his words with care. “Bhai was one of a kind — a true maverick. No one could guess what he had up his sleeve and that was part of his appeal.”
KA Hussain of Mehboob Memorial Orchestra at Fort Kochi.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
Founded as an informal collective called Raag a year before Mehboob’s death in 1981, the MMO was formally launched in 1985, to celebrate his life and music. Among the founding members was the late ghazal singer Umbayee, who shared a close bond with Mehboob and has performed alongside him on several stages.
Mehboob, an emotion
Over four decades, the MMO has continued to spread the joy of music, much like Mehboob himself, whose story was among the most dramatic and significant in Kerala’s music history. For everyone who grew up in the Fort Kochi-Mattancherry region during his heyday, Mehboob was an emotion, says Hussain. “He was ‘Bhai’ to everyone. He had a rare knack to connect with people. There was a time when his stage shows would draw more crowds than even KJ Yesudas’s,” says Hussain, stopping often to recite a couplet or two from Mehboob’s famous songs.
H Mehboob
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
A tribute to Rafi
Apart from the mehfils every Friday, Mehboob Memorial Orchestra’s Rafi Nites are a hugely popular event in the cultural calendar of the city. “We have been organising this tribute to Mohammed Rafi since 1981 — for 43 consecutive years, we stopped during the Covid-19 years, and restarted when normal life resumed,” says Hussain.
A tribute to Mohammed Rafi, the event celebrates the singer’s evergreen melodies.
“His style was unique — there was a touch of humour, soul and spontaneity in everything he sang. Even his sartorial choices were rather unique. He wore loose shirts, which added to his persona,” recalls Hussain.
Born in 1926, Mattancherry, Mehboob grew up in an impoverished family; he practically spent his childhood in the military barracks at Pattalam, Fort Kochi. His intrinsic talent endeared him to the people, and he was singing everywhere — at weddings, mehfils, or just with a bunch of friends under Fort Kochi’s benevolent canopies.
Along with lyricists Nelson Fernandez and Meppally Balan, Mehboob created a number of original songs, some of which were later used in mainstream Malayalam films (such as Annayum Rasoolum (Kayalinarike…).
Films and fame
It didn’t take long before his talent was noticed by the film world. Actor TS Muthaiah recommended his name to composer V Dakshinamoorthy, who gave him three songs in the film Jeevithanouka. However, it was K Raghavan’s composition ‘Maanennum vilikkilla’ from Neelakkuyil (1954) that catapulted him to filmy fame. Soon, he was singing for all the top Malayalam film music composers.
H Mehboob
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
But Mehboob didn’t really care for fame. According to music historians, he was the “elusive”. “That was also part of Mehboob’s Sufiesque charm. He was a poetic wanderer, who didn’t want to possess anything. Ask anyone — from a barber to a fish monger in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry and they would speak with a sense of warmth that few artists can elicit,” says K Pradeep, veteran journalist and one of the founders of Kraft, a literary and thought festival. The recent edition of the festival included a session, ‘Mehboob@100’, which spotlighted the singer and his life in music.
Junior Mehboob
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
A mentor to Junior Mehboob
Among the few surviving musicians in Kochi who have shared the stage with Mehboob is Junior Mehboob, who says he earned his name from the legendary singer. He started singing with Mehboob at the age of six. “He literally took me under his wing; I would accompany him to his shows and sing with him. I am a musician today because of him. He showed me the way,” says Junior.
At 75, Junior remains a living archive of Mehboob’s musical legacy. “I know all of his songs by heart. He has sung over 60 songs. I have been a part of almost all the Mehboob memorial concerts, and have even performed at concerts dedicated to him abroad,” says Junior.
“His style is inimitable. Take the song ‘Kathu sookshichoru kasthuri mambazham…’ from the film Nair Pidicha Pulivaal, for instance. His added his magic to the song, composed in a qawwali format. Few singers could infuse with such individuality and charisma,” says Junior.
He describes his mentor as an affectionate person. “He used to address me as ‘kutty’ (meaning child in Malayalam). And he was indeed like a father to me. He was the one who took me to Madras (Chennai) for the first time,” Junior recalls.
For the past 40 years, he has been singing at Hotel Abad Plaza, a passion he attributes to his mentor. “The Bhai I know is a wonderful human being,”
Everyone has a Mehboob story
For TV producer and director Diana Silvester, the bond with Mehboob goes back to her childhood. Diana’s father CR Silvester was a patron of the arts and would host mehfils at their home in Nazreth, Fort Kochi. And Mehboob was a regular.
Diana Silvester
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Special Arrangement
However, most of what Diana knows about Mehoob is through the colourful stories her parents Silvester and Amy told her. “Anecdotes about Mehboob abound, but what strikes me the most is that he would sing the same song in different tunes. His life was like that too — every one has their own Mehboob story,” she says.
In the late 1990s, Diana made a documentary on the musician, which captured the essence of his genius.
H Mehboob (in black), an old photograph
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“What was intended as a two-episode documentary went on to become ten episodes. While shooting, we had people come in with their own stories of Mehboob. It was an experience worth cherishing,” says Diana.
In his final days, Mehboob spent a few days at Diana’s home. She recalls a faint memory of him sitting in the garden of their then new house in Chullikkal, with a bunch of people, singing a lilting English ditty, ‘Tomy and Laura were lovers….’
Mehboob died on April 22, 1981, at the age of 55. Forty-five years later, his stories, songs and antics continue to be retold in vivid colours, by generations of music lovers.
