Birthday Special Mohammad Zahur Khayyam: Know some special things about him

I see couples that are in love and married and have been together for years that resemble each other, believe me or not, it happens, look at any couple you know Are and you will know what I am talking about.

I have seen many couples going through such a transformation and the most famous couples I have seen are Dr. BR Chopra and his wife Prakash and Dr. Ramanand Sagar and his wife Lilavati Sagar. They were married for over sixty years and stood by each other in good times and bad. They were not lovers like Romeo and Juliet and Laila and Majnu but I believe they were more lovers than the greatest lovers of all time and could not live without each other. Dr. Ramanand Sagar died and exactly a week later, his wife Lilavati died.

She kept telling her family that life was not worth living after her husband's death. It was almost like a story repeating itself in the case of Dr. Chopra and his wife Prakash, who were married for over seventy years and Prakash lived with her husband till the end. I saw them sitting together having breakfast and Prakash dressed like a bride exchanging their thoughts about every little thing related to the family and the movies her great husband had made. Dr. Chopra started falling ill regularly and Prakash grew closer to her husband and did not leave his side even for a moment.

Dr. Chopra died after a long battle with Alzheimer's and other age related problems and from the day he died, Prakash became a recluse and showed no interest in life and she also died a week after her husband's death . The same story happened in the case of Prithviraj Kapoor and his wife Ramsarni when they both died within a few days and there are many more stories like these two both in and outside the world of films, the latest one that comes to my mind is the long and wonderful story of Mohammed Zahoor, better known as the master musician Khayyam and Jagjit Kaur.

Khayyam was still a struggling musician when he met Jagjit Kaur, a Punjabi folk singer. Their common love of music brought them together, they fell in love, and in 1954 they married. It was one of the first inter-religious marriages, Khayyam was a Muslim and Jagjit was a Punjabi Hindu, but belonging to different religions did not make any difference to their lives and their work. They had a son whom they named Pradeep, the son wanted to act in film and got his break as a lead actor opposite Rati Agnihotri in a film called 'Jaane Wafa'. The film flopped and to add to Khayyam and Jagjit's misery, Pradeep died of a heart attack soon after his debut. Life was playing strange games with the couple...

Khayyam worked with all the major playback singers and made his wife Jagjit sing only those songs which he believed other singers could not sing. And yet, he had recorded some of the best songs in his wife Jagjit Kaur's voice, such as “dekho dekho jee goree sasuraal chalee“ “(shagun), “tum apana-ranj-o-gam apanee pareshaanee mujhe de do“ (shagun), “khaamosh jindagee ko aphasaana mil gaya“ (dil-e-naadaan), “chale“ aao saiyaan rangeele main vaaree re“ (baajaar), “dekh lo aaj hamako jee bhar ke“ (baajaar), “kaha ko byaahee bidesh“ (umaraav jaan), “saada chidiya da chamba ve“ (kabhee kabhee), “chanda gaee raaginee “(dil-e-naadan),“ pahale to aankh milaana “(shola aur shabanam),“ ladee re ladee tujhase aankh jo ladee “(shola aur shabanam) aur“ nain milaake pyaar jata ke aag laga dee “(mera bhaee mera dushman).

Life went on for the couple and I have never seen a couple so loving and caring even after 65 years of marriage. They lived on the seventh floor of a building called "Dakshina Murthy" in Juhu, where they had moved after the huge success of Yash Chopra's Kabhi Kabhi Sangeet Khayyam. I had the privilege of spending several evenings with them and it was great to see the couple help each other play the role of perfect hosts.

Khayyam started falling ill after he turned 80 and Jagjit took care of him. And eight years ago they both started getting sick at the same time and I could see how much they cared for each other. I had seen how a very sick Khayyam used to make tea for both of them and even for me whenever I went to see him. And then on August 19, 2019, Khayyam died and was given a state funeral and was buried at the Char Bangla cemetery.

And Jagjit Kaur was left alone in that apartment with caretakers to look after her. But when I saw her last, it seemed that she had lost her will to live. She was admitted to the hospital in critical condition and on the morning of the 75th Independence Day celebration, she was free to fly to another world, perhaps to be with her husband where he was living peacefully. The end of the love story was made to be remembered for a long time only by those in the know like me.

Sometimes it seems as if there is some strange hatred towards those who love both God and luck. Right now I cannot take any decision, but if this continues, I am forced to take a decision, then I am sorry.