‘Late’ composer Shravan (Nadeem-Shravan)-‘tested corona-positive after returning from Kumbh-Mela’

‘Dil hai ki maanta nahin’ -- that you are no more !    Affable  soft-spoken, spiritual, modest Shravan Rathod, of chartbusting music composer Nadeem Shravan duo fame, died of  severe Covid-19 related complications on Thursday. The devout Shravan had apparently “returned from Kumbh Mela with his wife a few days ago, and had complained of breathlessness on returning. Both of them tested positive for corona virus”, as disclosed now by  Shravan’s composer son Sanjeev. Chaitanya  Padukone

He also lamented, “We had never thought our family would have to go through such tough times, my father passed away, I am also Covid positive and so is my mother. My brother Darshan is also positive and is in home isolation, but since our father has died, he is being allowed to do the final procedures to do the antim sanskaar ( final cremation rites)  for our beloved father” Shravan Rathod ( age 66 years) of the iconic composer duo Nadeem-Shravan died battling COVID-19 at a Mumbai hospital late night on  Thursday.

The 66-year-old composer Shravan whose father Pandit Chaturbhuj was a music-teacher known as ‘Guruji’, shared a friendly professional rapport with me (along with partner Nadeem) over past three decades was a staunch Krishna-bhakt and would attend Janmashtami ceremony with his family at the Juhu ISKCON Temple. The devout Shravan had apparently returned from Kumbh Mela with his wife a few days ago, and had complained of breathlessness on returning. Both of them tested positive for corona virus, as disclosed now by  Shravan’s composer son Sanjeev.

He also lamented, “We had never thought our family would have to go through such tough times, my father passed away, I am also Covid positive and so is my mother. My brother Darshan is also positive and is in home isolation, but since our father has died, he is being allowed to do the final procedures to do the antim sanskaar ( final cremation rites)  for our beloved father” Shravan Rathod ( age 66 years) of the iconic composer duo Nadeem-Shravan died battling COVID-19 at a Mumbai hospital late night on  Thursday.

Shravan’s musical-partner-buddy Nadeem  Saifee mourned the loss. “I am in deep pain as I say this but my friend and my companion, my partner of so many years is no more. It has left such a vacuum. I spoke to his son who was inconsolable. We had been in touch on a regular basis for the last several days when Shravan complained of ill-health and had to be moved to a hospital. Shravan’s wife and son are also unwell and are still in the hospital,” Nadeem-bhai  added .  Numerous celebs from Bollywood and music fraternity condoled Shravan’s death. Composer Pritam wrote on Twitter, “Saddened to know that Shravanji of Nadeem Shravan has passed away. Feeling numb. When will this nightmare get over.

My deepest condolences to his family. Akshay Kumar remembered their collaborations together. “Very sad to know about the passing of music composer Shravan. Nadeem-Shravan created magic for many films in 90s and later, including Dhadkan that has remained legendary in my career. Deepest Condolences to his family.,” the upcoming  ‘Sooryavanshi’ star- actor wrote. Noted cine-trade analyst and music critic Amod Mehra said , “ The N-S duo which came up the hard way, and specialized in the romantic songs genre and they were supreme  to a great extent  during their reign in Bollywood. They brilliantly complemented each other like how Laxmikant-Pyarelal and  Shankar-Jaikishan did,” shared Amod.   Besides ‘Aashiqui’,  the other chartbusting evergreen albums were ‘Saajan’ followed by Subhash Ghai’s ‘Pardes’. and  Singer Shreya Ghoshal also paid a tribute to him, “Shocked to hear the news of Shravan ji (of Nadeem Shravan) passing away.

A genuine humble human being and one of the biggest composers of our music industry. Another huge loss in this pandemic. God give strength to the bereaved family. Rest in peace.” Mega-star Ajay Devgn  mourned the loss of Shravan  while also remembering his  hit musical album for ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ which was composed by Nadeem -Shravan. Ajay wrote, “Shravan (and Nadeem) walked 30 years alongside me in my career with the evergreen album for Phool Aur Kaante. Very sad, very unfortunate to hear of his demise last night. Condolences to his family.  Tweeted illustrious composer-singer A R Rahman “Our Music community and your fans will  miss you immensely-Shravan-ji RIP”