What an interesting death to wake up to. Someone who was very very old and revered but also a little bit forgotten. And now I, and everyone else, am inspired to learn about and write about him.
The interesting thing about Khayyam is that his music was designed to fit the words, not the other way around. A Khayyam song is notable because it doesn’t feel like a “Khayyam” song, it feels like a Sahir Ludhianvi song or a Shahryar song or a Kaifi Azmi song, “Music by Khayyam” means you will have the pleasure of amazing words with a subtle rhythm behind them.
Khayyam was born in 1927 in British India in the Urdu-Punjabi region that is now Pakistan. He started out in the Urdu-Punjabi art world of Lahore. Urdu poetry and Urdu poets were kings there, the music directors lived to serve them.
Khayyam was one of the few artists of Hindi film who actually served in the army during WWII as a teenager. Perhaps that is why after his return he was so dedicated to pure art? A stronger sense of the ugliness of the world and the need for beauty in it?
Khayyam started as a music director in 1948 and slowly worked his way up in the industry, gaining notice by the early 50s, and fame and recognition with Shola Aur Shabnam in 1961.
Khayyam married during this period, a young singer also working her way up. They were both Punjabi, but not of the same religion. Jagjit Kaur his wife was Sikh while Khayyam was Muslim. They married despite family objection and lived a long life together in the accepting world of Indian film.
Khayyam never became a famous figure of the film world, did not appear in gossip magazines or make many public performances. He chose to let his work speak for him.
What was unusual about Khayyam’s work is that it grew better and better over time. His greatest compositions came in middle-age not youth. He was 55 when he composed his greatest soundtrack, Umrao Jaan.
Khayyam composed his last new soundtrack (although his songs continued to be used in later films) in 1988 when he was 61. After that he settled into retirement and a long slow decline. He and Jagjit only had one child, a son who worked as an actor. He died in 2012. In 2016, Khayyam announced he had formed a trust in the name of his wife and son and was leaving his money to fund future aspiring artists. Even in death, he is still stepping back so that the work of others can shine.
dontcallitbollywood 
So many of my beloved soundtracks are by him: Kabhi Kabhi, Trishul, Noorie, Razia Sultan, Umrao Jaan. Hard to choose one song but probably ‘Ae Dil e Nadaan’ is my favourite – so haunting, so unique!
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He has a really distinctive sound, doesn’t he? When I started to look at his filmography I realized how similar and connected all his music is, and how unlike anyone else’s.
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Funny, I thought the opposite! So much variety, I wouldn’t have imagined the same person had composed them. I have to admit I didn’t know that all of these were by him except Kabhi Kabhi. Was listening to his playlist and realized then!
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Who can forget ‘Pal do Phal’ song from Kabhi Kabhi ,with Amitab’s voice.
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