The train came to a screeching halt at the Mwanza station, a beautiful port city at Lake Victoria. It was around 12 noon and 30 to 40 people entered Talat Mahmood’s compartment. He was surprised and a bit worried too. Why was he being stopped from reaching Dar es Salaam for his next show?

“All that they wanted was a show to happen in their town as well. They were such huge fans of Talat but were very upset as to why our itinerary didn’t include Mwanza,” explains an excited 92-year old Nandi Duggal. He was Talat’s first concert manager for his debut world tour in 1956.

The charming star obliged and gave an impromptu performance for Mwanza at their local cinema, which was packed beyond 400 seats, and people had carried their own chairs from home to accommodate the entire crowd. Talat was the first playback singer from India to start world concerts and his three-nation tour to East Africa in 1956 was a resounding success that inspired his colleagues to start touring as well. It was alleged that he started touring only because of a reduction in film offers. On the contrary, he was the biggest singing star when he kick-started world concerts.

In 1968, when the world was engulfed by Beatlemania, the West Indies experienced Talat-mania. He was given a thunderous reception in Trinidad. As the door of his aircraft opened, there was an open limousine waiting for him at the red-carpeted tarmac. People lined up from the airport to his hotel, waving flags, throwing flowers and wearing badges of his name.

What happened on the day of his concert at Skinner Park in San Fernando was unprecedented. It was an open-air location with a capacity of about 7,000. Talat found it difficult to enter backstage. Police on foot just couldn’t manage the rush. Mounted police had to be called in. Helicopters above had to guide the police below. The immediate impact of his West Indies tour was that it boosted record sales at music stores across the region and kick-started a new reality TV show in Trinidad. This was called ‘Talat Mahmood Singing Competition’ in which young singers would compete in singing Hindi film songs. The same year, Talat received a letter from the heart of Times Square at 1481 Broadway Studio. He had been invited to the popular talk show called the ‘Joe Franklin Show’. He was introduced as the ‘Frank Sinatra of India’.

This comparison was re visited when both crooning legends passed away barely five days apart in 1998. It was an amazing moment at the TV studio when an all-American audience watched Joe speak to a suave singer from India, while his songs in Urdu played in between their conversation.

When the state of Minnesota invited him in 1973, they officially founded the India Club in his honour. It was the same year that India was facing an acute drought. So, Talat performed and raised funds in Minnesota to help people back in India. His tours to the United Kingdom were a landmark. The highlight was performing at the esteemed Royal Albert Hall (RAH) in London in 1979. As Talat stepped on stage, being one of the first three Indians to perform at RAH, he reminisced about the audience he had met in East Africa in 1956 and how the next generation of those same families were now part of this audience in the UK.

He started the show with one of his favourites, ‘Hain sabse madhur woh geet jinhe’ from the film Patita (1953). For the next song, Talat said, “This Ghazal was released in 1944 but it still sells like hot cake.” The ghazal was ‘Tasveer teri dil mera behla na sakegi’. The audience at the RAH wanted an encore but Talat apologised. The persuasive audience eventually got their way. Amidst the whistles and claps, Talat repeated the last stanza from his song , ‘Zindagi dene wale sun’ from the film Dil-e-Nadan (1953).

Looking at the huge footfall of his shows in the 1980s, he was given special state honours. The mayors of two cities in the US – Cleveland and Euclid – conferred on him a special citation for bringing their Asian American communities together. By this time, Talat also added the Middle East countries to his tours. The absolute humility of this living legend at the age of 60 was on display when he apologized to his audience in Dubai for his concert starting late. “It’s late but I promise you that I will make sure you hear the best from me and you will feel no loss of time.” This show was at the newly launched Al-Nasr Leisureland in 1984 which was sold to capacity with about 12,000 people.

Award-winning singer fondly recalls her experience of working with him in his troupe. “I used to wonder what made him so great. Even if he missed a note, every word had so much emotion and truth.” Despite slowing down with age, he gave in to the undying demands of his global audiences and performed till at least 1994.

The writer is Talat Mahmood’s grand-niece

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In 1962, when the war with China broke out, there was little or no comfort for Army jawans, with thin air and cold wind cutting through the bones.

The feeling of warmth and love was far away. But for a while, they had the comfort of a caressing voice. Talat Mahmood sang for the soldiers, in person, in Ladakh. The soldiers were touched. Their hearts were filled with emotions as Talat sang one soul-stirring hit after another. “Singing was an ordeal there. The air was too thin for breathing but in a gasping manner, I managed. I had to perform with such thick gloves that playing the harmonium was a new experience”, recalled Talat.

His voice was an immediate balm for the troops. “They loved us for we sang of their sorrows, hopes and fear. But they also wondered as to how these ‘softies’ of the film world could climb up the Himalayas simply to entertain them. But they didn’t know that we also loved them for their bravery and marvelled at their courage. They had left their home, friends and family to go up the treacherous terrains of our frontiers simply so that we could live in peace,” expressed a grateful Talat.