Hyderabad: Md. Najmuddin Quadri Javed is the man on speed-dial when any celebrated musician travels to Hyderabad. “They know that they don’t have to bring a tabla player along when they come, because Javed bhai is there,” gushes the musician, who has so far accompanied the biggest names, including Ustad Rashid Khan, Pandit Vishwamohan Bhat and Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
But Javed is by no means just an accompaniment to the big names. With more than eight albums to his name, he is now gearing up to make history. “I am the only Hyderabadi to have the honour of playing solo at the upcoming Akashvani Sangeet Samelan,” he says. In fact, he is the first solo tabla player since Independence to be part of this prestigious annual event. Fifty eight years ago, it was his guru Ustad Shaikh Dawood who played at the Sammelan.
Although he owes a lot to his guru, Javed is clear that his parents will remain his inspiration. This third generation musician comes from a family of singers. But it was his inclination towards rhythm that moved him towards percussion. “I would wake up to the beautiful morning raagas (Raag Bhairavi) of my mother and father. I trained in singing under my father initially, later my love for rhythm took me on a different path.”
Following his training, he moved to Mumbai, where he got to work with the likes of Pankaj Udhas and Hariharan. The city also became a guru as he networked with the best and helped him discover his love for composing music.
“But I had to return to Hyderabad as my mother needed help as my father’s health deteriorated. After he passed away, I had to prioritise my mom,” he says. “If I have talent, be it Mumbai or Hyderabad I know I will succeed,” he avers.
As if a testimony to his talent, in Hydera-bad, work comes to Javed. He recently even composed for Bobby Jasoos. “Dia Mirza is a family friend. So she came to me when she needed something classical done,” he says about the track that also features the vocals of his mother, Kaneez Fatima, a disciple of ‘ghazal queen’ Begum Akhtar.
