MUZAFFARABAD: Renowned Kashmiri singer and instrumentalist, Muhammad Subhan Rathar, had long yearned to exhibit his musicianship at least once before his departure from life along the banks of world famed Dal Lake in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, from where he had migrated to Azad Jammu and Kashmir nearly six decades ago.
However, the 83 odd years old recipient of the Presidential Pride of Performance award breathed his last on Friday morning and was buried in a graveyard here along with his unfulfilled desire.
He is survived by his wife - his lone attendant all the years of his infirmity and sickness.
Mr Rathar, who was born in Hayatpora village of Budgam district, had a passion for music from a tender age. Initially, he used to sing in the chorus in musical events and later started a solo career.
Owing to his charming voice and beautiful looks, he earned fame in a short span of time which landed him in Radio Kashmir Srinagar.
There, he received training to play Rabab, one of the oldest musical instruments in Kashmir, from great maestro Sanaullah Butt.
By 1965, Mr Rathar was a well-known singer across occupied Kashmir.
However, like most of his contemporaries he too decided to migrate to the liberated territory and crossed the Line of Control (LoC) the same year along with his Rabab and fellow singer Ghulam Mohammad Rishi.
In AJK, he displayed his singing skills initially at the Azad Kashmir Radio Tararkhal and later at the Azad Kashmir Radio Muzaffarabad, where he was inducted as a staff artist in 1969.
He retired from Radio Muzaffarabad in July 1994, but maintained his association with it as a contractual artiste until 2012.
Mr Rathar was a household name not only among the Kashmiri speaking circles on both sides of the LoC and elsewhere but also among all music lovers as a melodious singer and a Rabab player par excellence.
His was a unique style to hold Rabab, as he would grip it vertically rather than horizontally.
According to Altaf Andrabi, a former broadcaster and news editor at Radio Muzaffarabad who has been sparing no effort to preserve renditions of Kashmiri singers, Mr Rathar had two Rababs which he would describe as his son and daughter.
“Rathar sahib was not just a singer and instrumentalist but also a composer. He has sung in almost all genres of Kashmiri music, including Chakkari, Sufiyana kalam, qawwali, resistance songs, etc.,” Mr Andrabi said.
One of Mr Rathar’s most popular renditions “Walo ha bagwano naubaharuk shaan paida kar…”, penned by Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Mahjoor, the father of Kashmiri poetry, is the title song of Radio Muzaffarabad’s popular Kashmiri programme Naubahar.
In recognition of his exemplary contribution to Kashmiri music, he was awarded Pride of Performance in 1989, something he would always mention proudly. Apart from that, he had also earned many other awards and medals during his illustrious career, which included performances in Germany and Japan.
In an interview with Dawn in February 2015, he had nostalgically remembered his days across the divide, his grooming as a popular Kashmiri singer here and his last desire.
“Now I have only one desire. Once I recover, I should perform on the banks of Dal Lake (in Srinagar) – a performance which none has ever seen,” he had said with tearful eyes.
Mr Rathar’s death was mourned on both sides of the divide in Kashmir, which was reflected by a slew of condolence messages on social media.
Among the mourners were former AJK prime minister and IPP regional president Sardar Tanveer Ilyas and PML-N leader Shah Ghulam Qadir.
“Today, a shining star of Kashmiri culture has departed us, a man who fully represented Kashmiri people across the globe through his remarkable renditions,” Mr Ilyas said.
Mr Qadir, whose family also hails from occupied Kashmir, said he was deeply saddened by the demise of Mr Rathar.
“Rathar sahib was the most sought-after person among the Kashmiri music lovers who would invite and listen to him in their close door parties all night long,” he recalled.
“Surely we will miss him.”
Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2023
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