More importantly (for me) Raza developed the “Sagar Veena”–a plucked string instrument. His daughter, Noor Zehra Kazim, is the foremost exponent of this instrument. His grandson, Rakae Jamil (a personal friend of mine) is a sitarist who trained at the Sangeet Research Academy in Calcutta.
From DAWN:
Raza Kazim, a distinguished lawyer, philosopher, and founder of the Sanjan Nagar Institute of Philosophy and Arts, passed away on Thursday. He was 96.
He was born on Jan 13, 1930, in Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh.
Widely regarded as a political activist, philosopher and inventor, the deceased was a part of the Indian Congress movement and subsequently became involved with the Muslim League working for an independent Pakistan.
He later became a member of the Pakistan Communist Party and was a general secretary of the Pakistan Trade Union Federation and the Democratic Students Federation president.
He withdrew from politics in 1951 due to ideological differences and entered the legal profession in 1953.
As an activist, he raised his voice against authoritarian rule and was imprisoned on trumped-up charges of waging war against the state during the regimes of Gen Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Gen Ziaul Haq.
Here is a recording of Noor Zehra playing Raga Gaud Sarang on the “Sagar Veena”
And here is Rakae playing Raga Kirwani at a festival in Toronto
Thanks for sharing, Kabir. I am just about starting to learn the basics of Classical Indian music from my Tamil in-laws. Hadn’t heard of Raza Kazim but I had come across Noor Zehra before and found her rendition to be very moving.
Thanks for your comment.
Since your in-laws are Tamil, you are probably referring to Carnatic music which is a whole different system of music.
What we practice in Pakistan is Hindustani (North Indian) music. Incidentally, every time I say “Hindustani” music people get very upset. And then I have to explain that “Hindustan” does not equate to the Republic of India.
My book is available in India now.
https://aakarbooks.com/product/the-decline-of-hindustani-music-in-pakistan-a-social-history/?srsltid=AfmBOorNykRa4wwr4fPSh2_LBwccpGQzXxUOhy3SN_RcpY0d71QBlzob
Noor Zehra Kazim specializes in playing the instrument that her father invented.
Very much aware of the difference between Carnatic and Hindustani. My in-laws (especially my recently deceased mother in law) are Tamils brought up in Bengal. They learnt and are equaly proficient in both styles.
Oh ok.
I know very little about Carnatic music.
Incidentally, Hindustani music thrived in Calcutta because of the exile of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from Lucknow.
https://kabiraltaf.substack.com/p/review-the-scattered-court-hindustani
Rest in Peace to Raza Kazim and to your friend’s family.
It’s interesting how in the Indian Subcontinent; 90’s is “really old.”
Where in the West, 90’s isn’t considered to be that ancient (Warren Buffet, HM the Queen, Rupert Murdoch).
Health and Wealth outcomes make such an impact on mortality.
Thank you.
It’s a great loss. Though he had been ill for a while and 96 is a ripe old age.
Raza has a Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raza_Kazim
Surprisingly, the page doesn’t mention that he was instrumental in setting up the Musicology Department at the National College of Arts (NCA) where Rakae studied and where he teaches sitar now.
Of my four grandparents, my maternal grandfather died in his 70s (I think) from a heart attack. This was when I was very young. My maternal and paternal grandmothers lived into their 80s while my paternal grandfather crossed into his 90s (though he had been ill with Alzheimers for a long time).
Tbf, Gen Z in the west do consider 90s to be very old or maybe its just an American thing but are now referring to the 90s as the “late 1900s”.
XTM was referring to 90s as in age. The context was life expectancy.
This tribute to Raza Kazim was published in today’s DAWN:
In Memoriam: A Man No Niche Could Hold
By Nasreen Rehman
https://www.dawn.com/news/1995180/in-memoriam-a-man-no-niche-could-hold