OP Nayyar Found - Midday

A few years ago, music director O P Nayyar disappeared. He moved out of his Churchgate flat at Shraddha building, where his wife and children continue to stay.

Everyone believed he was homeless and penniless. But now, MiD DAY reveals that the sprightly 80-year-old lives in Thane, with a family he met at a phone booth — the Nakhwas.

A woman in her 30s, ushered us into a room where Nayyar was sitting on a bed. Nayyar had only one condition before the interview. Calling for chilled beer, he said, "I shall answer your questions only if you have a drink with me."

So why isn't he at home, with his own family? "I have always had my way. I can't live the way others want me to. I have three daughters and a son, who stay with their mother in Churchgate. I walked out on them. We had some serious differences."

He explains how he ended up living with the Nakhwas, a Maharastrian family. Eleven years ago, he met Raju Nakhwa (the woman who had welcomed us in) at a phone booth in Thane. For seven years before that, he was staying at Juhu Hotel, courtesy his friend Agarwal, the proprietor of the hotel.

"I used to frequently go to that phone booth. When Raju saw me, she took me to her parents, who asked me to move in with them. They even gave me the master bedroom, while they slept in the hall. They took a nominal rent from me in the beginning, but soon we developed such a bond that they stopped taking anything. Do you get such people these days?"

Nayyar adds that Raju is everything to him today — mother, sister, daughter, grand-daughter. "Agar main jawan hota, to main Raju se shaadi kar leta. Woh meri jaan hai." Raju adds, "If I am out for my aerobics or ayurvedic class and get late, Baba goes and stands outside the building. He gets terribly anxious."

While eating, the topic shifts towards the Mangeshkar sisters who ruled the roost during Nayyar's composing days.

Says Nayyar, clenching his fist, "I never liked Lata Mangeshkar's voice. People came to me with offers where they wanted her to sing. I refused those offers. Asha was unarguably the best. Asha loved not only my music but also me. Therefore, her voice for my tunes was always special."

Khayyam:
He brought in a Punjabi style of music in Hindi songs. He is a very honest and frank person. More importantly, he is very disciplined. I haven't kept in touch with him, but we bump into each other at some programmes.