Sonia Lulla sonia. lulla@ mid- day. com In the midst of our conversation, Talat Aziz receives for his approval, the rough edit of a video put together by his editor for a screening at the Royal Opera House on February 14. In the several- minute- long clip, an assortment of images of Aziz, spanning four decades, shows him interacting with an array of industry doyens, including Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hasan, Pyarelal Sharma, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, and Sonu Nigam, among others. These are only a handful when compared to the barrage of artistes Aziz names in our hour- long conversation, as he revisits 40 years since he ventured into the industry.

While he will mark the event with music on February 14, he does so with a series of stories about his life, in this interview. Aziz began his journey as a true hustler, willingly taking up offers, both on Indian and international turf, whether or not they came from credible places. u201c A sarangi player told me to go to the open air festival called Rangmansh; I went,u201d he says at one point. u201c In u2019 77, I got a call to do a show in Canada; I went,u201d he says later. Like every hustler, he recalls hearing his first recorded song, and concluding that u201c Iu2019d never make it as a singer.u201d At a u201c rich Sindhiu2019s partyu201d, Aziz remembers sitting with an industry veteran as the latter was being presented with bundles and bundles of cash for his live rendition. u201c One person would put two bundles before him, then the other would put four. I was amazed.u201d When he began performing, he too was generously rewarded. u201c I earned R 10,000, and opened my first bank account with that money. I was 22.u201d Mehdi Hasan was influential in enabling Aziz to hone his craft.