|
Musharaff was the youngest of the family,
and shared the same delight in music that his brothers had. While in his
teens he had just come to Calcutta to study and be under the influence
of his brother when Inayat was called away to America, and Musharaff was
left alone. Within a year, however, he also journeyed to the west, where
he joined Inayat and became one of 'The Royal Musicians of Hindustan.'
In the
west, Musharaff took up the western method of vocal production and
developed a beautiful tenor voice. To adapt to western business ways and
make a career of music, though, was not so easy. In the words of Hazrat
Inayat, "After many years of his stay in the West, [Musharaff] kept
to the East just the same, in his way of looking at things and especially
in living in eternity."
Musharaff was married twice, once to Savitri van Rossum du Chattel,
who passed away in India in 1946, and a second time, to Shahzadi de Koningh,
with whom he lived in The Hague and who survived his passing in 1967.
On the passing of Pir-o-Murshid Ali Khan in 1958, Pir-o-Murshid
Musharaff assumed the leadership of the Sufi Movement, and served the
great ideal of the Message with all his heart. He is remembered as simple,
unpretentious, sympathetic to all and a source of comfort and hope.
|