Drum maaro drum!

The Name is Lord – Burjor Lord", he says jestfully, in James Bond style. Over a three-decade career, the dexterous Lord played drums and other percussion instruments in more than 15,000 (phew!) Hindi film songs and soundtracks. The hit-list includes iconic retro-chartbusters like Dum Maaro Dum and I Love You (Hare Rama Hare Krishna) Jaane Jaan (Jawani Diwani), Mehbooba Mehbooba (Sholay) and many more.

In his heyday, the 74-year-old unplugged his rhythmic wizardry under the batons of illustrious composers including Madan Mohan, Ravi, SD Burman, Kalyanji-Anandji, Shankar Jaikishan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and, of course, Rahul Dev Burman (Panchamda).

Whilst playing Dum Maaro Dum (DMD) in 1971, did 'Buji' (that's his nickname) have the gut feeling that the track would become a cult hippie anthem? Jogging into a flashback, he says, "While rapping the drums during the take, I was too engrossed. But I could imagine the vivacious Zeenat Aman swaying to my beats. Post-recording, when I heard DMD sung by Ashaji (Bhosle), I had this hunch that the song may emerge a trendsetter. When the music released, Panchamda even predicted that, since the 'dumdaar' song had a 'soul beat', it would always be immortal," he chuckles.

What was his take on bohemian Burman's X-factor for conjuring up wacky rhythmic notations? "Sometimes the 'X-factor' genius would have an unpredictable, 'X-entric' tinge, when he would ask me to strike on the metal rim of the drums or hold the sticks ultaa or create some bizarre sound effects. Even while driving, he would be drumming on the roof of his car with his right hand. Besides being a virtuoso tabla player, he was also well-versed in rhythms of all genres, including Latin American and Indian folk."

Having played for both Madan Mohan and Panchamda, was there anything they shared in common? "Both these legendary composers were unassuming and sensitive, but had a zany sense of humour. When I went to invite Madanji for my wedding reception, he stormed, 'Kya Buji shaadi kar raha hai? Pagal ho gaya kya?' During our recording breaks, RDB would keep the musicians charged and cheerful with his pranks on unsuspecting team members. As is known, Madanji's forte was ghazals and light classical. When it came to westernized Hindi songs, defying conventional norms was Pancham's penchant. Despite his predominantly westernized image, RDB also excelled in raga-based soulful numbers. Both were also short-tempered."

What compelled him to abruptly renounce his musical career in 1988 when his career was at its zenith and switch to the non-creative, real estate profession? There is profound silence before he says: "Backbiting politics within the music fraternity. That and the advent of digital, electronic gadgets which I did not wish to adapt to. This hi-tech phase had led to acoustic instruments becoming obsolete. All my colleagues asked 'Why are you quitting?'. Years later, they realised I exited at the right time. Since I was conversant with the construction industry, I dared to venture into real estate in distant Nargol. But my biggest regret is that I hastily sold off all my vintage-value instruments, on which thousands of evergreen chartbusters of the golden era were played."

The writer is a senior showbiz journalist and recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award (2012)