Editing Naushad (section)

==Early life and education==
Naushad Ali was born and raised in [[Lucknow]],<ref name=Britannica/> a city with a long tradition as a centre of [[Indian Muslim]] culture. His father, Wahid Ali, was a [[munshi]] (court clerk). As a child, Naushad would visit the annual fair at the Deva Sharif in [[Barabanki city|Barabanki]], 25&nbsp;km from Lucknow, where all the great [[qawwali|qawwals]] and musicians of those days would perform before the devotees. He studied [[Hindustani music]] there under Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali, Ustad Babban Saheb and others. He also repaired harmoniums.<ref name=upperstall/>

As a lad, he joined a junior theatrical club and was appointed the club's music maestro for their theatrical presentations. He used to watch silent films at the Royal theatre in Lucknow. Theatre owners would hire a team of musicians to play the [[tabla]], [[Harmonium#On the Indian subcontinent|harmonium]], [[sitar]] and [[violin]]. The musicians would watch the film first, make notes, finalize the scales required. When the show began in the evening, they would sit in front of the screen and play music for the scenes. This was a great way to be entertained and learn music at the same time. It made him grasp the nuances required in composing a film's background music score.

In time Naushad formed his own Windsor Music Entertainers or just Windsor Entertainers, so named because he had seen the word "Windsor" around Lucknow and liked its ring. It led to the Indian Star Theatrical Company in a theatre at Golaganj colony in [[Lucknow]]. He was trained under Laddan Khan until he became capable of working independently as a composer. There he also developed the sense to pick rare musical jewels from the folk tradition of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[Rajasthan]], [[Gujarat]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] during the company's sojourns in those regions. The travelling players got as far as [[Viramgam]] in Gujarat, where they discovered penury, even after selling off theatrical props and musical instruments. The company limped back to Lucknow through the kindness of one of Naushad's friends.

Naushad had already become a cinema fan in the silent era and then, in 1931, Indian cinema got voice and music that further fascinated the 13-year-old boy. He learnt classical and folk music against the wishes of his father. He moved to [[Mumbai]] in late 1937 for a career as a musician.<ref name=TheGuardian/>