Be it Jagjit Singh ' s casettes or Ali Seth ' s new age singles , ghazals have acquired a popular flavor amongst listeners in India , Pakistan , and the South-Asian diaspora since the past few decades . But a few centuries ago , the ghazal evolved as a niche form of poetry to express divine notions of romance . Here are a few facts that would help you understand the history of this unique poetry and music genre .

The Origin The ghazal as a form of poetry that originated from Arabic traditions in 7th century . It ' s only when Sufi saints began migrating to India under Islamic Sultanates that ghazals began spreading in the country . The mystics actually used ghazals to express their unconditional and divine love to the Almighty ( an undefined force of creation ). It ' s much later that ghazals acquired the modern form as a romantic genre .

The Structure A ghazal commonly consists of five to fifteen couplets , which

are independent , but are also linked . This link can be abstract in their theme . Most of the themes of ghazals dwell on love and seperation . In the 18th century , ghazals were increasingly written in Urdu ( as is the modern form ) with Mirza Ghalib being a major proponent .

Filmi-Ghazal The tradition of adding Urdu ghazals in Indian films began with the first ever Indian talkie Alam Ara ( 1931 ). Since then , ghazals have been popular from the 1930s to the 1960s . Meanwhile , non-film ghazals were popularised by Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan . Popular playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi kept on singing ghazals but the popularity in films started waning out . It ' s only with the 1990 Hindi film Aashiqui that ghazals started making a comeback .

Jagjit Singh ' s Changes to Ghazals While Mehdi Hassan is regarded as the king of ghazals , it was Jagjit Singh who brought ghazal music to the

masses making it more mainstream . Jagjit Singh defied the genre by introducing Western instrumentation apart from the usual Hindustani classical routine . The 12-string guitar and bass guitar were essential in many of his songs . Further , despite his pathbreaking changes , he ‘ never diluted the essence of ghazals ’, notes sitar player Tushar Bhatia . Jagjit Singh was simply a modernist trying to create something new .

Ghazal Fusion Today , the ghazal is being significantly reinterpreted by mixing it with other genres . For instance , Rashmi Agarwal mixes jazz melodies in her ghazal vocals with her band The Z Factor . Similarly , Tauseef Akhtar has created his own genre of music which he likes to call ghazalaw . The ghazalaw blends ghazals with Celtic music . Akhtar explains the connection , ‘ Since both styles are based on romantic poetry , they have a lot of similarities ,’. He has had successful ghazalaw shows in India and the UK .

BEGUM AKHTAR

JAGJIT SINGH

MIRZA GHALIB

The Score Magazine

38 highonscore . com

TAUSEEF AKHTAR