Poetic Interventions

“That was the time of Nasir Qadri,Ghalib,Mir Hasan Mir and Mir Taqi Mir,where the word was all powerful and there was a way,a lehzaa,a tone and ring to everything that was sung. We couldn’t sing till we got the pronunciation right,” says Ali,who learnt the nuances of ghazal from Qadri,who then worked with Radio Pakistan and taught him Persian words,diction,andaaz,and how important it is to choose the right poetry to sing.

Ali waited for pin drop silence before he commenced conversation again. “Let’s talk something that’s in sur,” said Ali,also of the firm opinion that till the gurus,the maestros,the teachers don’t explain or translate their subject,the listeners and students will never understand,and in turn the subject will suffer. Ali rues that languages like Persian and Urdu,are not spoken on a daily basis,“Therefore,we have to explain what we are singing. Good poetry is needed,but so is a receptive audience. If they don’t know who Ghalib is,how can we expect them to appreciate ghazal,” he questions.

His sons,Nazar Abbas Ali and Aamir Ghulam Ali have grown up now and he is waiting for them to make a place in the listeners’ hearts. Ali is also going to make his Bollywood debut with a cameo in an upcoming feature film.

For a musician who is known for blending gharana gayaki into ghazal and making it raga-based,music,he says,will never leave him. “I will sing till my last breath,” he says.