Missing Mehfils

Ghazal, that delicate, sublime form of Urdu poetry, is in a spot. Basking in its past glory, it8217;s losing its constituency8212;and exponents.

Take Jagjit Singh, whom poet-lyricist Nida Fazli calls a pioneer 8216;8216;who brought the ghazal from the cocooned world of the elites to the vast domain of the masses8217;8217;, for instance. Of late, he has not cut any new ghazal album. Instead, he came out with Close To My Heart, an album of 10 golden Hindi film numbers that you8217;ve already heard umpteen times.

Is it because the ghazal, that legacy of Amir Khusro, Mir and Ghalib, doesn8217;t sell any more? Or has Singh lost his touch? 8216;8216;I did Close To My Heart because I love these songs. I8217;ll sing whatever I like,8217;8217; says Singh. 8216;8216;If you don8217;t see full houses at ghazal concerts today, blame it also on the media and the music companies.8217;8217;

Record labels have their own concerns. Last year, instead of risking a new album with any ghazal singer, old or new, HMV Sare Gama dusted off Sajda, a ghazal album Singh cut with Lata Mangeshkar a decade ago, and relaunched it. However, they did bring out many romantic and pop albums. 8216;8216;It8217;s not that we have lost interest in ghazals. But we prefer to do what8217;s hot and happening,8217;8217; reasons Shweta Agnihotri, marketing manager ghazal and pop, HMV Sare Gama.

Though no concrete sales figures are available, the fact remains that the ghazal is losing out to remix and pop. T-Series, which launched an ad blitzkrieg for Adnan Sami8217;s Tera Chehra, didn8217;t have time for a pure ghazal album. 8216;8216;Remixed albums are the flavour of the season. If my audience is fanatically non-vegetarian, I can8217;t serve them ghaas phoos vegetarian,8217;8217; laughs Ajit Kohli, general manager artistes and repertoire with T-Series.

Even singers are rendering old masters8217; works. Roopkumar and Sonali Rathod cut two albums last year8212;Bazme Meer poetry of 18th century poet Meer Taqi Meer and Pyar Ka Jashn nazms and ghazals by Kaifi Azmi. 8220;Music companies don8217;t want to take risks,8221; says Sonali.

The situation has led to drastic measures. Some singers are exploring alternatives to save the ghazal. First they clubbed with classical. Now they are fusing with jazz and keyboards. Ghazal singer Talat Aziz, playback singer Abhijit and jazz musician Louis Banks formed Dynamic Fusion last year, and have held three concerts so far. 8216;8216;There8217;s nothing wrong in fusion. We8217;re finding a confluence of genres while retaining the essence of the ghazal,8217;8217; claims Aziz. Banks calls it a 8220;meeting of disparate minds8221;. 8220;Fusion in ghazal is for variety, not to spoil its pristine glory,8221; he says.

However, to singers like Pankaj Udhas he still has the 1984 hit Chandi Jaisa Rang Hai Tera tune on his call waiting fusion is creating 8216;8216;confusion.8217;8217; 8216;8216;I am concerned about the ghazal8217;s future. A decade ago songs like Chithi Aayi Hai sung by Udhas made a film Naam work. Now Yana Gupta8217;s raunchy numbers rule,8217;8217; says Udhas. 8216;8216;If flashy masala is allowed free reign, the mellifluous ghazal will get sidelined.8217;8217;

Poet Mumtaz Rashid, who has made a name writing albums for almost all leading ghazal artistes, also blames it on the remix. 8220;Begum Akhtar and Ghulam Ali gave us spiritual food. Today8217;s generation is hooked on to 8220;Meri pant bhi sexy.8221; Ab ghazal ke liye woh josh nahin hai That clamour for ghazal is missing,8221; he complains.

Perhaps poet Kalim Aziz foresaw tough days for the ghazal when he said: Woh jo shairi ka sabab hua, woh mamla bhi ajab hua/Main ghazal kahoon isliye ke zamana isko bhula na de It was strange circumstances that made me a poet/I sing the ghazal so that people should not forget it.