Page 42 - Seniors Toady March 2020

Once Upon A Time | Music

Gazing at the

Ghazal

Soulful poetry is the hallmark of the ghazal, a music form which captivated listeners
in the 1980s but is now facing tough times, writes Narendra Kusnur

On February 14, Talat Aziz held a concert at
Mumbai’s Royal Opera House to celebrate 40

years of his singing career. The following day,
Pankaj Udhas charmed audiences at the city’s
Nehru Centre to mark the same milestone.
In ghazal circles, these shows are considered
landmarks not only for these two artistes, but for
the genre as a whole.
Flash back to the early 1980s, and music lovers

will recall the time when the ghazal wave was
at its peak. Though Jagjit and Chitra Singh had Ghulam Ali
already established themselves, and Rajendra playback singer and guitarist, Bhupinder began
and Nina Mehta attracted fans across the country, concentrating on ghazals, teaming up with
the entry of new singers like Udhas and Aziz wife Mitali. Hariharan and the brothers’ duo of
firmed up the movement. Record labels like Ahmed and Mohammed Hussain made a mark.
HMV (now Saregama India) and Music India Simultaneously, the work of Indian ghazal poets
(Universal) competed to bring out the latest like Nida Fazli, Shahryaar, Sudarshan Faakir and
albums and promote artistes. Hasan Kamaal, and Pakistan’s Faiz Ahmed Faiz,

Singers Anup Jalota (who later specialised in Ahmed Faraz and Qateel Shifai became known.
bhajans), Penaz Masani, Chandan Dass, Dilraj Besides albums and concerts, Doordarshan
Kaur and Rajkumar Rizvi arrived on the scene, played a major role in promoting ghazals. And
and senior artistes Madhurani and Vithal Rao with parallel cinema blossoming, filmmakers
got more concerts, besides opportunities to and music directors used ghazals in a bigger
groom youngsters. After making a name as a way, in films like Gaman, Nikaah, Umrao Jaan,

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