Page 44 - Seniors Toady March 2020
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to the genre. It was against this backdrop that
Udhas and Aziz began their careers 40 years
ago, playing a crucial role in the 1980s ghazal
movement.
The journey
The emergence of new singers and albums was
primarily responsible for the ghazal wave of
the early 1980s. But other factors helped too.
Hindi film music, for years the favourite form,
was going through a bad phase, as the era of
violent films didn’t offer much scope for melodic
music. With people wanting an alternative, Pankaj Udhas
they opted for ghazals. There was also a trend Bollywood-driven field.
towards parallel cinema, which needed songs Thanks to the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida
that listeners could identify with. Hence, Jagjit Parveen and the Wadali Brothers, there was a
and Chitra Singh, Udhas, Aziz, Hariharan and sudden shift towards Sufiana music in the late
Jagjit Kaur got opportunities to sing in films, 1990s. Thus, many young singers started doing
and veteran playback singer Asha Bhosle tasted both ghazals and Sufi music, unlike the senior lot
ghazal success with Umrao Jaan. Khayyam, Jagjit which focused on ghazals. Some even prioritised
Singh and Kuldeep Singh had hits as composers. film work, seeking more fame and financial
However, as mentioned before, too many people security. Jagjit Singh’s death in 2011 was a huge
entered the non-film ghazal fray. The joke went setback.
that anyone with a kurta, shawl and harmonium Despite all this, ghazals still have their own
was promoted, both by record labels and concert place in the current music scenario. One would
organisers. Towards the end of the 1980s, melody be surprised to see the number of youngsters
returned to film music slowly but steadily, and doing ghazal concerts - the list is too long, but
audiences went back to that form. There was also what’s commendable is that they know the
a sudden increase in ghazals using alcohol as the nuances well enough and are passionate about
subject, and songs began being played in noisy the style. But some challenges still exist. More
bars. corporate sponsors and festivals in smaller
Despite the fall, certain artistes continued towns are needed. More importantly, the overall
to draw packed artistes, though their set list standard of ghazal appreciation has come down.
would be dominated by older songs and not Compared to the 1980s, fewer people are aware of
new ones. In the 1990s, new singers like Ashok the intricacies of the art form, and do not relate to
Khosla, Ghansham Vaswani, Roopkumar and the depth of the poetry.
Sonali Rathod, Somesh Mathur, Shumona Roy On the positive side, YouTube and streaming
Biswas, Jaswinder Singh, Sudeep Banerjee and platforms have made ghazals more accessible,
Mohammed Vakil released albums, but the and certain websites provide ready translations.
overall market for ghazals was restricted then. Recently, ghazal singer Tauseef Akhtar started
Film lyricists Gulzar and Javed Akhtar worked a series called Ghazal Kya Hai, which acts as a
on ghazal albums too. Later, the annual Khazana perfect YouTube guide. More such efforts are
and Ghazal Bahaar festivals in Mumbai and needed to carry the genre forward, and bring
television reality shows helped promote new back the time in which Udhas and Aziz started
talent, but it was tough to create a superstar in a their careers.
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