From "Begum Akhtar" to "Pankaj Udhas"
Once domain of 'Baijis' and 'mujra' ghazal is now the most popular form of light music in the 1980s. Till a few years ago, traditional forms of light music, like 'thumri', 'dadra', 'kajri', 'Jhoola' and 'ghazal' were associated with 'professional' women. Society looked down upon these forms of music. Nawabs, Rajas and Jagirdars, however, encouraged such music. Singing sessions were held on special occasions, where the audience comprised only men. Tracing ghazal Asha Bhosle singing back to the Thirties, one can find some distinct phases in the growth of the ghazal.
From the very beginning of the talkie era (1931), ghazals have been used in films. Kajjan, Jaddanbai, K. L. Saigal, Goharbai, Zohrabai Ambalewala and Ameerbai Karnataki, the singing stars of the Thirties, all sang a number of ghazals for films. But on the non-film front, there were few recordings. These were rendered by Akhtaribai Faizabadi (later known as Begum Akhtar), Kamla Jharia, Malika Pukhraj and Jankibai. During the Forties, Talat Mahmood emerged as a popular artiste of the light ghazal form, while Ustad Barkat Ali Khan (younger brother of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan) pioneered the semi-classical form of ghazal singing. While Talat came down to Bombay (from Calcutta) and, became a playback singer, .Barkat Ali Khan died a premature death.
Begum Akhtar acted in a few films, sang a few film songs and finally opted for a career in ghazal singing outsidefilms. Towards the late Fifties, ghazals had acquired a certain amount of respectability. Suraiya, who never cut a non-filmi record in her life, sang a number of extremely popular ghazals epitomised in the film 'Mirza Ghalib'. A number of films relied very heavily on ghazals to decorate their music score. 'Pukar', 'Mahal', 'Shahjehan'; 'Pyasa', 'Kaagaz Ke Phool', 'Chaudhvin Ka Chand', 'Barsaat Ki Raat', 'Mughal-eAzam', 'anpadh', 'Jahan Ara', 'Noor Jahan', 'Ghazal', 'Pakeezah', 'Nikaah', 'Baazaar' and 'Umrao Jaan' are some such examples.
Thanks to music directors like Khemchand Prakash, Ghulam Haider, Naushad, Ghulam Mohammed, Roshan, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan and Khaiyyaam, poets like Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Kaifi Azmi and Sahir Ludhianvi and singers like Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, the ghazal has now become a popular singing form, a favourite with the masses at large. Hitherto savoured only by the aristocracy, the ghazal became a favourite of the man-in-the-street too.
Now settled in Pakistan, Mehdi Hassan launched a one man crusade to popularise ghazals. In the Sixties, he was joined by Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum, Malika Pukhraj, Noor Jehan, Husain Baksh and Habib Vali Mohamed. These singers evolved a new style by the fusion of the light and the classical strains. Both, the layman and the connoisseur could now be catered to. Both began to identify with it. In the Seventies, Parvez Mehdi Laila went on a number of tours abroad and visited India too. 'Khan Saheb' (Mehdi Hassan) triggered-off a ghazal wave in India. His 1978 tour of India laid the foundation of the 'ghazal boom'. And then Ghulam Ali took the ghazal world by storm,
He blended 'khayaal' and 'thumri' styles with ghazals and the recipe was an instant hit. Ghazal singers of the new generation and a significant portion of the audience regard him as probably the most popular ghazal singer around. Ghulam AIVF impact on the ghazal world was forceful and undeniable. How the ghazal came to acquire its present form and popularity in India will require a separate study, however, one can rightaway identify two schools of ghazal singing in post independent India. Ahmedi Begum Chopra, Shanti Hiranand, Nirmala Devi, Shobha Gurtu, Mujaddid Niazi,Saadat-Bin-Ashraf form one school, a school that lost its charm with the advent of the Sixties and all but disappeared in the Seventies. The other, 'modern' generation of ghazal singers emerged in the mid-Sixties, took shape in the Seventies and is reaping rich rewards in the Eighties. Rajendra-Nina Mehta, Jagjit Chitra Singh, Rajkumar Rizvi, Pankaj Udhas, Anup Jalota, Talat Aziz, Ashok Khosla, Hariharan, Penaaz Masani and Ahmed-Mohammed Husain exemplify the other school, influenced by film culture.
Some mistaken souls suffer from the misconception that ghazals based on 'shastriya' (classical raags) music are less popular than those recorded in the light music style. To set their doubts at rest, here is a list of no less than fifteen ghazals. All fifteen are largely based on'raags'and all.
Special Thanks to India Times Blogs.
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mirza jee aha aha i have been very lucky that i was with mujadid sahib for 3 4 days in amritsar when he stayed in shanti mathur,house.he was radio artist from lakhnow . very good singer and an excellent man
kk10061 6 months ago
Great to hear Mujaddid Niazi. Could some one be having more of his songs/ghazals?
gurgaon121 1 year ago
Whilst the write-up is thoroughly informative about the history of ghazals, this particular rendering artists was not named. Here it is: Habib Vali Mohammad. I believe he too started in the 1940's from Calcutta where he became known througout the subcontinent for his recordings of one Ghalib and one Bahadur Shah Zafar ghazal.
obaid01100 1 year ago
listening first time this marvelous song by mujaddad niazi.i would like to know about that lake where beautiful fishes are found.
what a nice ghazal you have presented. will be useless even if mark 15 is given
saz9297 2 years ago