Ghazal-o-rama

The older generation of ghazal singers like Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Mehendi Hasan, Bhupinder and Mitali Singh have laid a great foundation for ghazal singing in India, but the younger lot of ghazal singers believe that it needs to be reinvented to be able to survive the onslaught of Bollywood, rock and hip-hop music that is the rage today.

Parthiv Gohil is taking a special initiative to bring together the younger generation of artistes which includes Jaswinder Singh, Shoma Banerjee, Mohammad Vakil, Nihira Joshi to organise an all-young concert called the Jashn-E-Ghazal.

The aim being, to popularize it amongst the young, urban lot. “Ghazals need a new sound, new treatment, modern arrangements and experimentation, while keeping the lyrics and the Indian element alive,” says Parthiv, adding that use of the available technology will give an edge to this form of music. “We will sing songs by all our mentors but with a touch of modernity, keeping the essence intact. Today’s music is not only for the ears but also for the eyes,” explains Parthiv.

He feels that ghazals will gain more popularity if they are reinvented. “Sufi music was also lagging behind but it has evolved now and has become huge in India and Bollywood,” asserts Parthiv.

Jaswinder, who has recently, received ‘The young Ghazal Maestro’ award by Indian Music Academy, feels that the young generation of ghazal singers need their own way to keep the genre of music from fading away. “It’s a soulful form of music but it was only used in films in the 70s. Then our masters took it to the next level. If we want to take ghazals to the younger generation we will have to use their language - a slightly western sound with guitars and percussion.”

Vakil believes that promotion is also important. “Ghazal singing needs to be promoted or else, it’ll die. Media and music companies need to encourage the young talent to take up this form of music. It is up to us to take the legacy forward,” ends Vakil.