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History Of Ghazal |
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Ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th century A.D. It grew from the Persian qasida, which verse form had come to Iran from Arabia. The qasida was a panegyric written in praise of the emperor or his noblemen. The ghazal came to India with the advent and extension of the Muslim influence from the 12th century onwards. The Moghuls brought along with them Iranian culture and civilization, including Iranian poetry and literature.
Ghazal! The word originates from arabic, meaning, "way or mannerism of talking to or talking about women." Thus in fact it s an expression of love! But in this ever changing world the ghazal has become a reflection of the life around us, and now there is hardly any sphere of human interaction which the ghazal hasn't touched.
BODY OF GHAZAL: Ghazal is a well organised set of the "sher's",which itself is comprised of "Behar", "Kaafiyaa", "Radif", "Matla" and "Maqta".
So it becomes very necessary to first understand these terms...
- Sher- It's a poem of two lines. Sher's are independent and they don't require anything around them to convey the message.
- Behar- 'Beher' is the 'meter' of the Sher's. It can be considered as the length of the Sher. Both the lines in the Sher must be of
same 'Beher'. And all the Sher's in one Ghazal must be of the same 'Beher'. There are 19 kinds of 'Beher' in all !!
- Kaafiyaa- 'Kaafiyaa' is the rhyming pattern which all the words before 'Radif' must have.
- Radif- In a Ghazal the second line of all the Sher's must end with the same words. This repeating common words are what known as Radif of the Ghazals.
- Matla- The first Sher in the Ghazal must have 'Radif' in its both lines. This Sher is called 'Matla' of the Ghazal and the Ghazal is usually known after its 'Matla'. There can be more than one 'Matla' in a Ghazal. In such a case the second one is called 'Matla-e-saani' or 'Husn-e-matla'.
- Maqta- A Shayar usually has an alias ie. 'takhallus' eg. Mirza Asadullakhan used 'Ghalib' as his 'takhallus' and is known by that. There is a Sher in a Ghazal, the last one, which has the Shayar's 'takhallus' in it.
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| Ghazal Greats |
JAGJIT SINGH -
In the begining Ghazal was an art which was supposed to go only with the "urdu poets" and artists but after the arrival of Ghazal "Samrat" Jagjit Singh it became easily accessible for common man. Whenever we talk about Ghazal, the potrait of Jagjit Singh appears in our eyes. He, undoubtedly, has became an echo of Ghazal.
In addition to cultivating his own successful career, Jagjit Singh has been involved in guiding many new talents such as Talat Aziz and Vinod Sehgal.
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BEGUM AKHTAR -
She gave ghazal singing an identity and style which has remained unmatched even some 26 years after her death. Besides ghazals, she even sang other light classical musical forms like dadras, thumris and kajris.
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FARIDA KHANUM -
Farida Khanum has a distinctive style of singing. It is an attractive blend of ghazal gaayaki and tarannum, reflecting her training in classical music under the tutelage of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Ustad Ashique Ali Khan.
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