Ghazal

In poetry, the ghazal (Arabic/Persian/Urdu: غزل; Hindi: ग़ज़ल, Turkish gazel) is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain. The music of India' includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. A Bhajan is a type of Hindu Devotional Song, often simple lyrical and expressing love for the Divine. Filmi (or Filmy used as an adjective is a colloquial term which refers to anything relating to the Bollywood film industry Indian folk music is diverse because of India's vast cultural diversity Indian hip hop is mainly performed in the Hindi language and Punjabi language. Indian pop music often known as Indian-Pop, Hindi Pop or Indipop, is based on an amalgamation of Indian folk and classical music and modern beats from different Qawwali ( Urdu / Persian: قوٌالی; Punjabi / Multani: ਖ਼ਵ੍ਵਾਲੀ قوٌالی Brajbhasha / Hindi Indian Rock is a tall peak on the Columbia Plateau in Washington, USA. The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of Scriptures part of the Hindu tradition the Vedas. Carnatic music (also spelled Karnatak music or Karnatik music, and originally called Karṇāṭaka sangīta or Karṇāṭaka sangītam in India Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت A music festival is a Festival oriented towards Music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as Musical genre, Nationality or locality The Sangeet Natak Akademi International Festival takes place in India. The Tyagaraja Aradhana festival is held in January when most of the leading exponents of Carnatic music come to perform and are watched by thousands of ardent fans of Indian Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana is a Music festival of Indian classical music. Sruti is an English language magazine on the Performing Arts, Indian music and dance published from Chennai, India. A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Jana Gana Mana (জন গণ মন Jôno Gôno Mono) is the National anthem of India. Bande Mataram redirects here for other uses of the term see Bande Mataram (disambiguation. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are part of India. Folk traditions of the area include that of the Moken sea-farers and various kinds of ritual tribal dance Andhra Pradesh is a state of South India. Telugu language is considered the heart and soul of Carnatic music. Arunachal Pradesh is a State of India. It is known for dance music which comes in many different styles The music of Assam, a state in the northeastern part of India, can be divided into various categories of folk music Bihar is a state of India. The classical form of the Indian music is already quite well known (for example Bihar has produced musicians like Bharat Ratna Chhattisgarh is a state of India with strong tribal traditions of music and dance Music of Goa refers to the music from the tiny state of Goa on the west coast of India a former Portuguese colony and a centre that has produced a number of prominent musicians and singers Gujarat is a part of India, known for lively traditions of both folk and classical music. The Indian state of Haryana has produced a number of kinds of Folk music, and has also produced many important innovations in Indian classical music. Himachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the northwest corner of the country Traditionally the music composed by ethnic Kashmiris has a wide range of musical influences in composition Jharkhand 's music tradition consists of various tribal forms and is known for its diversity Karnataka is a State of India with a long tradition of innovation in the fields of both Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. Traditionally the music composed by ethnic Kashmiris has a wide range of musical influences in composition Kerala is a region of India, musically known for Sopanam. Sopanam is religious in nature and developed through singing invocatory songs at the Kalam of Madhya Pradesh is a state of India. Music from the area includes rural folk and tribal music ceremonial and ritual music and Indian classical music. Maharashtra is a state of India. The region's folk heritage includes bharuds gondhals lavni]]s Shahiris and povadas Manipur is a region of India. Some varieties of Folk music from the area include the rural love songs Khullong ishei, the Rhythmic Lai Haraoba Meghalaya is a state of India with a rich folk tradition Drums Bamboo Flutes and buffalo horn Singas Mizoram is a region in India. Its Folk music is based around the Drum and Gong, though there is also a long history of Flute -playing Nagaland is a state of India. The area's Folk music is dominated by String instruments like the Petu among the Chakhesangs and Orissa is a state of India, one of the musical centres of the South Asia Official Website Punjab is a region in the world which has a diverse style of Music. Music of Rajasthan originates from Rajasthan, one of the states of India and home to several important centers of Indian musical development including Sikkim is a state of India. It is a center for western-style music in India and has been since the rise of bands like Orchids and Naren Rasaily 's Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back several hundred years Tripura is a state of India that has produced a wide variety of Folk music. Uttar Pradesh is a state of India. The region's folk heritage includes songs called Rasiya (known especially in Braj) which celebrate the divine love Uttarakhand, the 27th state of India, is often referred as the Land of Gods. West Bengal is a state of India. It is part of the region of Bengal (along with Bangladesh) which has a rich tradition of Bengali music. The music of Pakistan includes diverse elements ranging from music from other parts of South Asia as well as Central Asian folk music, Persian music Hindustani Classical Music ( Hindi: हिन्दुस्तानी शास्त्रीय संगीत Urdu: ہندوستانی شاستریے سنگیت Qawwali ( Urdu / Persian: قوٌالی; Punjabi / Multani: ਖ਼ਵ੍ਵਾਲੀ قوٌالی Brajbhasha / Hindi Pakistani pop music or Paki-pop refers to popular music forms in Pakistan. Filmi pop (Urdu فلمی موسیقی filmi mosiqi is a term first coined by Pakistani music journalist M Ali Tim in 1990 but made famous by the Pakistani rock or Paki Rock is a form of rock music that is largely produced in Pakistan. Pakistani hip hop is mainly performed in the Urdu language and Punjabi language. The Lux Style Awards is an award ceremony held annually in Pakistan since 2002. MTV (Music Television Pakistan is the Pakistani subsidiary of MTV, a cable television network headquartered in New York. Indus Media Group (IMG is Pakistani company broadcasting a mix of free-to-air news and entertainment channels via satellite The Musik is a 24-hour Urdu - English music channel from Pakistan. MTV (Music Television Pakistan is the Pakistani subsidiary of MTV, a cable television network headquartered in New York. Geo TV or GEO Television is a Pakistani Television network founded by Mir Shakil ur Rehman in May 2002 The Musik is a 24-hour Urdu - English music channel from Pakistan. MTV (Music Television Pakistan is the Pakistani subsidiary of MTV, a cable television network headquartered in New York. Indus Media Group (IMG is Pakistani company broadcasting a mix of free-to-air news and entertainment channels via satellite The Musik is a 24-hour Urdu - English music channel from Pakistan. Geo TV or GEO Television is a Pakistani Television network founded by Mir Shakil ur Rehman in May 2002 A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's The Qaumī Tarāna ( Urdu:) is the National anthem of Pakistan. Balochi (بلوچی also Baluchi, Baloci or Baluci) is a Northwestern Iranian language. Punjabi (pa ਪੰਜਾਬੀ in Gurmukhi script pa-PK {{Nastaliq پنجابی}} in Shahmukhi script Pañjābī in Transliteration) is an Sindhi ( Arabic script: سنڌي Devanagari script: सिन्धी Sindhī) is the language of the Sindh region of South Asia Pashto ( Naskh: پښتو‎ pəʂ'to also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto, Pashtu, Pushtu, also known as Kashmiri (कॉशुर کٲشُر Koshur) is a Dardic language spoken primarily in the valley of Kashmir, a region situated in the Indian state Khowar,(کھوار)also known as Chitrali is a Dardic language spoken by 250000 people in Chitral in Northwest Pakistan, in Yasin Valley Hindko (هندکو /Hindkoŭ/ also Hindku, Hinko, or Lahnda, لَیہندا is an ancient Indo-Aryan language spoken in North Western Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Hindi ( Devanāgarī: hi [[wiktहिन्दी हिन्दी]] or hi [[wiktहिंदी हिंदी]] IAST:, IPA:) is Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. A refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat" and later from Old French refraindre) is the Line or lines that are Each line must share the same meter. The Arabic word "ghazal" is pronounced roughly like the English word "guzzle", but with the first, g-like consonant further back in the throat. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century pre-Islamic Arabic verse. The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language It is derived from the Arabian panegyric qasida. Qasida (also spelled qasidah) in Arabic: قصيدة, plural qasā'id, قــصــائـد; in Persian: قصیده The structural requirements of the ghazal are similar in stringency to those of the Petrarcan sonnet. The sonnet is one of the poetic forms that can be found in Lyric poetry from Europe. In its style and content it is a genre which has proved capable of an extraordinary variety of expression around its central themes of love and separation. It is one of the principal poetic forms the Indo-Perso-Arabic civilization offered to the eastern Islamic world.

The ghazal spread into South Asia in the 12th century under the influence of the new Islamic Sultanate courts and Sufi mystics. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Exotic to the region, as is indicated by the very sounds of the name itself when properly pronounced as ġazal, with its very un-Indian initial voiced velar fricative g. Although the ghazal is most prominently a form of Urdu poetry, today, it is found in the poetry of many languages. Urdu poetry ( Urdu: اردو شاعری, Urdu Shayari) is one of the most dominant and prominent poetries of times and has many different colours & types

Ghazals were written by the Persian mystics and poets Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (13th century) and Hafez (14th century), the Turkish poet Fuzuli (16th century), as well as Mirza Ghalib (1797–1869) and Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), who both wrote Ghazals in Persian and Urdu. Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī, or simply Hāfez ( was a Persian mystic and Poet. Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. For the administrative region of Azerbaijan see Fizuli Rayon; for the city in Azerbaijan see Füzuli. Dabeer-ul-Mulk Najm-ud-daulah Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan ( Urdu / Persian: مرزا اسد اللہ بیگ خان) Pen-name Year 1797 ( MDCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1869 ( MDCCCLXIX) is a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1877 ( MDCCCLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised Through the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), the ghazal became very popular in Germany in the 19th century, and the form was used extensively by Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866) and August von Platen (1796–1835). ˈjoːhan ˈvɔlfgaŋ fɔn ˈgøːtə (in English generally ˈgɝːtə 28 August 1749 22 March 1832 was a German writer Year 1749 ( MDCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Year 1832 ( MDCCCXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Friedrich Rückert ( May 16, 1788 &ndash January 31, 1866) was a German Poet, Translator and professor of Year 1788 ( MDCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1796 ( MDCCXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1835 ( MDCCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common The Kashmiri-American poet Agha Shahid Ali was a proponent of the form, both in English and in other languages; he edited a volume of "real ghazals in English. ( Dogri: जम्मू और कश्मीर Urdu: جموں و کشمیر is the northernmost state of India. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Agha Shahid Ali ( आगा शाहीद अली) ( 4 February 1949, New Delhi - 8 December 2001, Amherst Massachusetts "

In some modernized ghazals the poet's name is featured somewhere in the last verse.

1 Details of the form
2 Themes
- 2.1 Illicit unattainable love
- 2.2 In the context of Sufism
3 Important Poets of Urdu Ghazal
4 Classical Ghazal
5 Ghazal and its popularity
6 Western context: English-language ghazal
- 6.1 Ghazals composed in English by Western poets
7 Ghazal singers
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links

Details of the form

A ghazal is composed of couplets, five or more.
The second line of each couplet (or sher) in a ghazal ends with the repetition of a refrain of one or a few words, known as a radif (although the radif is in fact an optional feature), preceded by a rhyme known as the qaafiyaa. Radif (Arabic رديف is a rule in Urdu poetry which states that in the form of poetry known as a Ghazal Qaafiyaa is a device employed in a form of Urdu poetry known as Ghazal In the first couplet, which introduces the theme, both lines end in the rhyme and refrain so that the ghazal's rhyme scheme is AA BA CA etc
There can be no enjambement across the couplets in a strict ghazal; each couplet must be a complete sentence (or several sentences) in itself. Enjambment (also spelled enjambement) is the breaking of a syntactic unit (a Phrase, Clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two
All the couplets, and each line of each couplet, must share the same meter. In Poetry, the meter or metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse.
Ghazal is simply the name of a form, and is not language-specific. Ghazals also exist, for example in the Pashtu, Kashmiri, and Marathi languages. Pashto ( Naskh: پښتو‎ pəʂ'to also rendered as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto, Pashtu, Pushtu, also known as Kashmiri (कॉशुर کٲشُر Koshur) is a Dardic language spoken primarily in the valley of Kashmir, a region situated in the Indian state Marathi (mr मराठी Marāṭhī) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of what is considered western India.
In South Asian languages some ghazals do not have any radif. Radif (Arabic رديف is a rule in Urdu poetry which states that in the form of poetry known as a Ghazal This is, however, rare. Such ghazals are called "ġair-muraddaf" ghazal. The pre-Islamic Arabian qasida was in monorrhyme; like the rest of the qasida the ghazal itself did not have a radif.
Although every sher may be an independent poem in itself, it is possible for all the shers to be on the same theme or even have continuity of thought. This is called a musalsal ghazal, or "continuous ghazal". The ghazal "chupke chupke raat din aasUU bahaanaa yaad hai" is a famous example of a musalsal ghazal.
In modern Urdu poetry, there are a few ghazals which do not follow the restriction that the same beher must be used in both the lines of a sher. Beher in Urdu poetry is the meter of a Sher (a form of poetry in Urdu essentially a couplet But even in these ghazals, qaafiyaa and, usually, radif are present. Qaafiyaa is a device employed in a form of Urdu poetry known as Ghazal Radif (Arabic رديف is a rule in Urdu poetry which states that in the form of poetry known as a Ghazal
By placing his or her takhallus in the final sher or maqtaa the poet traditionally attempted to secure credit for his or her work. Urdu poetry ( Urdu: اردو شاعری, Urdu Shayari) is one of the most dominant and prominent poetries of times and has many different colours & types Poets often made elegant use of their takhallus in the maqta. The maqta is the last Sher (couplet of a Ghazal, a collection of Urdu poems in which the poet's Takhallus, or pen name However, some modern ghazals do not have a maqtaa. The name of the poet shaayar is sometimes placed unnaturally in the last sher of the Ghazal.

Themes

Illicit unattainable love

The ghazal not only has a specific form, but traditionally deals with just one subject: Love. And not any kind of love, but specifically, an illicit, and unattainable love. The subcontinental ghazals have an influence of Islamic Mysticism and the subject of love can usually be interpreted for a higher being or for a mortal beloved. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف The love is always viewed as something that will complete a human being, and if attained will lift him or her into the ranks of the wise, or will bring satisfaction to the soul of the poet. Traditional ghazal love may or may not have an explicit element of sexual desire in it, and hence the love may be spiritual.

The Persian historian Ehsan Yar-Shater notes that "As a rule, the beloved is not a woman, but a young man. In the early centuries of Islam, the raids into Central Asia produced many young slaves. Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south As a social-economic system slavery is a legal institution under which a Person (called "a slave" is compelled to work for another Slaves were also bought or received as gifts. They were made to serve as pages at court or in the households of the affluent, or as soldiers and body-guards. Young men, slaves or not, also, served wine at banquets and receptions, and the more gifted among them could play music and maintain a cultivated conversation. It was love toward young pages, soldiers, or novices in trades and professions which was the subject of lyrical introductions to panegyrics from the beginning of Persian poetry, and of the ghazal. Pederasty or paederasty refers to an erotic relationship sexually expressed or not between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family " (Yar-Shater, Ehsan. 1986. Persian Poetry in the Timurid and Safavid Periods, Cambridge History of Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 973-974. 1986)

The ghazal is always written from the point of view of the unrequited lover, whose beloved is portrayed as unattainable. Most often either the beloved does not return the poet's love or returns it without sincerity, or else the societal circumstances do not allow it. The lover is aware and resigned to this fate but continues loving nonetheless; the lyrical impetus of the poem derives from this tension. Representations of the lover's powerlessness to resist his feelings often include lyrically exaggerated violence. The beloved's power to captivate the speaker may be represented in extended metaphors about the "arrows of his eyes", or by referring to the beloved as an assassin or a killer. Take for example the following couplets from Amir Khusro's Persian ghazal Nami danam chi manzil buud shab:

Nami-danam chi manzil buud shab jaay ki man buudam;
Baharsu raqs-e bismil buud shab jaay ki man buudam. Ab'ul Hasan Yamīn al-Dīn Khusrow ( Hindi: hi अबुल हसन यमीनुद्दीन ख़ुसरो (1253-1325 CE better known as Amīr Khusrow
Pari paikar nigaar-e sarw qadde laala rukhsare;
Sarapa aafat-e dil buud shab jaay ki man buudam.

I wonder what was the place where I was last night,
All around me were half-slaughtered victims of love, tossing about in agony.
There was a nymph-like beloved with cypress-like form and tulip-like face,
Ruthlessly playing havoc with the hearts of the lovers.

(translated by S.A.H. Abidi)

In the context of Sufism

It is not possible to get a full understanding of ghazal poetry without at least being familiar with some concepts of Sufism. Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفی‌گری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف All the major historical post-Islamic ghazal poets were either avowed Sufis themselves (like Rumi or Hafiz), or were sympathizers with Sufi ideas. Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī, or simply Hāfez ( was a Persian mystic and Poet. Most ghazals can be viewed in a spiritual context, with the Beloved being a metaphor for God, or the poet's spiritual master. It is the intense Divine Love of sufism that serves as a model for all the forms of love found in ghazal poetry.

Most ghazal scholars today recognize that some ghazal couplets are exclusively about Divine Love (ishq-e-haqiqi), others are about "earthly love" (ishq-e-majazi), but many of them can be interpreted in either context.

Important Poets of Urdu Ghazal

In Urdu some important and respected ghazal poets are Wali, Mir Taqi Mir, Mirza Ghalib, Zauq, Dard, Daagh, Iqbal, and Jigar Moradabadi. Wali (Arabic ولي, plural Awliya ' أولياء) is an Arabic word meaning trusted one or friend generally denoting Khuda-e-Sukhan Mir Taqi Mir ( Urdu: میر تقی میر) (b 1723 - d Dabeer-ul-Mulk Najm-ud-daulah Mirza Asadullah Baig Khan ( Urdu / Persian: مرزا اسد اللہ بیگ خان) Pen-name Sheikh Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq was the Pen name of Sheikh Ibrahim (1789-1854 one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of Urdu Poets He was a poor The River Dard is a short (21 km tributary of the River Seille in the department of Jura in France. Nawab Mirza Khan ( Urdu: نواب مرزا خان) (1831 – 1905 commonly known as Daagh Dehelvi ( Urdu: داغ دہلوی) was an Ali Sikandar Jigar Moradabadi (1890–1960 ( Urdu: جگر مراد آبادی) born "Ali Sikandar" was a poet who hailed from Moradabad, Post-partition poets include Firaq Gorakhpuri, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Shakeb Jalali, Parveen Shakir , Qamar Jalalabadi, Ahmed Faraz, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Sahir Ludhianvi, Nida Fazli. Raghupati Sahay 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri (1896-1982 was one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. Majrooh Sultanpuri ( October 1, 1919 - May 24, 2000) was an Urdu poet lyricist and songwriter Faiz Ahmed Faiz ( فيض احمد فيض) (1984 - 1911 was a Pakistani poet considered to be one of the most famous modern Urdu poets Shakeb Jalali ( Urdu: شکیب جلالی) ( October 1, 1934 – November 12, 1966 was a Pakistani Urdu poet of a unique Parveen Shakir, PP ( Urdu: پروین شاکر) ( November 24, 1952 - December 26, 1994) was a Pakistani Qamar Jalalabadi (1919 - 9th January 2003 also known as Qamar Jalabadi, was a writer particularly of Soundtracks of Bollywood movies Ahmed Faraz ( احمد فراز Hindi: अहमद फ़राज़ ( January 14, 1931 - August 25, 2008) was Makhdoom Mohiuddin Makhdoom (1908-1969 Urdu poet and Marxist politician originally Abu Sayeed Mohammad Makhdoom Mohiuddin Huzri was born on Sahir Ludhianvi ( March 8, 1921 – October 25, 1980) was a popular Urdu poet and Hindi lyricist and songwriter Born on October 12 1938, in the city of Delhi, Nida Fazli (Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli did his schooling from

Classical Ghazal

Ghazal "Gayaki", the art of performing the Classical Ghazal in singing, was first introduced by Begum Akhtar and later on, Ustad Mehdi Hassan. Begum Akhtar ( October 7, 1914 – 1974 was a vocalist from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India. Mehdi Hassan, TI, PP, HI ( Urdu: مہدی حسن) affectionately called Khan Sahib ( Urdu: خان صاحب These two artists have brought the sensuality of the ghazal and the complexity of Indian ragas to the masses. Rāga ( Sanskrit, lit "colour" or "mood" or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used The categorization of the sung ghazal as a form of "light classical" music is a misconception. Classical Ghazals are difficult to render because of the varying moods of the "shers" or couplets in the ghazal. Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan have been hailed as the main pioneers of ghazal singing. Other emminent maestros include Pakistani ghazal artists Farida Khanum and Ustad Ghulam Ali. Farida Khanum is a renowned Pakistani Ghazal singer from Punjab. Ghulam Ali ( Urdu: غلام علی, Hindi: ग़ुलाम अली (born 1940 is a famous Pakistani Ghazal singer of the

Ghazal and its popularity

Because of the complexity of the words, only people of the upper class had the education to understand the ghazal. The common masses could not understand most of the lyrics and the traditional classical raagas they were rendered in were also difficult to understand. The ghazal has undergone some transformations which help it to reach a larger audience around the world. The simplification of the ghazal in terms of the words and phrases helps the masses to enjoy it. Most of the ghazals are now sung with various styles which are not limited to 'khayaal', 'thumri', 'raaga', 'taala' and other classical and light classical genres. Thumri ( Devnagari: ठुमरी, Nastaliq: ٹھمری) is a common genre of semi classical Indian music from the Rāga ( Sanskrit, lit "colour" or "mood" or rāgam in Carnatic music) refers to melodic modes used However, these forms of the ghazal are looked down on by purists of the Indian Classical tradition. Singers like Jagjit Singh (he was the first ghazal singer to incorporate the Western guitar in ghazals), Hariharan, Pankaj Udhas and many others have been able to give a new shape to the ghazal by incorporating elements of modern music into it. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Pankaj Udhas is a pre-eminent Ghazal singer from India. He is credited with bringing this unique singing style where Urdu verses of poets are set to music Another young Canadian talent, Cassius Khan has also been hailed as the only classical ghazal singer in the world who can accompany himself on the tabla. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Cassius Khan[http //cassiuskhanimpendocom] (born This article is about the Indian drum For the drum with the same name in Arabic, see Goblet drum. He is also capable of singing in the recitational style of ghazal singing while playing the tabla, which is unique.

Western context: English-language ghazal

After nearly a century of "false starts" -- that is, early experiments by James Clarence Mangan, James Elroy Flecker, Adrienne Rich, Phyllis Webb. James Clarence Mangan, born James Mangan ( 1 May 1803, Dublin - 20 June 1849) was an Irish poet. James Elroy Flecker ( November 5 1884 - January 3 1915) was an English poet novelist and playwright Adrienne Cecile Rich (born May 16 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American poet essayist and Feminist. Phyllis Webb (born 8 April 1927) is a Canadian Poet and radio broadcaster. , etc. , many of which did not adhere wholly or in part to the traditional principles of the form, experiments dubbed as "the bastard ghazal"^[1] -- , the ghazal finally began to be recognized as a viable closed form in English-language poetry sometime in the early to mid 1990s. This came about largely as a result of serious, true-to-form examples being published by noted American poets John Hollander, W. S. Merwin and Elise Paschen, as well as by acclaimed Kashmiri-American poet Agha Shahid Ali (d. John Hollander (born October 28, 1929 in New York City) is an American Poet and literary Critic. William Stanley Merwin (born September 30 1927 in New York City) is an American poet Elise Maria Paschen, a poet of Osage descent is the co-founder and co-editor of Poetry in Motion, a program which places poetry posters in subways and buses across Agha Shahid Ali ( आगा शाहीद अली) ( 4 February 1949, New Delhi - 8 December 2001, Amherst Massachusetts 2001), who had been teaching and spreading word of the ghazal at various American universities over the previous two decades. Ali, it is worth noting, had also published by this time a collection (The Rebel's Silhouette) of translations of the legendary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz (b. Faiz Ahmed Faiz ( فيض احمد فيض) (1984 - 1911 was a Pakistani poet considered to be one of the most famous modern Urdu poets 1911, d. 1984), and although the selected poems were presented in English in a free verse style, their romantic and revolutionary-Marxist sociopolitical impact was not entirely lost upon Western readers.

Recognizing the growing interest, in 1996 Ali decided to compile and edit the world's first anthology of English-language ghazals. Finally published by Wesleyan University Press in 2000, Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English served as material proof that the ghazal had indeed finally arrived in the English-speaking Western world. Wesleyan University Press, founded (in present form in 1959 is a University press that is part of Wesleyan University (Connecticut (Still fewer than one in ten of the ghazals collected in "Real Ghazals in English" observe the constraints of the form. ) Sadly, succumbing to brain cancer in December 2001, Ali did not live long enough to witness the book's full impact and further evolution of the Western ghazal.

Much of the ghazal's English-language evolution in the years subsequent to Ali's death can be seen in or traced to the work of R. W. Watkins and Gene Doty (also known as Gino Peregrini). Watkins, a rather controversial enfant terrible on the fringes of avant-garde Canadian poetry, launched Contemporary Ghazals, the world's first English-language poetry journal dedicated exclusively to the ghazal, in the spring of 2003. Four years before that, Doty introduced The Ghazal Page, a website dedicated to the verse form in English. Both have done much to advance the Western ghazal, publishing many new and seasoned practitioners alike, critical essays and articles, and translations or adaptations of classic Persian and Urdu ghazals.

Other notable English-language poets currently working in the ghazal form include Marcyn Del Clements, R. L. Kennedy, Teresa M. Pfeifer, Taylor Graham, and Denver Butson. Also, vocalist and poet Paula Jeanine explores the ghazal musically in her project, American Ghazal.

A ghazal is composed of couplets, five or more. The couplets may have nothing to do with one another, except for the formal unity derived from a strict rhyme and rhythm pattern.

A ghazal in English which observes the traditional restrictions of the form:

Where are you now? Who lies beneath your spell tonight?

Whom else from rapture’s road will you expel tonight?

Those “Fabrics of Cashmere--“ ”to make Me beautiful--“

“Trinket”-- to gem– “Me to adorn– How– tell”-- tonight?

I beg for haven: Prisons, let open your gates–

A refugee from Belief seeks a cell tonight.

God’s vintage loneliness has turned to vinegar–

All the archangels– their wings frozen– fell tonight.

Lord, cried out the idols, Don’t let us be broken

Only we can convert the infidel tonight.

Mughal ceilings, let your mirrored convexities

multiply me at once under your spell tonight.

He’s freed some fire from ice in pity for Heaven.

He’s left open– for God– the doors of Hell tonight.

In the heart’s veined temple, all statues have been smashed

No priest in saffron’s left to toll its knell tonight

God, limit these punishments, there’s still Judgment Day–

I’m a mere sinner, I’m no infidel tonight.

Executioners near the woman at the window.

Damn you, Elijah, I’ll bless Jezebel tonight.

The hunt is over, and I hear the Call to Prayer

fade into that of the wounded gazelle tonight.

My rivals for your love– you’ve invited them all?

This is mere insult, this is no farewell tonight.

And I, Shahid, only am escaped to tell thee–

God sobs in my arms. Call me Ishmael tonight.

(Agha Shahid Ali)

Ghazals composed in English by Western poets

Agha Shahid Ali, "Ghazal ('. . . exiles')"
Douglas Barbour, Breath Takes (Wolsak and Wynn), 2001.
Denver Butson, "Drowning Ghazals (1, 2 & 3)", "Four Drowning Ghazals"
Robert Bly, The Night Abraham Called to the Stars and My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy
Gabrielle Calvocoressi, "Backdrop"
Marcyn del Clements, "Night"
William Dennis, "Lunar Ruin", "Brim-Full Again",
Gene Doty (also known as Gino Peregrini), "Ghazal Spirit", ". . . silence"
Taylor Graham, "A Ghazal of Gardens", "Almost Every Day Now"
Thomas Hardy, "The Mother Mourns"
Jim Harrison, Outlyer and Ghazals (Touchstone), 1971
John Hollander, "Ghazal On Ghazals"
R. L. Kennedy, "Memphis Jazz"
Maxine Kumin, "On the Table"
Marilyn Krysl, "Ghazals for the Turn of the Century"
W. S. Merwin, "The Causeway"
William Matthews, "Guzzle", "Drizzle"
Elise Paschen, "Sam's Ghazal"
Teresa M. Pfeifer, "In Open Meadow"
Robert Pinsky, "The Hall"
Spencer Reece, "Florida Ghazals"
Adrienne Rich, "Ghazals: Homage to Ghalib"
John Thompson, Stilt Jack (Anansi), 1978.
R. W. Watkins, "That Nice, Clean, Filthy Lucre", "Ghazal For Shahid"
Phyllis Webb, Water and Light: Ghazals and Anti Ghazals (Coach House), 1984.
Bill West, "Daybreak"
Bruce Williams, "End Without World"
John Edgar Wideman, "Lost Letter"
Suzanne Gardinier, "Today: 101 Ghazals" (2008)

Ghazal singers

Some well-known ghazal singers are:

Alhaj Muhammad Owais Raza Qadri
Abida Parveen
Ahmad Wali
Anup Jalota
Anuradha Paudwal
Asha Bhosle
Ataullah Khan
Begum Akhtar
Bhupinder Singh & Mitali Singh
Chitra Singh
Cassius Khan
Farida Khanum
Ghulam Abbas Khan
Ghulam Ali
Habib Wali Mohammad
Hariharan
Iqbal Bano
Jagjit Singh & Chitra Singh
Jasvinder Singh
Lata Mangeshkar
Malika Pukhraj
Manhar Udhas
Master Madan
Mehdi Hassan
Mohammad Rafi
Mohammad Hussain Sarahang
Mohammad Reza Shajarian
Munni Begum
Najma Akhtar
Nayyara Noor
Noorjehan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Pankaj Udhas
Penaz Masani
Reshma
Runa Laila
Sabri Brothers
Salma Agha
Tahira Syed
Talat Aziz
Talat Mahmood
Yateesh M. Muhammad Owais Raza Qadri is one of the most famous naat khawan and is famous for his na'atiya poetry in the praise of Muhammad. Begum Abida Parveen ( Sindhi: عابده پروين ( Urdu: عابدہ پروین) Pride of Performance, Sitara-e-Imtiaz Ahmad Wali ( Persian: احمد ولی) is a popular Tajik singer of Aghanistan Anup Jalota is a Indian singer/musician best known for his performances in the Indian musical form the Bhajan and the Ghazal. Anuradha Paudwal is a popular Playback singer in Bollywood in India Asha Bhosle (आशा भोंसले (born September 8, 1933) آشا بھونسلے is an Indian singer Ataullah Khan Essa Khailwi ( Urdu: عطاء اللہ عیسی خیلوی) is a well known folk singer and poet of Pakistan. Begum Akhtar ( October 7, 1914 – 1974 was a vocalist from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India. Cassius Khan[http //cassiuskhanimpendocom] (born Farida Khanum is a renowned Pakistani Ghazal singer from Punjab. One of the prominent young vocalists of India Ghulam Abbas Khan belongs to the Rampur-Sahaswan Gharana which owes its allegiance to Tansen 's tradition Ghulam Ali ( Urdu: غلام علی, Hindi: ग़ुलाम अली (born 1940 is a famous Pakistani Ghazal singer of the Habib Wali Mohammad ( Urdu: حبیب ولی محمد) is a very senior and highly regarded Pakistani Hariharan ( Tamil;ஹரிஹரன் born 3 April, 1955 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) is an Indian Playback Iqbal Bano, TI (b 1935 in Delhi, India) is a female Ghazal Singer from Pakistan and a singer of both classical and Jasvinder Singh is an Indian singer His father Kuldip Singh was also a singer Lata Mangeshkar (लता मंगेशकर born September 28, 1929) لتا منگیشکر is a singer from India. Malika Pukhraj (ملكہ پکھراج) (b1912 - 2004 was a highly popular singer of Pakistan. Manhar Udhas is Hindi and Gujarati Language Singer. He has given voice for many Hindi Movies as Playback singer. Master Madan was a talented Ghazal singer of India of pre-independence era Mehdi Hassan, TI, PP, HI ( Urdu: مہدی حسن) affectionately called Khan Sahib ( Urdu: خان صاحب Mohammed Rafi (Hindi मोहम्मद रफ़ी Urdu محمد رفیع December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980) was a popular Indian Ustād Mohammad Hussain Sarāhang (1924&ndash 1983) is a renowned Tajik musician of Afghanistan and famous in all over India, Pakistan Mohammad Reza Shajarian ( محمد رضا شجريان) (born September 23, 1940 in Mashhad, Iran) is an internationally Munni Begum ( Urdu:منی بیگم Munni Begum is a Famous Ghazal Singer from Pakistan and now based in Chicago, IL, USA. Najma Akhtar (born 18 September 1962, Chelmsford, Essex) also known as Najma, is an English pop singer of South Asian Nayyara Noor (1950 -) is a Pakistani singer considered one of the subcontinent's foremost exponents in the Ghazal genre Begam Nur Jahan ( Persian / Urdu: نور جهان) (alternative spelling Noor Jahan, Nur Jehan, Nor Jahan, etc Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( نصرت فتح على خاں, born October 13 1948, died August 16, 1997) was a Pakistani Pankaj Udhas is a pre-eminent Ghazal singer from India. He is credited with bringing this unique singing style where Urdu verses of poets are set to music Penaz Masani an Indian Ghazal singer who started singing in 1981 and has made over 20 albums in following years In her career she has won a number of awards For the former Soviet air base see Reshma (air base Reshma, SI, is a renowned Folk singer of Pakistan Runa Laila (রুনা লায়লা is a popular singer of Bangladeshi origin The Sabri Brothers ( Urdu: صابری برادران) are a Qawwali party from Pakistan. Salma Agha, is a popular singer from Pakistan who sang as well as acted in Indian films in the 1980s and the early 1990s Tahira Syed ( Urdu: طاہرہ سيد is a popular Ghazal singer of Pakistan. Talat Abdul Azeez Khan or Talat Aziz is a popular Ghazal Singer from Hyderabad, India. Talat Mahmood ( February 24, 1924 – May 9, 1998) was a popular Indian playback singer and film actor Acharya

Many Indian and Pakistani film singers are also famous for singing ghazals. These include:

Notes

^ http://www.poetics.ca/poetics01/01weaverprint.html

References

Agha Shahid Ali (ed. Noor Jehan ( was the adopted stage name for Allah Wasai (born September 21, 1926 – December 23, 2000) who was a Pakistani Lata Mangeshkar (लता मंगेशकर born September 28, 1929) لتا منگیشکر is a singer from India. Asha Bhosle (आशा भोंसले (born September 8, 1933) آشا بھونسلے is an Indian singer Kundan Lal ( KL) Saigal ( April 11, 1904 &ndash January 18, 1947) was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the Hariharan ( Tamil;ஹரிஹரன் born 3 April, 1955 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala) is an Indian Playback Ghulam Abbas ( Urdu: غلام عباس) was a Short story writer ). Ravishing Disunities: Real Ghazals in English. ISBN 0-8195-6437-0.
Agha Shahid Ali. Call Me Ishmael Tonight: A Book of Ghazals. ISBN 0-393-05195-1.
Bailey, J. O. The Poetry of Thomas Hardy: A handbook and Commentary. ISBN 0-8078-1135-1
Doty, Gene (ed. /sitemaster). The Ghazal Page; various postings, 1999--2006.
Faiz, Faiz Ahmed. The Rebel's Silhouette: Selected Poems. Translated by Agha Shahid Ali. University of Massachusetts Press, 1995.
Kanda, K. C. , editor. Masterpieces of the Urdu Ghazal: From the 17th to the 20th Century. Sterling Pub Private Ltd. , 1991.
Mufti, Aamir. "Towards a Lyric History of India. " boundary 2, 31: 2, 2004
Reichhold, Jane (ed. ). Lynx; various issues, 1996--2000.
Watkins, R. W. (ed. ). Contemporary Ghazals; Nos. 1 and 2, 2003--2004.

External links

Collection of Marathi Ghazal Lyrics
A Desertful of Roses The Divan-e Ghalib - in Urdu, with Devanagari and Roman transliterations. Also includes a collection of concise commentaries on each verse by well-known scholars, as well as other critical information.
Big collection of Classic Urdu Ghazals
The Ghazal Page, an online journal devoted to the Ghazal in English.

Dictionary

-noun

A poetic form mostly used for love poetry in Turkish, Urdu, Arabic, and Persian.

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