Serenaded by ghazal on a balmy winter evening

Melody unlimited

An unforgettable evening providing a rare opportunity to understand the nuances of ghazal titled Ghazal Ka Safar enthralled and left listeners with a greater appreciation and insight into the beautiful but difficult musical genre.

This evening of exquisite ghazals highlighted two major aspects of a classic ghazal - Poetic Structure and Melodic Composition. An understanding of the poetic framework and exacting structural requirements of a ghazal were provided by Lakshmi Shankar Bajpai, a world acclaimed poet of gigantic stature, till recently DDG, AIR, who, informed and delighted the audience with his erudite command over the medium.

The audience learnt of the poetic terms and structural rules required for a poem to be called a ghazal, and the difference between ghazal and other forms of poetry, like geet or nazm.

The ghazal composer is faced with turning the written word into an aural landscape where the melody and voice are the paint strokes vividly bringing out the emotional colours of the poem.

The evening was enlivened by singer Shakeel Ahmed’s impeccable gayaki, understanding of poetry, flawless pronunciation transporting all to a magical world.

Ahmed talked about the importance of matching a poem with a mood-appropriate raag without losing the essence of the literary quotient. He touched upon the intricacies of how a poem is blended into a raga’s structure, to bring out its best, merging effortlessly yet retaining meaning, creating a mesmerising effect.

The lyrics of the poetry come alive in the silken voice and melody of the really accomplished and knowledgeable ghazal singer’s art. This was clearly visible as Shakeel Ahmed weaved his vocal skills and artistry with great poetry to unfold an enchanting musical evening.

While Lakshmi Shanker Bajpai presented selected sher-o-shayari along with information on ghazal and its nuances, Ustad Shakeel Ahmed Khan presented; Zihale miskin makun taghaful (Hazrat Amir Khusro), Na tha kuchh toh khuda tha (Ghalib), Kaun duniya mein ba-wafa nikla (Daag Dehlvi) and shaam-e-Firaaq ab na poochh (Faiz Ahmed Faiz). During his performance as a tribute to Ghazal Legend Jagjit Singh, he also presented Sarakti jaaye hai rukh se naqaab ahista ahista.

According to Dr Mridula Satish Tandon, president Sakshi NGO, and co-organiser, “The public is largely unaware of what exactly ghazal is. The term is loosely used for any poetic composition of love and longing, sung melodiously. The evening is an attempt to increase understanding of this greatly loved and highly popular expression of poetry,”
she said.

The audience revisited the poetry of greats like Ghalib, Mir, Daag Dehlvi, Momin Khan Momin and others. The event was organised by NGO Sakshi and State Institute of Educational Technology (SIET) in association with India Habitat Centre.