The World of Ghazal Singers
The Ghazal King HARIHARAN
Born on April 3rd, 1955, Hariharan grew up in Bombay and has bachelors degrees in science and law. The son of renowned Carnatic vocalists, Shrimati Alamelu and the late H A S Mani, Hariharan naturally inherited his parents’ musical talents. Alamelu was Hariharan’s first guruji. From her he picked up Carnatic music skills. Hariharan’s parents were musically open-minded and the young Hariharan was encouraged to listen to Hindustani music. Later, in his teens, inspired by the songs of Mehdi Hassan and Jagjit Singh, Hariharan developed a passion for ghazals and started training in Hindustani music from Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. He used to put in nine hours of singing practice everyday. The committed Hariharan also put heart and soul into learning Urdu when he decided to become a ghazal singer. He has perfected his Urdu diction to such standards that even his audiences in Lucknow, the heartland of the language, have been wowed over.
“Waqt Par Bolna” watch on youtube click here
Download all songs from ghazal “Waqt Par Bolna” click here
“Mayilpeeli njan Tharam” the hit malayalam ghazal from Malhar by Hariharan click here to download
“Parayan Maranna” the hit malayalam ghazal by Hariharan from the film Garshom click here to download
The magic voice of JAGJITH SINGH
Jagjit Singh (or Jagjeet Singh) was born in Ganganagar, then in Rajputana in British India. His father Sardar Amar Singh Dhiman, employed by the Government of India, was a native of the village of Dalla in what is now Ropar district in Punjab and his mother Bachchan Kaur came from a deeply religious Sikh family from Ottallan village near Samrala. His siblings include four sisters and two brothers and he is known as Jeet by his family. Although his late father wanted him to join the Indian Administrative Service, he was later reported to be happy with his son’s achievements in the world of music. Singh went to Khalsa High School in Ganganagar. He then studied science after matriculation at Government College,Ganganagar and went onto DAV College, Jalandhar in to graduate in arts. He also achieved a post-graduate degree in history from Kurukshetra University, Haryana.
His voice, a true gift of God, has the pain that an “Ashiq” feels after loosing his beloved, the love that a mother seeks for her child, the tranquility that a “Saaqi” delivers, the willing fear that a boy has when she walks in the room. There is absolutely no doubt that Jagjit Singh with his unique composing and singing style is the torchbearer of the survival of Ghazals in India.Jagjit Singh is accredited with bringing the ghazal genre, which was previously restricted to the elite classes, to the masses. His music direction can be seen to be pioneering in changing the sound layout by adding more Western instruments while mostly retaining the traditional orchestra (which includes a tablaa, and harmonium, and a couple of string instruments]. Jagjit Singh is also nicknamed Gazaljit Singh.The world of music would not be complete without Ghazals. The world of Ghazals would not be complete without Jagjit Singh. Jagjit Singh’s contribution to the world of music is unique. He is indisputably one of the most talented Ghazal Singers of India.
Download Ghazals by Jagjith click here
Hit Ghazals by Jagjith Singh
“Tum Hamaare Nahin To Kaya Gham Hai” cilck here
“Aisi Aankhen nahi dekhi” click here
The ghazal maestro MEHDI HASAN
Mehdi Hassan was born in 1927 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. The life story of Mehdi Hassan is a journey of trials and tribulations. After partition the family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.
To make ends meet Mehdi started working in a bicycle shop and later became car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the hardships, his passion for music didn’t wither and he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis. His struggle ended when he was given the opportunity to sing on radio in 1952, primarily as a thumri singer, this got him recognition within the musical fraternity. At that time, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal gayaki, Mehdi Hassan also had a passion for Urdu poetry and started to experiment by singing ghazals on a part time basis. He cites radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. They gave him ample opportunities to display his mastery over the ghazal on radio. He sang ghazals of all the renowned Urdu poets and soon his innovative style was soon appreciated by both the masses and discerning audiences.
The most important aspect of the ghazal is its theme, themes of most ghazals revolve around unrequited love. They can also be about mysticism, rebellion, yearning and pathos. It is vital that the ghazal singer has a clear perception of what message the poet is trying to convey. The musician faces a further challenge in trying to emphasize the correct emotion of the ghazal through music. Traditionally, ghazals were sung in a thumri like manner and were also composed in raags which were best suited for thumri such as bhairvin, khamaj, tilak kamod, desh and piloo. This somewhat constrained the ghazal composition within a small framework and there wasn’t much room to experiment. However Mehdi Hassan pioneered ghazal gayaki by capturing the mood of the ghazal through his compositions. He is a master composer and uses raags which best suit the ghazal’s appeal regardless of whether the raag is khayal or thumri orientated. Most of his compositions are based around the correct structure of a raag and keep the vaadi and samvaadi of the raag into strict consideration.
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