Evolution of “Ghazal”
— The Most popular
form of Poetry in 21st
Century
Karsh
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Jun 4, 2018 · 6 min read
pic: rekhta.org
From emotional speeches by our leaders to
Whatsapp status of our friends, we can find ghazals
everywhere around us which was not so usual some
years back. We love reading ghazals, they inspire us
when we feel low and also console us when we go
through a heartbreak, like a friend. For writers, it’s
a divine connection with love be it that person
whom they loved the most to the eternal supreme
power. It raises them to a level where they seem to
relax and don’t want to return from the created
heaven of words and emotional ecstasy. “Ghazal
Gayaki” is now very popular form of musical
performance and are enjoyed by people of all ages.
But ever wondered how and why this form of poetry
became so much popular? Who were its
kalambearers ? And What forms did it assumed
later on as evolved? Fikar Not! I assure you will get
all the answers in following few minutes of your
clock.
The Timeline
The ghazal originated in Arabia in the 7th
century.
It was spread into South Asia in the 12th
century by the influence of Sufi mystics and the
courts of the new Islamic sultanates.
Ameer Khusrow (1253–1325)of the 13th
century is considered as the first Urdu poet who
made it popular.
Through the influence of Goethe (1749–1832), it
became very popular in Germany during the 19th
century.
It was famous all around the Indian subcontinent in
the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1996, Agha Shahid Ali (4 February 1949–8
December 2001) compiled and edited the world’s
first anthology of English-language Ghazals,
published by Wesleyan University Press in 2000,
as Ravishing DisUnities: Real Ghazals in English.
(Fewer than one in ten of the ghazals collected
in Real Ghazals in English observe the constraints
of the form.)
Devi Panthi of Nepal started composing ghazals
claiming himself the pioneer of English ghazals
since 2006.
Etymology
Ghazal spurred its roots from the Persian “qasida”,
which is also a verse form that came to Iran from
Arabia. Basically, “Qasida” was a panegyric penned
down in praise of the emperor, great warriors or
other national heroes. The distinctive part of the
“qasida” called as “tashbib” got detached and
developed in due course of time into a newer form
now known to us as Ghazal.
While the “qasida” more often than expanded to as
many as 100 couplets or more in mono rhyme, the
ghazal seldom exceeded twelve couplets, and settled
down to an average of seven to eight. Because of its
subtleness, comparative brevity and concentration,
thematic diversity and wider scope, the Ghazal soon
eclipsed the “qasida” and set feet as the most
popular poetic form in Iran.
Forms of Ghazal
It is usually based on following themes:
Unconditional, superior love
Can usually be interpreted as a higher being or for a
mortal beloved. 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.
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 has
not returned 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.
Sufism
pic: A Sufi Instance while a performance
Many of the major historical ghazal poets were
either avowed Sufis themselves
(like Rumi or Hafiz), or were sympathizers with
Sufi ideas. 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. Ghazal is now the
most popular form of Urdu Poetry. Other forms of
Urdu poetry includes:
Doha ()دوہا, Fard ()فرد, Geet ()گیت, Hamd ()حمد, Haz
al ()ہزل, Hijv ()ہجو, Kafi ()کافی, Madah ()مدح, Manqa
bat ()منقبت, Marsia ()مرثیہ, Masnavi ()مثنوی, Munajat
()مناجات, Musaddas ()مسدس, Mukhammas ()مخمس, Na
`at ()نعت, Nazm ()نظم, Noha ()نوحہ, Qasida ()قصیدہ, Q
at’ã ()قطعہ, Qawwali ()قوالی, Rubai (( )رباعیa.k.a.
Rubayyat or Rubaiyat) ()رباعیات, Salam (
)سالم, Sehra ()سہرا, Shehr a’ashob ()شہر آشوب, Soz (
)سوزand Wasokht ()وسوخت
The Ghalib Effect
pic: An instance from Mirza Ghalib (TV movie 1988). Naseeruddin Shah as
Mirza Ghalib
Prior to Ghalib’s unique intervention, Urdu
Ghazal’s scope was a bit limited mainly concerned
with love and hatred but Ghalib added an array of
new dimensions of daily lives, though love still
being the most important phenomenon. Other
prominent ghazal writers who made it popular
form today include:
Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Ada Jafri,
Firaq Gorakhpuri, Sahil Ludhianvi, Bashir Badr,
Nida Fazli, Rahat Indori, Majrooh Sultanpuri,
Parveen Shakir, Ahmad Faraz, Wasim Barelvi,
Jaun Elia, Mir Taqi Mir, Aqbar Allahabadi,
Muhammad Iqbal, Kaifi Azmi, Ibn-e-Insha,
Rumi, Qateel Shifai, Dushyant Kumar, Syed
Waheed Ashraf, Mohammad Ibrahim Zauq, Wali
Mohammed Wali, Momin Khan Momin
Ghazal Gayaki
Ghazal “Gayaki”, the art of singing or performing
the ghazal in the Indian classical tradition, is very
old. Singers like Ustad Barkat Ali and many other
singers in the past used to practice it, but the lack of
historical records make many names anonymous. It
was with Begum Akhtar and later on Ustad Mehdi
Hassan that classical rendering of Ghazals became
popular in the masses. The categorization of ghazal
singing as a form of “light classical” music is a
misconception.
pic: An instance from a performance by famous ghazal singer Jagjit Singh
Classical ghazals are difficult to render because of
the varying moods of the “shers” or couplets in the
ghazal. Amanat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar, Talat
Mahmood, Mehdi Hassan, Abida Parveen, Jagjit
Singh, Farida Khanum and Ustad Ghulam Ali,
Moinuddin Ahamed, are popular classical ghazal
singers.
Exclusive Ghazal Events and Open Mics
There is a massive rise in events on poetry. With
“Open Mic” being in trend, which is by google
dictionary as “ a session in a club where anyone is
welcome to sing or perform stand-up comedy”.
Seems strange!! how a form of comedy is now being
widely adopted by literature community. Ghazals,
no doubt form the major part of these poetry
events. Major events include:
a) Jashn-e-Rekhta by www.rekhta.org
b) Jaipur Literature Festival by
www.teamworkarts.com
c) Arz Kia Hai by www.arzkiahai.com
d) Yourquote open mics by www.yourquote.in
e) Nojoto open mics by www.nojoto.com
