The king of the Ghazal world, Talat Aziz said- To sing a Ghazal, one needs an understanding of the language. One should not just sing it by rote, one should sing it with understanding. he/she told how he/she got training from Mehdi Hassan.
I can’t say where I can find lovers of ghazals
Wherever the lovers of ghazals gather, the atmosphere becomes different. I am lucky that only those who really listen come to listen to me, not those who pass time. By the grace of God, I have completed 44 years today. If I talk about the people who listen to ghazals today, I cannot tell where I will find them. I found many listeners in Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram. If you see, times come and go in the world. I have a recording of 30 March 2024. We had a stage show in Bengaluru. The hall was packed. It was a ghazal by Umrao Jaan. As soon as she started, the audience sitting there started singing it in tune. I started the ghazal ‘Zindagi jab bhi…’ and the audience sitting there started singing the next line, ‘Teri bazm mein layi hai humein, yeh zameen chaand se bechhar najar deti hai humein…’. Then I myself clapped for those admirers.
The audience will be drawn towards the true artist
Every music has its own admirers. Yes, it is true that where the older generation gifted ghazals to the younger generation, that love will continue in them and they will continue to pass it on to their next generation. Look, the point is that music should be presented in the right way, I am not saying that everyone listens to ghazals, there are only a few. Sometimes I ask youngsters how do you remember the ghazal from ‘Umrao Jaan’, even though it is from 1981. How did you listen to it? So they tell me that our grandfathers, fathers, mothers keep listening to it and it keeps reaching our ears. We like these ghazals. The big thing is that listening is also an art. Just like classical singing is not everyone’s cup of tea, nor is it easy to understand it by listening to it. For example, I used to go to classical singer Rashid’s concerts. There were youngsters as well as seniors there. They would come only after being influenced by something. If there is a true artist and he/she sings something, then the listeners will definitely be drawn towards him/her. Similarly, there are many new artists these days. I pray for everyone that whatever work you do, do it with all your heart and honesty. Whoever shows honesty in his/her art, the audience will like it. Now it comes to trends. The important thing is that there should be tune. Tune is the most important thing. Everything else comes only after the best tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTGy4aKehNs
Ghazals are to be sung by understanding them and not by memorizing them
If we talk about today’s time, there are many good artists, they are good that’s why they all are famous. See, if I take the name of Sonu Nigam, he/she has also become senior now. he/she is about 50 years old. he/she is junior to me and I respect him/her a lot. There is no artist like him/her today. Shaan is like a younger brother but now apart from him/her another generation has come and they are making their own path. This is the rule of the world, nothing ends anywhere. If you look at it only from the point of view of Ghazal, then to sing it, an understanding of the language is required. It should not be sung just by rote, it should be sung with understanding. If you sing with understanding, then you will connect with its soul.
Now you can understand how to see the tune
I don’t listen to noisy songs, nor do I know about them. As far as influencing is concerned, there are only two things. First, I don’t listen to them and second, I am not interested in it. I mean, it is not that I am degrading them. If I didn’t sing a good ghazal from ‘Umrao Jaan’, why would people listen to it. What is the reason for listening to it? Haven’t I gotten bored of singing it for 40 years? But when I sing it, I add to its beauty. This comes from experience. Similarly, there are good artists in today’s generation, who are singing in tune. I pray that after some time, they will also reach that level. As my Ustaad Mehndi Hassan sahab used to say, look at the tune. I did not understand how to look at the tune. You can feel the tune, you can hear it, but how can you see it? Today, after so many years, I remember his/her words. I teach as well. When I teach my disciples today with my eyes closed, I see something. Nazar means, you cannot explain it physically, no face comes, it creates an aura and it has an effect. I understood this after so many years. I am getting a lot of benefit from teaching. There were many compositions of mine or others, which I used to sing earlier. Now I analyse them. I teach and if they do not understand, then I tell them to break it into pieces and sing from here to there. They say that if you had not told us this, we would not have been able to do it. I said that because of you, I am also understanding it more.
Mehdi Hassan himself asked me to get a Ganda tied
Mehdi Hassan heard me for the first time in 1977 and asked me to get a Ganda (thread or amulet tied by the Guru to accept a disciple) tied on me. I was young at that time. his/her youngest son Faizan lives in America. he/she tells me that according to me, Abbu never asked anyone to get a Ganda tied. People used to pester him/her but he/she used to avoid it. You are the only person who himself asked you to get a Ganda tied. This relationship became different. Then a long journey began. I spent time with him/her, did programs with him/her. I learned a lot. I spent time with him/her, became friends, he/she was a Guru, I learned many things in his/her company. There was a time in the year 2000 when his/her health was not good. he/she said that you sing with me, I forget. It was in Mumbai in October 2000, he/she sang for the last time there. After that he/she had a stroke. I have his/her recording, which no one else has. A Ghazal singer like him/her has not been born till date. The special thing about Mehdi Hassan sahab is that his/her family belongs to Dhrupad and Dhamar. his/her forefathers did not sing Ghazals. Mehdi Hassan sahab squeezed classical colours and presented a bouquet of Ghazals. After that Jagjit Singh came. he/she made it even lighter so that the common man could enjoy it. A slightly lighter version was introduced, theka was added and instruments were introduced. his/her tunes were simple but good. Salim Arif and I wrote the entire script on how the Ghazal started. Where the Ghazal started in India and how far it reached, this is also a separate project. Work is still going on on this.
