Evolution of “Ghazal” — The Most popular form of Poetry in 21st Century
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
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), Hazal (ہزل), Hijv (ہجو), Kafi (کافی), Madah (مدح), Manqabat (منقبت), Marsia (مرثیہ), Masnavi (مثنوی), Munajat (مناجات), Musaddas (مسدس), Mukhammas (مخمس), Na`at (نعت), Nazm (نظم), Noha (نوحہ), Qasida (قصیدہ), Qat’ã (قطعہ), Qawwali (قوالی), Rubai (رباعی) (a.k.a. Rubayyat or Rubaiyat) (رباعیات), Salam (سلام), Sehra (سہرا), Shehr a’ashob (شہر آشوب), Soz (سوز) and Wasokht (وسوخت)
The Ghalib Effect
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.
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
