Ghulam Ali...the ghazal king! - Page 2

Originally posted by: vasamv

Ulfat Ki Manzil Ko

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/ghazals/s/album.2957/a rtist.1560/
Last one in this album

Thank you ever so much for the link!!!!😛 This gazal is unbelievable! I just love Iqbaal Bano. Tks again.😊

Originally posted by: vasamv

Ulfat Ki Manzil Ko

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/ghazals/s/album.2957/a rtist.1560/
Last one in this album

Lokvani Talks To Ghulam Ali
Nirmala Garimella

Somethings in life are timeless. So are Ghulam Ali?s Ghazals which at any given point, fit any mood, occasion and place. He seems ageless too and at 62, looks extremely fit and amazingly young. And when he begins to sing or recite the first few lines of poetry he brings every music lover present to a standstill. He definitely has this mesmerizing effect on his audience and it was a pleasure to speak to a person of his nature ? modest, humble and soft spoken with a infinite patience at the fans that adoringly gathered round him asking him questions, requesting his autograph and giving him a list of the Ghazals they would like him to sing after the first half of the show at a grand musical Ghazal evening organized by R.K.Vision.

While on stage he develops an instant rapport with his accompanists and his audience. ?I have come to Boston often. This is probably my sixth visit, It is a great crowd, appreciative and applauding?. He had just flown down from New York and was leaving for San Francisco the next day. I do have a busy schedule. So my practice time gets reduced. Otherwise my Riyaaz at times goes on for 6 hours straight. Now with age,? he says ruefully, ?it has definitely reduced. A versatile singer he has sung many ghazals, nazm, thumris over the years. ?I do sing in Punjabi but Urdu is my repertoire,? he says.

He believes that the new crop of singers have to really work hard and persevere to reach that level of achievement which is so essential for a ghazal singer. ?There is a lot of talent out there and time alone will tell on their accomplishments. On his latest album Visaal he comments ?It was a wonderful combination with Gulzaar. Mashallah! I also like to sing the creations of Shaayars like Mirza Ghalib, Ahmed Faraz, Farhat Shahzad, Amir Khusrao etc?. His mastery over the form is so perfect that compositions like Chupke Chupke, Hungama kyon hai barpa", "Dil mein ek lahar si uthi hai abhi", "Mehfil mein baar baar usi par nazar gayeen", "Kal Chaudavin ki raat thi", to name only a few are classic in their popularity. He has also produced an album Miraz-E-Ghazal with singer Asha Bhonsle. He fuses the classical with popular numbers effortlessly and his play of some of the words in his songs in different modulations is remarkable. Ghulam Ali attributes all these to the grace of God and the goodwill of his fans.

Ghulam Ali resides in Lahore and has sung over the years in various countries in many live concerts. At a very early age of seven he started his training with the great masters Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and also from Ustad Barkat Ali Khan. His father was a vocalist as well as a sarangi player. Along with Mehdi Hassan, he has played a pioneering role in reviving the Ghazal. In one of the many tributes, this one stands out the most. "He can deservedly be called one of the most influential ambassadors from across the border, who, when he sang Faasle aise bhi honge, yeh kabhi socha na tha brought ghazal from both the countries closer to one another."

GHULAM ALI

"Visaal, means coming together. We chose this name because it signifies not only the coming together of two personalities, but is the union of two minds, two souls, two cultures and more importantly of two great nations." - Ghulam Ali

In these strained times how do you think an artiste like you can help better relationships between India and Pakistan?

Just like you there are many pop groups from Pakistan who have tremendous fan following on both sides of the border. Tell us something about the role that they are playing and also about there singing?

Do you feel ghazal is more superior to other forms of singing?

His Inimitable Style

Ghulam Ali has a heavy, baritone voice, and while rendering ghazals he creates an effect which is simply out of this world. He has a very subtle vibrations in his voice which he uses very beautifully, to convey a whole range of emotions through it. He could make it sound hopelessly romantic, he can make it sound melancholy, he can make it sound anything that he wants almost effortlessly owing to his relentless riyaaz (practice).

Ghulam Ali is equally sensitive about the rhythm and technical virtuosity of the ghazals. He recites each word very clearly, making sure that the meaning of the ghazal is conveyed effectively. He could recite same sher (couplet) five times making it sound different each time and conveying a new meaning each time with his amazing flair. It's sheer bliss to listen to his ghazal which has only a few shers but goes on for about 15-20 minutes enjoying his voice modulations. Recall his rendering of "Tez hawaaaaaaa ne muzse puchha, ret pe kya likhate rahete ho..." from "Itni muddat baad mile ho" ghazal, you'll know what I mean. IMHO, the only other person who can make 15 plus minute long ghazal sound equally beautiful is Mehdi Hassan.

It's his classical style of singing combined with soul & emotion of the ghazal without compromising clarity of reciting the words makes Ghulam Ali so unique. Many music critics and experts unanimously agree that Ghulam Ali's compositions are very tough, and it's next to impossible to imitate them.

For his live concerts, usually the accompanying musical instruments are harmonium and tabla. He himself plays these instruments quite well. The musical instruments such as sarod, sitar, santoor often complement him, but it is his voice which rules, and not the instruments.


Popularity, Inspirations ...

Despite of his classical based ghazals, he is very popular among critics as well as music lovers giving him rare adulation in various countries besides his own. Due to this very reason many music labels such as HMV Saregama, Music India, Polydor, Venus, Tips, T-Series, Navras Sony across the globe have produced numerous compilations of his ghazals. That is the reason why I have not mentioned any particular album for most of his ghazals in the site database, instead it mentions "Various" in the album column.

Again, owing to his immense popularity, some of his ghazals have been used in the Indian hindi movies. His popular ghazal "Chupke chupke raat din.." has been used in the movie Nikaah featuring Raj Babbar and Salma Aghaa. Moreover, many of the hindi film songs have been "inspired" from some of his ghazals. "Thodi si jo pi li hain, chori to nahi ki hain" from Namak Halal (Ghazal - Hungama hain kyon barpa) as you would recognize, is one them.

It is indeed surprising why there's not much information available about him and his songs on the internet. As far as I know, he doesn't have a fan site yet like jagjitsingh.com, the search on google for his name usually gives links of sites like teenstation.com or musicindiaonline.com which features some of his songs in ra and mp3 format. Anyway, I hope this micro-site grows into a decent information site about Ghulam Ali.