REVIEWS

The eloquent lyrics penned by Faraz Hamid are a compelling mixture of elegance and sensitivity. He has, with this album, definitely created a niche for himself in the world of modern Urdu poetry.

Ghazals India, a much-needed newly formed recording label, has recently released its first set of albums - Dasht o Sehra and Aah O Fughan, It was founded by the young poet Saiyid Faraz Hamid to revive and re-popularise the Ghazal – an expressive poetic form which is gradually fading into the mist of time. Ghazal India also aims to introduce new and fresh talent – in poetry and singing – “artistes who are confined to one part of the country, though fully deserving to be heard and appreciated on a national level.

The ghazals in the CDs, drawn from Faraz Hamid’s poetry collection, are rendered in the voices of Devi Murthy, Shanti Hiranand, Charanjit Soni, and Zameer Ahmed – the latter three with a track each.

The strength of the CDs lies in the poetry – and the engaging voices of Shanti Hiranand - a legacy unto herself with her technical poise, Charanjit Soni – with her powerful, passionate and unbridled vocals (she is a disciple of Shanti Hiranand), and the mellifluous Zameer Ahmed.

Ghazal-gayaki, the art of rendering ghazals to music – is indeed an art. Very few singers can understand, capture and render the mood of such sensitive, and evocative poetry. Dasht o Sehra introduces the talented, Hyderabad-born Devi Murthy in this solo-artiste album. Urdu is not Devi’s mother-tongue – but her rendition is perfect – and the voice melodious and youthful.

The music draws on sophisticated use of elements such as flute and santoor.

The eloquent lyrics penned by Faraz Hamid are a compelling mixture of elegance and sensitivity. He has, with this album, definitely created a niche for himself in the world of modern Urdu poetry.

If the evening and the two Albums are a taste of what is in store, then Ghazals India is all set to achieve its listed ambition of rejuvenating the ghazal and restoring it to its pure, pristine form.

“Each couplet is a drop that contains an Ocean; each pearl of the necklace is independent of the other beads, both in exposition and meaning. The synthesis comes from the rhythm, the rhyme and the meter, or beher, radeef and qafiyah which fall with unfailing frequency, creating a melodious recurrence, quite like the burden of a song.” Syed Faraz Hamid could not have said it better, overcoming the limitations of the English language to describe the ‘sher’ that he through Ghazals India is clearly determined to revive.

Aware that the Ghazal has lost, as Faraz puts it, its “cadence and sparkle” he has set into motion not a company but a movement that he hopes will carry its reverberations all over India. A simple and enchanting evening at Hyderabad was the beginning where artistes like Devi Ramana Murthy set to music and song  choice poetry written by Faraz Hamid, poignant, haunting and scintillating. Her voice made the poetry come alive, lending the words a depth that could come only from her.

Faraz has been writing poetry from an early age, and has put his best work together under a Master Album “Jaam e Jam”, goblet of the mythical King Jamshed who could view the world through it. As he says he discovered Devi Murthy quite by chance, on a visit to Hyderabad and the meeting produced beautiful music  and song that does not just make you tap your feet, but makes you think about life and the morrow.

A hint of what can be expected from the eight Albums that Ghazals India is to bring out was evident at the musical evening at Hyderabad where Devi Murthy and Zameer Ahmed gave new meaning to Faraz Hamid’s poetry, with their lovely voices, and music. Zameer is known in the ghazal circles as a versatile performer with a specially gifted voice. There is clearly more of him in the Albums. The two Albums released at the launch of Ghazals India are Dasht o Sehra and Aah o Fughan.

If the evening and the two Albums are a taste of what is in store, then Ghazals India is all set to achieve its listed ambition of rejuvenating the ghazal and restoring it to its pure, pristine form.

About Seema Mustafa »