Ahead of NCPA HSBC Bandish, featuring Hariharan’s mellifluous tribute to his favourite ghazal composers, and Hindi film compositions presented by musician duo Sourendro-Soumyojit in their inimitable style, Vidhi Salla traces the history of the ghazal and convergences between popular songs and ragas.
Any mention of the word ‘ghazal’ conjures up the idea of a melody wrapped around eloquent poetry. A ghazal performance, no matter the audience size, is an intimate mehfil wherein the performing artiste is required to delve deep into the essence of a verse and translate that to the audience through correct intonation, tuneful singing and tasteful improvisations. The origins of the ghazal can be traced to seventh-century Arabic poetry which comprised two parts: the nasib, a short prelude, followed by the qasida, a long poem often running into 100 couplets or more. The chief characteristic of a nasib was poetry that signified longing, either nostalgic or romantic. The increasing popularity of the nasib resulted in the creation of its own independent genre of poetry called the ghazal.
Etymologically, ‘ghazal’ is derived from the Arabic word ḡazal, which, when literally translated, means ‘spinning’, but more commonly refers to flirting or engaging in amorous talks. By the 12th century, the conversation-style poetry of ghazal had gained popularity as a courtly form of entertainment and was being recited in Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu in parts of the world where these languages were spoken.
The uniqueness of the ghazal arises from certain stylistic and technical aspects that distinguish it from other forms of poetry. A ghazal is essentially a set of seven to twelve couplets, or shers, which are not necessarily connected to each other. One sher may signify one complete thought, but the commonality between the couplets is the meter and the rhyme scheme. Another key aspect of the ghazal is the radeef, or refrain. For example, in the ghazal below, popularised by Mehdi Hassan, the phrase uthta hai is considered the radeef and is repeated throughout.
Dekh toh dil ke jaan se uthta hai
Yeh dhuaan kahaan se uthta hai
By the 18th century, the ghazal had evolved from a literary form to a music-and-dance-laden performance tradition, popularised by highly educated and culturally esteemed tawaifs. After this period, ghazal presentations took on the form of a refined semi-classical music performance that rewarded listeners possessing a discerning ear for good poetry. The progression of ghazal writing from greats such as Amir Khusrau, Mirza Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir, Daagh Dehlvi to modern-day poetic geniuses such as Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Nida Fazli, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi, etc., expanded the subject matter of the ghazal from romantic love to social commentary, critique of religious norms, spiritual quests, class divides and more.
A ghazal performer is not only adept at singing tunefully but also understanding the nuances of the lyrics and laying special emphasis on certain words and phrases that carry its main symbolism. Mehdi Hassan, in an interview for the Pakistani magazine Herald, said, “I felt that my ghazal singing was received well when I sang good poetry and I made sure to comprehend the gist of the lyric before rendering it.”
Beyond the learning
At Bandish, Hassan’s protégé, celebrated vocalist Hariharan, who considers the ghazal maestro to be his ‘ruhaani guru’, will sing compositions by Hassan along with those of Ghulam Qadir Khan and Nazar Hussain. These include ‘Gulon Mein Rang Bhare’, ‘Phool hi Phool’, ‘Ye Dhuan sa Kaha se Uthta Hai’, ‘Dil Se Har Guzri Baat’, among other memorable ghazals. In an exclusive interview for this article, Hariharan speaks about the three composers and his experience of learning and collaborating with them. “I first heard Mehdi Hassan saab in 1975 and I have been inspired by him since,” he says. “Later, when I met him, I was able to learn certain musical nuances from him. The ghazal gayaki that I follow is all from him, it is his philosophy.” Ghulam Qadir Khan, Hassan’s elder brother, was also a major influence. “He comes from the same dhrupad gharana. His compositions and the thought behind them are amazing. So, in a way, I’ve been following him as well,” says Hariharan.
Later in life, when he was making the album, Lahore Ke Rang, Hari Ke Sang, Hariharan met Nazar Hussain. “He is a composer and also used to play the sarod. In his compositional style, one can hear the style of sarod in the meendkari [legato], which is why he sounds so unique. I had the privilege of singing two of his compositions in Lahore Ke Rang… and I spent a few days with him that were a sort of curtain-raiser to his philosophy of music.”
Hariharan learned khayal singing at the age of 17 from Ghulam Mustafa Khan. By this time he had been receiving training in Carnatic music from his mother, Alamelu Mani, for several years. “In Carnatic music, there’s something called neravel (one or two lines sung repeatedly with improvised elaborations). This improvised progression of ghazal-singing is the focal point in Mehdi Hassan’s style,” he points out. The conversational nature of the ghazal is another reason that attracted Hariharan to study the genre. “Ghazal is middle-of-the-road music,” he says. “It has the best of lyrics, the best of conversations. It’s so dramatic and so subtle at the same time. Like a conversation in life, you can sing it, you can elaborate upon it. You can sing a ghazal like a geet, a ballad, a blues song, a khayal bandish, dadra, thumri, or like a qawwali,” notes the singer who is as celebrated for his work in Bollywood and crossover music as he is for his mellifluous ghazals.
The depth of Hariharan’s learning is apparent in his masterful, refined, spontaneous yet measured improvisations on stage that make his live performances unique. He trains “like an athlete” in preparation for a concert. Good sleep, a light meal, riyaaz and a good mood are the essentials of his pre-concert routine. Over the last four decades, he has consistently returned to his beloved genre and has to his credit an impressive bouquet of ghazal albums such as Lafzz, Ghazal Ka Mausam, Aabshare-Ghazal (with Asha Bhosle), Kaash, Qaraar and Hazir (with Zakir Hussain). Some of these albums sold half a million copies during the era of CDs. He has also pioneered a fusion sub-genre that he likes to call ‘ghazal blues’ adding Western instrumentation such as piano, saxophone and drums to ghazals.
Two’s company
The blending of genres and fusing various instrumentation styles is also very much in the wheelhouse of musician duo Sourendro Mullick and Soumyojit Das. They will be closing Bandish with songs by composers ranging from K. L. Saigal, S. D. Burman, Naushad, Salil Chowdhury and Shankar-Jaikishan to R. D. Burman, A. R. Rahman and Pritam. The duo’s creatively curated concerts and musical collaborations have earned them much praise. Their concerts, especially those performed on the annual World Music Day, have brought a wide range of artistes together on stage, from Usha Uthup, Shankar Mahadevan, Leslee Lewis and Shahid Parvez to Shubha Mudgal, Parvathy Baul, Gulzar, Rekha Bhardwaj and more.
Their onstage ensemble features a medley of instrumental accompaniment, often including the sarangi, sitar, sarod, tabla, alongside bass, electric guitar, saxophone, piano and drums. Soumyojit shares the thought behind their curation: “Sourendro and I are students of Indian music. Having said that, Indian music has taught us to become an audience of world music and we keep learning, picking things from whatever we come across and that has compelled us to experiment all the time. That is what excites us to compose and perform.”
The duo met on their very first day at St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. They understood each other musically and have since been on a journey that has put them on the best stages of the world. For NCPA Bandish, their central idea is to examine where popular songs meet traditional ragas. “We will be trying to draw a sketch of how the main mood of a raga gets reflected by different composers,” explains Soumyojit. “I also feel that as different gharanas have explored a particular raga, and have added different improvisational strategies, similarly, geniuses like Salil Chowdhury, S. D. Burman and Madan Mohan have added their nuances [while composing these melodies]. All of them have, knowingly or unknowingly, used different aspects of ragas. For instance, ‘Main Kya Jaanu Kya Jaadu Hai’ is the way Saigal saab approached Yaman Kalyan. In ‘Woh Shaam Kuchh Ajeeb Thi’, the same raga is perceived differently by Hemant Kumar while in ‘Ek Dil Hai Ek Jaan Hai’, it is rendered by Sanjay Leela Bhansali [with his own touch]. How the usage of a raga has evolved with so many composers is what excites us and we are eagerly waiting to share that.”
Sourendro-Soumyojit, as the duo is popularly known, have performed more than a thousand concerts, including a truly memorable one inside The British Museum, celebrating 150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. The duo has presented a performance celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose at the Victoria Memorial and conducted the official G20 orchestra for the production Sur Vasudha, which brought together 100 musicians from 29 nations. They have also presented Rabindranath Tagore’s melodies to European audiences at German music festivals.
What keeps their collaboration with each other and fellow musicians strong is respect. Sourendro elaborates, “We were very lucky to be in the music rooms of various artistes from Germany who had a background of jazz or Western classical music or the music room of Asha Bhosle ji, or the sessions where Gulzar saab read out the lyrics and we composed the songs. The one thing we have learned is that when you collaborate, you must have mutual respect. That brings out the beauty in what you create.”
For 16 years, Bandish has been paying tribute to legendary composers from the pre-independence as well as post-independence eras, an ambitious undertaking that is only possible when there is an assemblage of accomplished artistes who are immersed in their respective forms and know the rules well enough to bend them.
This article was originally published in the August 2026 issue of ON Stage.
