GHAZALS- THE SOUND OF YOUR SOUL
In poetry, the ghazal is a poetic form consisting of couplets which share a rhyme
and a refrain.The form is ancient, originating in 10th century Persian verse. It is
derived from the Persian qasida, which in turn derived from an Arabian form that
can be traced back to the 8th century. The ghazal spread into India in the 12th
century under the influence of the Mughals. Although the ghazal is most
prominently a form of Urdu poetry, today, it has influenced the poetry of many
languages.
A Ghazal in short, is a collection of couplets which follow the rules of Matla,
Maqta, Beher, Qaafiyaa, Radif, Khayaal and Wazan. The traditional complete
ghazal has a matla, a maqta, and three other shers in between. The first two
shers of a ghazal have the form of a qatha.
Ghazals were written by the Persian mystics and poets Jalal al-Din Muhammad
Rumi and Hafez, the Turkish poet Fuzuli, as well as Mirza Ghalib (1797–1869)
and Muhammad Iqbal (1877–1938), who both used the Persian as well as the
Urdu language. Through the influence of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749–1832), the ghazal became very popular in Germany in the 19th century,
and the form was used extensively by Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866) and August
von Platen (1796–1835). The Kashmiri-American poet Agha Shahid Ali was a
proponent of the form, both in English and in other languages; he edited a
volume of "real ghazals in English".
The ghazal is a common song form in India and Pakistan today. Strictly
speaking, it is not a musical form, but a poetic recitation. Today, however, it is
commonly conceived of as an Urdu song, with prime importance given to the
lyrics.
Details of the form The second line of each couplet in a ghazal ends with the
repetition of a refrain of one or a few words, known as a Radif, preceded by a
rhyme, known as a Kaafiyaa. In the first couplet, which introduces the theme,
both lines end in the rhyme and refrain. There can be no enjambement across the
couplets in a strict ghazal; each couplet must be a complete sentence in itself.
All the couplets, and each line of each couplet, must share the same meter.
Ghazal is simply the name of a form, and is not language-specific. Ghazals also
exist, for example in the Pashto and Marathi languages. Some Ghazals do not
have any Radif. This is, however, rare. Such Ghazals are called "gair-muraddaf"
Ghazal. Although every Sher, should be an independent poem in itself, it is
possible for all the Shers to be on the same theme. Or even have continuity of
thought. This is called a musalsal ghazal, or "continuous ghazal". The Ghazal
"Chupke chupke raat din aasun bahaanaa yaad hai" is a famous example of this.
In modern Urdu poetry, there are lots of Ghazals which do not follow the
restriction of same Beher on both the lines of Sher. But even in these Ghazals,
Kaafiyaa and Radif are present. The restriction of Maqta has become rather
loose in modern times. The Maqta was used historically as a way for the poet to
secure credit for his or her work and poets often make elegant use of their
thakhallus in the maqta. However, many modern Ghazals do not have a Maqta or,
many Ghazals have a Maqta just for the sake of conforming to the structure or
tradition. The name of the Shayar is sometimes placed unnaturally in the last
Sher of the Ghazal.
SOME FAMOUS GHAZAL SINGERS
Begum Akhtar
Ghulam Ali
Talat Aziz
Mehdi Hassan
Runa Laila
Master Madan
Talat Mahmood
K. L. Saigal
Jagjit Singh
Chitra Singh
Habib Wali Mohammad
Hariharan
thats some Ghazal info 4 u people out there...i'll keep on updating u regarding
Ghazals.
