In quest of the poignancy of 'ghazals'

Talking about the history of 'ghazal', Mesbah says, "It used to flourish in the Mogul courts since Amir Khusro to the days of Mir, Ghalib, Bahadur Shah Zafar. Today it is a part of the Subcontinent with Salamat Ali Khan, Amanat Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Nurjehan, Jagjeet Singh and Pankaj Udas. Again, in our days, there are superb poets writing 'ghazals' like Nida Fazli and Qatil Shifai."

Describing a "ghazal" Mesbah says, "The poem deals with conversation with one's beloved. The variation of feelings in the poet's mind is the fun of these songs. They say 'Ghazal mey bandish ho alfaaz hi nahin kafi' i.e. words are not enough: there must be feelings too."

Discussing the position of "ghazals" Mesbah says, "It is extremely popular if you count the respect and honorariums that I get for my singing and I alone have performed solo over 700 times in reputed organisations like the Alliance Francaise, National Museum, Rotary Club, Lion's Club etc. If people were not eager to listen to someone like me, I would not be called to perform. One earns not only a name but also respect through the singing of 'ghazals'. It is true that one does not have 'ghazals' on TV or radio and this is due to the language, although people listen to it at private homes and clubs and tune on to Hindi music on channel TV, even though that too is in an alien tongue. Even classical music is not properly encouraged by radio or TV in Bangladesh as it is not performed at peak hours. If people want I can sing 'ghazals' in Bangla too although it is difficult. I did it for ETV and if it comes on air again you'll be able to hear 16 'ghazals' written, composed and sung by me in Bangla. Apart from me there are other known 'ghazal' singers here like for example, my teacher Niaz Mohammed and Shehnaz Rahmatullah."

Asked if he believed that there was a future for 'ghazals' in Bangladesh, Mesbah says, "Of course. I've myself survived for 14 years here singing only 'ghazals'. Last year G Series Company released my audio album modern Bengali songs written, composed and sung by me but other than that, the crowd has the demand for 'ghazals' or I wouldn't be singing it twice a week at a place like La Vinci. It wasn't that easy for me to master classical music and the language before I could embark on this career. What attracted me to these songs was the beautiful moving and poignant poetry in them. I used to go to the homes of people who know Urdu to understand the depths of the words. I would listen and note the words that I didn't understand like 'ehle chaman' or 'assad' or 'makta'. In a 'ghazal' there could be variation of couplets from three to eight. There is no limitation in this and depends on the mood of the poet."

Touching on his favourite "ghazal" singers, Mesbah says, "There is Jagjeet Singh, Abida Parveen, Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali -- they all sing well."

Delving on whether a mastery of classical singing is necessary in order to sing "ghazals", Mesbah says, "A mastery of classical music is necessary not only for 'ghazals' but for any type of music. Sometimes I'm requested to sing with bands but as they are not properly trained it is not easy for band artists to accompany me. I can sing whatever composition they want but they cannot sing 'ghazals' with me. I practice classical notes every day and will be doing it to the end of my days."

Elaborating on his performance that evening at the Alliance Francaise, during the recent Fete de la Musique, beginning on 19th June and continuing for three days, Mesbah says, "Part of the songs were my own presentations and the rest were request performances. I sang songs like 'Tumhara sheher ka mausam bara sohana lagey', 'Deney waley mujhey maujon ki rawani dey de', 'Aaj aaney ki zid na karo', 'Ahista, ahista' and 'Mashwara dey ye batadey mujhey'. I believe that the concept of honouring a world music day is wonderful and wish that other institutions would do it too.