(Repost from Parallels, 2001)

Brief History - Ghazal

The word ghazal, (pronounced ghuzzal) is an Arabic word that literally means discourse or more correctly a "talk to women". 

There was an Arabic form of poetry called qasida which came to Iran in about the 10th century, that dealt with the subject of the greatness of kings. The qasida has often been thought of as the defining and the oldest  genre of Arabic poetry.

The seven quasidas of the Mu'allaqat are still considered as one of the finest artistic endeavors of Arabic poetry. The qasida was at times considerably long, often 100 couplets or more. The ghazal's introduction to India, from the 12th century, was part of an ongoing revolution in North Indian society. 

India was considered to be culturally inferior to Persia, which was a great influence and inspiration in the development of India's culture. The ghazal, along with many other cultural desiderata, were imported into India from the 12th to the 18th centuries. Shortly after its introduction to India, a portion of the qasida, known as the tashib was detached and became known as the ghazal.  The ghazal soon became a popular form of poetry in Iran. These poetic forms were recognized and given local colour by poets such as Amir Khusru, and gained widespread popularity among Indian Muslims.

Although the ghazal was introduced in the north, the south could be said to be responsible for its Urdu character.  The North Indian principalities were oriented toward Persian but it was in the south that Urdu was starting to be used for literary purposes.  It was in the courts of Golkonda, and Bijapur that this revolution occurred.  Such leaders as, Nusrati, Wajhi, Hashmi, Mohammad Quli Qutab Shah, and Wali are notable in their patronage and contributions to the evolution of this poetic form. Around the 19th century, Northern India began to embrace Urdu as a poetic language.

The process of converting the ghazal to its musical form was a slow one.  In the 18th and 19th centuries the ghazal became associated the courtesan.  The courtesans, known as tawaif, were considered vanguards of art, literature, dance, music and etiquette, of the elite culture. They were widely acclaimed for their musical talents and exhibited their abilities with the perfomance of the ghazal.

The decline in the feudal society near the end of the 19th and early 20th century brought the decline in the tawaif tradition and a change in the performance of ghazal.  The musical component continued to build and the ghazal began to be heard in concert halls.

The ghazal was converted to its musical form in the 20th century.  The development of recording and film industries was suited to the musical ghazal.  The media soon created an environment where it was convenient to treat the ghazal as though it were mere entertainment. This had economic advantages for performers, yet created a situation that seemed to lower the standards for lyrical content.

The musical form of the ghazal is variable.  The older, traditional ghazals were similar to other classical forms such as the dadra or, thumri and often appear similar to qawwali.  They are typically associated with light classical rags. The ghazal  has a style similar to many film songs which is decried by many purists because this form of presentation seems to display less concern for  or a bastardisation of the lyrics and a disregard of the form.

The rhythmic forms (tal) of the modern ghazal are lighter forms.  One typically finds rupak (7 beats), dadra (6 beats) and kaherava 8 beats being used with nearly the exclusion of every other tempo.

The poetic structure of the ghazal is based upon a series of couplets, woven together with a meticulous rhyme structure.  The overall form uses an introductory couplet, a body of couplets, and the concluding couplet. 

The first couplet is known as the matla.  The matla establishes an overall form and the mood of the ghazal.  Occasionally there are two matlas, in which case, the second one is known as the matla-e-sani.

Each couplet is linked to the matla in a deliberate fashion.  The second verse of each couplet must rhyme with this.  If the rhyming structure of the matla is AA, then the subsequent couplets have the form BA, CA, DA, etc.

There is an element of the ghazal known as, radif.  This is the way a portion of the first line (sometimes two or three words) is maintained in the ghazal.  However it is not always consistant.  If there is no radif, the form is considered ghair-muraddaf, which is rare in contemporary composition.  If the exact same words are used in the radif (repetition) it is considered a ham-radif.

The last couplet of the ghazal  is called the maqta.  It contains the pen name (takhallus) of the poet.  The maqta is a personal statement which may be different in tone from the rest of the ghazal.  Today it is a common practice to leave off the maqta.

There are a few common themes in the ghazal.  Typically the subjects are; unrequited love, madness, mystical ruminations and social commentaries.  The most prevalent topic is unrequited love.  However each couplet acts as a vignette that does not have to relate to adjacent couplets.

Although the themes of each couplet in a ghazal are  distinct, there are some occasions where consistency prevails.  The Nazm is an example of  style that exhibits this, in a subtle approach.  A more common connective element is known as qita.  Still, the norm is for each couplet to stand alone.

Deborah Russell © 2001

Many thanks to Iqbal Rashid, Mohammad Ahmed and Moshin Jaffe for their expertise and consult.

 Revised.