Shadan 1
Ahmad Bashir Shadan
Dr. Nishat Zaidi
MA English 2nd Semester
03-04-2017
A Paper on Ghazal in India
The ghazal is a short poem rarely of more than a dozen couplets in the same meter. It
always opens with a rhyming couplet called matla. The rhyme of the opening couplet is repeated
at the end of second line in each succeeding verse, so that the rhyming pattern may be
represented as AA, BA, CA, DA, and so on. In addition to the restriction of rhyme, the ghazal
also observes the convention of radif. Radif demands that a portion of the first line comprising
not more than two or three words immediately preceding the rhyme word at the end, should
rhyme with its counterpart in the second line of the opening couplet, and afterwards alternately
throughout the poem. The opening couplet of the ghazal is always a representative couplet it sets
the mood and tone of the poem and prepares for its proper appreciation. The last couplet of the
ghazal called makta, often includes the pen name of the poet, and is more personal than general
in its tone and intent. Here the poet may express his own state of mind, or describe his religious
faith, or pray for his beloved, or indulge in poetic self-praise. The different couplets of the ghazal
are not bound by the unity and consistency of thought. Each couplet is a self-sufficient unit,
detachable and quotable, generally containing the complete expression of an idea. 1
According to Memon (1982), “The word ghazal means conversation with women, and the
form has been used generally to voice themes of physical and spiritual love.” Some poets
including Hasrat, Iqbal and Josh have written Ghazels in the style of a nazm, based on a single
theme, properly developed and concluded. But such Ghazels are an exception rather than a rule,
and the traditional ghazal still holds sway. However, we do come across, off and on, even in the
works of classical poets, Ghazels exhibiting continuity of theme or, more often, a set of verses
connected in theme and thought. Such a thematic group is called a oita, and is presumably
resorted to when a poet is confronted with an elaborate thought difficult to be condensed in a
single verse. Although the ghazal deals with the whole spectrum of human experience, its central
concern is love. Ghazal is an Arabic word, which literally means talking to women.
Another theory about the word “ghazal” is that it was derived from the deer, its plaintive
cry when shot by a hunter, being similar to the pangs of separation and pain which is a recurring
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theme in ghazals. With the passage of time and influences from other literature, the Jadeedi
(Modern) ghazal themes moved away from the high romanticism of classical ghazal and also
dealt with the realities of modern life based on modern sensibilities. Though beauty and love
continued to be important themes, they avoided the exaggeration, illusion and the helplessness
expressed in old ghazals. Their subjects included struggle and rebellion against injustice and
socio- economic issues for a better world. Neo-romanticism and Neo-Marxism are also traceable
in some post-modern ghazals. In fact the ghazal in the present age is a mixture of both,
balancing imagination and reality, exaggeration and understatement, sensibility and sense, giving
it vivid colours on a vast canvas.
Ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th century AD it grew from the Persian qasida, which
in verse form had come to Iran from Arabia. The qasida was a panegyric written in praise of the
emperor or his noblemen. The part of the qasida called tashbib got detached and developed in
due course of time into the ghazal. Whereas the qasida sometimes ran into as many as 100
couplets or more in monorhyme, the ghazal seldom exceeded twelve, and settled down to an
average of seven. Because of its comparative brevity and concentration, its thematic variety and
rich suggestiveness, the ghazal soon eclipsed the qasida and became the most popular form of
poetry in Iran.2
The ghazal came to India with the advent and extension of the Muslim influence from the
12th century onwards. The Moguls brought along with them Iranian culture and civilization,
including Iranian poetry and literature. When Persian gave way to Urdu as the language of poetry
and culture in India, the ghazal, the fruit of indo Iranian culture, found its opportunity to grow
and develop. Although the ghazal is said to have begun with Amir Khusro (1253-1325) in
northern India, Deccan in the south was its real home in the early stages. It was nursed and
trained in the courts of Golconda and Bijapur under the patronage of Muslim rulers. Mohd. Quli
Qutab Shah, Wajhi, Hashmi, Nusrati and Wali may be counted among its pioneers.5 Of these,
Wali Deccany (1667-1707) may be called the Chaucer of Urdu poetry. Wali’s visit to Delhi
made in 1700 acquires a historic significance. This visit was instrumental in synthesizing the
poetic streams of the south and the north. Wali’s poetry awakened the minds of the Persian
loving north to the beauty and richness of Urdu language, and introduced them to the true flavor
of ghazal, thus encouraging its rapid growth and popularity.3
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In India, there were broadly three schools of ghazal namely Delhi, luck now and Deccan
schools. Among these, luck now school is very popular in Uttar Pradesh. Some of the greatest
exponents of this school are Akbar Allahabad, Mazaz Lucknowi, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Josh
Malihabadi, Ali Sardar Jafri, Kaifi Azmi, Jan-nisar Akthar, Javed Akhtar and Bashir Badr. 4
Themes usually are connected to love and longing, either romantic desire for a mortal
beloved, or a spiritual longing for communion with a higher power. The closing signature
couplet of a ghazal often includes the poet’s name or an allusion to it. Ghazals traditionally
invoke universal themes like love, melancholy, desire and address metaphysical questions.
Indian musicians like Ravi Shankar and Begum Akhtar made ghazals popular in the United
States during the 1960s. Americans also discovered Ghazals through the New Delhi poet Agha
Shahid Ali, who blended Indo-Islamic traditions with American-style storytelling.5
According to Wikipedia the theme of ghazal is unconditional and superior love, as it is
mention in that there that “The ghazal not only has a specific form but also traditionally deals
with variety of subjects and has encountered revolutions over the ages, especially after 1947
there was a drastic change in the subjects of ghazal opted by the Poets. The most prominent
subject of ghazal even after the end of romantic era of Urdu literature has been love, specifically
an unconditional and superior love. Ghazals from the Indian subcontinent have an influence of
Islamic mysticism and the subject of love can usually be interpreted for a higher being or for a
mortal beloved. Love is always viewed as something that will complete a human being, and if
attained will lift him or her into the ranks of the wise, or will bring satisfaction to the soul of the
poet. Traditional ghazal law may or may not have an explicit element of sexual desire in it, and
the love may be spiritual. The love may be directed to either a man or a woman.”
Most ghazals are multi-thematic ghazals. The topics in the different couplets are different
and independent linked only by its structure. Such a ghazal is like a rainbow in various colours or
a string of similar sized multi coloured beads. However, all the couplets in the ghazal can pertain
to the same theme. Usually romantic ghazals addressed the beloved and the Sufi ghazals
addressed to the Almighty come in this class. These are called musalsal (continuous) ghazals.
Regarding the form and genre of ghazal writing it is said that in twentieth century–
especially for European languages, but true also for Asian languages – is to focus on the ghazal
as a form to the exclusion of its being a genre. Ghazals are frequently being defined purely by
some or all of their conspicuous formal elements – monorhyme, bayt/sher/couplet arrangement,
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and autonomy of the bayt, takhallus, and radif – and not by their being topically about the theme
of longing. The formal aspects of the ghazal are being applied to poems of every conceivable
topic – even to Language poems.
The main themes in Urdu poetry particularly Ghazals are divine love Ishq-e-haqiqi ,
romantic love Ishqe- majazi and facets of life Masaayil-e-hayaat. The style is not narrative and
no names are mentioned, except in figurative terms, most of the themes being applicable to
multiple situations. Sufism has been a strong influence on Urdu ghazals and qawaalis sung at
dargahs too, are offshoots of the same.
In Asia, this is a more striking and radical development than Western poets might
appreciate it to be. In the Persian, Turkish, and South Asian literary cultures of the past, a poem
written with radif, linear autonomy, and takhallus, brought with it an expectation of a literary
treatment of longing – whether sensual or spiritual – a poem that would focus on the “beloved”
in one way or another. This is still primarily the case in Asia. However, it is no longer difficult to
find the formal norms of the ghazal being used to treat a wide range of other quite disparate
topics and themes.
This divorce between form and theme – dissolving a marriage that had persisted
worldwide in ghazal writing for over 1400 years – has also taken place in the Arab world, but in
a drastically different way. This has come about as a result of the introduction of free verse into
Arabic poetry in the mid-twentieth century, which has precipitated a revolution in how literary
terms are defined. The term qasîdah – which has always before indicated a poem with strict
meter and monorhyme – is now being used for free verse poems as well. In modern Arabic
usage, the word qasîdah is merely a generic term for “poem”, so much so that in order to specify
that a modern poem is written in a classical meter, it has to be qualified as “shi´r ´amûdî” or a
“formal” poem.
This has had many far-reaching consequences for Arabic poetic discourse. For one thing,
it has resulted in a change in how the word ghazal is defined. In modern Arabic literature,
“ghazal” has become purely a genre term, and not a term defining both form and genre. In the
past, a poem about love or longing, if it was written in any other verse form besides that of the
qasîdah, would not be referred to as a ghazal. If its form were that of a nazam or a maqâm, it
would not be regarded as a proper poem. If a love poem were written as a muwashshah, it might
deserve respect as a poem – but as a muwashshah on the theme of love and not as a ghazal.
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This is no longer the case. The term ghazal is purely thematic. A poem written in free
verse that deals with the themes of love or longing is called a ghazal, regardless of its form. This
explains why a free verse poet like Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998) can be lauded in the Arab world
as one of the twentieth century’s foremost ghazal writers, and why recent anthologies of ghazals
in Arabic will have free verse and prose poems presented alongside those written in the classical
form.6
Rekhti is a form of ghazals written by male poets as though written by women. Rekhti is
not to be confused with Rekhta which was the name given to the mixed language before it came
to be known as Urdu.
Regarding the poets of Urdu ghazal, it is said in Wikipedia that every century has its
famous poets of this genre. In the 13th century Amir Khusro (1253-1353) was the famous Urdo
Poet of Ghazal. Meera Mira Bai (1498) was the 15th century poet, Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah
(1565-1611) is 16th century poet, he wrote poetry primarily in Persian, but also in Hindavi. Wali
Muhammad Wali who is known as his pen name Wali Deccan (1667-1707), Shah Mubarak
Abroo (1683-1733), Siraj –ud-Din Ali Khan Arzu (1687-1756) are 17th century’s poets.
The poets of the 18th century are Mirza Muhammad Rafi, Sauda (1713–1780), Siraj
Aurangabadi (1715–1763), Khwaja Mir Dard, Dard (1721–1785), Qayem Chandpuri,
Muhammad Qyamuddin Ali Qayem (1722–1793), Mir Taqi Mir, Mir (1723–1810), Nazeer,
Akbarabadi, Nazeer (1740–1830), Qalandar Bakhsh Jurat Jurat (1748–1810), Mashafi Shaikh
Ghulam Hamdani Mas'hafi (1750–1824), Insha Allah Khan 'Insha', Insha (1756–1817), Saadat
Yaar Khan Rangin, Rangin (1757–1835), Bahadur Shah, Zafar (1775–1862), Imam Baksh
Nasikh, Nasikh (1776–1838), Khwaja Haidar Ali Atish, Atish (1778–1846), Muhammad Ibrahim
Khan, Zauq (1789–1854), Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, Ghalib (1797–1869).
The poets of 19th century are Momin Khan Momin Momin (1801–1852), Mirza Salaamat,
Ali Dabeer (Mirza Salaamat Ali) Dabeer (1803–1875), Mir Babar Ali Anis Anis (1803–1874)
, Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, (1811–1845), Amir Meenai (1828–1900), Dagh Dehlvi (Nawab,
Mirza Khan) Daagh (1831–1905), Altaf Hussain Hali (Hali Panipati) Hali (1837–1914), Akbar
Allahabadi (Syed Akbar Hussain)Akbar (1846–1921), Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (Maulana,
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi)Raza Bareilvi (1856–1921), Bekhud Badayuni (Muhammad Abdul-
Hayy Siddiqui) Bekhud (1857–1912), Shibli Nomani (Allama Shibli Nomani) (1857–1914),
Muztar Khairabadi (1862–1927), Zafar Ali Khan (1873–1956) and many others.
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The poets of 20th century are Momin Khan Momin Momin (1801–1852), Mirza Salaamat
Ali Dabeer (Mirza Salaamat Ali) Dabeer (1803–1875), Mir Babar Ali Anis Anis (1803–1874),
Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, (1811–1845), Amir Meenai (1828–1900), Dagh Dehlvi (Nawab
Mirza Khan) Daagh (1831–1905), Altaf Hussain Hali (Hali Panipati) Hali (1837–1914), Akbar,
Allahabadi (Syed Akbar Hussain)Akbar (1846–1921), Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi (Maulana
Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi) Raza Bareilvi (1856–1921), Bekhud Badayuni (Muhammad Abdul
Hayy Siddiqui) Bekhud (1857–1912), Shibli Nomani (Allama Shibli Nomani) (1857–1914),
Muztar Khairabadi (1862–1927), Zafar Ali Khan (1873–1956), Syed Ghulam Bhik
Nairang (1875–1952) and many more.
To conclude the paper, it is said that ghazal came from Arab to Persia and from Persia to
India. It is defined as a conversation with women, and the form has been used generally to voice
themes of physical and spiritual love. The main themes in Urdu poetry particularly Ghazals are
divine love Ishq-e-haqiqi , romantic love Ishqe- majazi and facets of life Masaayil-e-hayaat. The
style is not narrative and no names are mentioned, except in figurative terms, most of the themes
being applicable to multiple situations. Sufism has been a strong influence on Urdu ghazals and
qawaalis sung at dargahs too, are offshoots of the same. Rekhti is a form of ghazals written by
male poets as though written by women. Rekhti is not to be confused with Rekhta which was the
name given to the mixed language before it came to be known as Urdu.
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Sources
1
Vishal. "History of Ghazal. “Something about Everything.
Something About Everything,
31 May 2016. Web.
2
Naqvi, Nita Awatramani. "Article #3 - Urdu Ghazal: An Introduction."Article
#3 - Urdu Ghazal: An Introduction.
N.p., 04 July 2001. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
3
Naqvi, Nita Awatramani. "Article #3 - Urdu Ghazal: An Introduction."
Article #3 - Urdu Ghazal: An Introduction.
N.p., 04 July 2001. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
4
"Uttar Pradesh Ghazal Guide." Traveldesk,
2010. Web.
5
Snyder, Bob Holman & Margery. "Poetry: What Is the History and Definition of a
Ghazal?"Thought Co.
N.p., 22 Apr. 2016. Web.
6
"English Ghazals Based on Arabic Forms."
English Ghazals Based on Arabic Forms. Ed. David Jalajel .
N.p., 03 Nov. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Doty, Gene. "A Short History of the Ghazal."
A Short History of the Ghazal. N.p., 2007. Web.
"Ghazal."Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
"List of Urdu-language poets."Wikipedia.
Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.
Memon, Muhammad Umar. "Studies in the Urdo Gazel and Prose Fiction."
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