For this assignment write a 3-4 page essay regarding Thumri and Ghazal poetry. Topics that you should address in your essay should include but are not limited to:Compare and contrast the poetry of Thu
Mønael
The Popularization and
tsformation of the Light-Ciassical
u Gþøzøl-Song
|nay speak, ln_ the most genenl sense, of two ma.jor sociohistorical opments lvhich have irfluenced the cou¡se of Indian urban music åelast r5o years. The first of rhese is the decline of Indi;ã;J r;- and. the subsequent emergence of modern, ."piadi.a ,o.lo..ã.roJ. s. The second is the advent of industriat tecf,notogy a.ra, ;;;""_ ¡emass media. These developments have had prodìgioor-rrrjdiu".r.
'^:l:n *b- musics. in€uencìng th. nrrur. oip"trJn"g.. Arr.rn;r_ audrences. -music¿I meaning, and swle. Some m*icai genres have
q1.lill ".
rr¿nsitr'on p.erod: dhnipød. the favored .t;ri.J-g;;;; .rvlughal anstocràcv. has become a¡ archaic and peripheral curLsiq-
:-*':d .,.:n: while many folk genres-incluåìng'the pracrice of rs snging Urdu couplets-have virrually disrpp"arä. ln tt.;r- pt".. ¡nerged new hybrid musics, most notabi,v, of ciu.r", the.o.-år.i"l ar musics associated with the mass mêdia. These -*i., rn";, U. .._ l.æ archeqpicaily syncretic in their comb.rtio., of n¿r*, V.i.rr...r, iiban, taditionaÌ, and modem features_charaúeristi.s tlat .efl.ct r own wav thc emergence ofmodern I ndi¡r urba¡ rocial clas,.es. I ev¿luaüng rhe culrural ramificarions of these rwo sociohistorical
:-1^.. f1:. îf ,lt. UrO u gþøzøl-song over rhe lasr cenrury is of pr.ri.* irest. lor it is onc of the verv few musjcai genres *hich nor orrlu d wide populariry in the ninereenth l*,i. 0* il;r;:;.i ¡e masr appeal in lhe present. A srudv of the gþøzø),s successfi:.I tra¡. m court to cassette. a¡d f¡om courtesan salon to concert hall, illustrate the protear versattltry of the gþøzrZ lt .4 ,rra the .o-: ;sets and aesrhetic cosrs of such adaptãbility; or ""b.o"d.. l.lrj,
?m1t gf *c Jnga em comrnercial ¿þøzøl-song embodies and re- ¡nterlockÐg dialecrics _tradiúon versus mod-erniry. elite versus rdu vcrsus Muslim, nationalism ve¡sus inte.nadonaism. a¡d cor- I
l+8 Pcrcr M¡tuel
porate manipulation versus grass-roots spontaneity-whose negoti
and interaction a¡imate modern Indian culture as a whole.
The Traditional tJrdu Çþøzø!-Song
Properlv speakrng, rhe term gLø2.ø! denotes a literary genre. al
common parlance to speak of it as a musical idiom as well. The
poetic form originated in A¡abic lireraturc, but was carried to far
heights in Persian poetrv, especially in the rvork of Sa,di (d, rzgz
Hãfez (d. t39o). ÇþøzøJ st:l:sequently became an imponant literar1.
in seve¡al other Middle Eastern and C,entral Asia¡ languages.
Persian gþøz enjoved a long and dístinguished career in India,
eighteenth centurv it had given wav to úteUrdu ghøzø\. The latter,
developing a"distinctive character obliquely reflecting its orvn sor
torical ci¡cumstances, tended nevertheless to adhere to the for.m, im
a¡d even taditional content of its a¡cestor.'[heUrdþ gþøzøl
enjov prodrgious popularigv rn north India and Pakistan-a
deed, incomparably greater than that of any poetic form in the
scheme øø bø cø d.ø and so on: the "a" lines contain a double e
Formail¡ úte ghøzøJ consists of a series of rh1'r¡ed co¡lplsts
which poses special chal.lenges for the author. The verscs are set
poetic meters based on Ärabic prosodv (whose mles are
fully even bv illite¡ate poets). The couplets are unified onlv by
rh,vme rather than by content; thus, each couplet is intended to
a disc¡ete entilv-like a pearl in a necklace, to use the familiar
Tr¿nsform¿tion of the Ghazal_Song 3a9
Who Ln the desen will sec springtime I tsor whom docs rhc florver in rhe jungle bJoom) r
use of stock themes and imagery which facilitates the epigramm
In practice, the fragmentary nature oî rhe gþøzøl is mitigated
densation so essential to the form, Most couplets tend to dea.l
quited love, as perceived or imagined bv the male persona. Freq
made of traditional symbolic imagerv, in rvhich, for example, the
Iikened to a moth that circles and even¡rallv immolates itself in the
ooem umes, tradiùon¿l symbologv h¿s ¿lso been used to convcv so_ rliricai,lhcmes. -or, norrLlu by tñe Jatc taiz alunr¿ ¡",'.
*" '', '"
y:"!t,^r, rdeally intended no¡ ro be silendv rcad, bur ro be de- \!-drcJre ryprcàlly ar a poerrv readtng t musbø, irøt. lndeed. the ¿þa_ ¡tth r¡s extended end-rh1,rnes. incesr .yr'.,,i-;;d.;;:'i.ä";ïiiåililîîi,l jlåi?;il1
ppears to have existed as a musical genr. *"il b.for. n, i",r.ariri.i uth Asia. In India, gþøzøJ has longleen ,h. b"ri, ;i;.;ä;;"ä
:._l:I ^.*b]y r?:nnum ra seÀimerodrc .h_,o,* ;*Ë;;;;'ì; ' ùu.s), qøt tÐt t iMusllm devorional song)- and rli more genteei læsical sryle of renderins.
n the light-classical srylel a solo vo,
l:5 li"dä "i:;;,il
i Jfi:",l,i"i $;.,,"-;:;iffi : orum p¿rr. The melodic strucrure generally confi¡rms å ^ *ni r pattem, in which the ..a,, lines arc
îÍf :,:1I il ;d,',d ; :i'.:: :i::'"'#i:::,H :i: rr¡ore metrsmàùc melody (thc øntørat- .hjch m¿v be looseli i__ su. ¡-.¡urlng tl].e øntørø the artist ma¡. endc¿vor to interpr.r ú. t.xt ú extended ¿nd raried meiodic elabãratio",rn ,h. o;.¿;;';id,; egree of su:pcnse in anriciparion of tJ..,..na_.hyrn.ìì;il;; couplet. Each coupler (s/rr jrt is g.n.rally fo oíJ il" ,*;ä;; ch rhe tabla piaver improvíseslThc formrnrr' U. ,.f,.ñ"r,r.Jl, in rhe ¡able.
rvhich itsclf represents rhe beloved.
Now onlv betra,val remains, and the memory of fideliry
Whe¡e the¡e was once a candle, now lies only the dust of the
Other common themes (which often conlate wirh rhat of
include mystical longing, contempt of Islamic orthodoxl,,
madness a¡d ineb¡iation, and philosophical speculation.
Ìst couplet lsr line
2nd lioe (ryøù
2nd coupler
(l"ø1)
3rd couplet
(t s4
lst line b 2nd line a
lst üne c 2nd line a
Rhynu
may be set to cl¿ssic¿J rqts lmod¡¡r. or to me lodies rhar do \a Lo úrv roø. SimpJe lr)1s (merersr âre generallv used. espe_
Melorly
dsthøi
dsthãi
øntø.rø
arth,ti
ø¡thai ljo Peter Manuel
ci.allv høhønø (eight beats) atd dnd.rø (su beats). While one can¡rot
of ar,v explicit rvritten or oral theorl' of gþøzal-sngng, purists and
nados do articulate high aesthetic sta¡da¡ds relating to such
proper enunciation and phrasing, expressive interpretation, and
use ofword-painting; hence the,v are quick to criticize such faulm as
úon of the tert through rhapsodic but incorrect phrasing, and, even
mispronunciation of Urdu phonemes (some of which do not
Hindi or other Indian la-nguages). Snce glløzd is not a classical
genre, horvever, this unrv¡itten aesthetic is far from sta¡rd
opinions differ as to rvhat sorts of indulgences constitute
from good taste
the tradition of Sanskitic-based music theorv. there a¡e verv fe
ences to gþøzd-sínging prior to the nineteenth centurlr Evidence
Becav.se gþøzøJ, as a Muslim-oriented light-classical genre, lay
that it was a þopular aristocratic genre from rvell before the Mughal
(see, e-g., Umr lr5 : 37.4), but it is not until the emergence of
cultural center in the late rToos rhat gþøzd appears to have burst
ish court and elite patronage and, at the same time. into
Iíght. Çþøzøl played an important pârt in the flowering of
cultu¡e based in nineteenti-century Lucknorv, which had ¡e
ravaged Delhi as the center offine arts patronage in North India
phase in the emergence of modern North India¡ culture. From
specti\e, it resembles the vib¡ant and colorful su¡set oflndian fe
ture, animated by the sybaritic nøwøhs (especially Wajid .Aìi Sh
The effiorescence of Lucknow- society ca¡ be secn as a
immersed themselves in music a¡d dance, ard by the declinurg .
(hereditarl' landlord) aristocracy which, although unable to ada
capitalist land-tenurc s)¡stems introduced by the British,
,11:9"rv durrng thrs pcriod. and especiallv during the decades rrg urc lvrunny oi rgço_ sg.a While rhe taluqdrir. zamtndàr, ¿¡d cou¡t racies.were clearlv ¡lre mosr enthusiastic pr*on, of *. .rrr. åäil_ y Abdul Halim Sharar ( re- : lJ. ¡,4 ) and ;ú; ;;;;; ;;*,];,,h:;
-war
aìso widely cnioved by members ot tlte urba¡ lower classes.
],-ï:-. nas wrrrren nostalgicalJy of the late rroos in ,Eu¡oÞe as ) ur( rasr penod rvhen a work of arr. such ¿s Moz¿rCs light åpera A: Flr,," ¡ould lRReal to both e[re a¡d lower .t"rr.r,în -'.r,
-ulc" roBanues ot rhe populàr music indusry. thc defensive eso_ i ur serrous composers, ¿rd the reificarion of all works of¿n under :d capitalism rAdom6 19.6;22 ¡. One has the ^p.orron _*f,.,i..
:ö Tï;H*ïil::ï"*i ïi#å11 :::î i:'ä'.ï lem erâ
petuate their roie as patrons offi¡e arts. From another angle,
foreshadows the present in tïe emergence ofa nerv, protocapitalist
comme¡cial speculators a¡d absentee landlo¡ds (tøJaqdnß),
relativeiv ignorant ofrhe 6¡er aspccts of Mughal culture, grad
to assume tlre support of the fine arts- Given the noøveøa ø.rrwée
this class, it is not surprising that its constituents tended to
lighter, more accessible genres likeføø øl and, thumrt, rather than
tere dhnEød, and that Urdu poetry itself became markedly more
Transformadon of the Ghøzøl_Song 35t
scntimental, a¡d sensuous in this period.' As Eefore, gþøza)
be performed prrmaril.v b,rt courtcsans, lvho we¡e recognized
brated to an unprecedented degree as custodians ofthe fine ans
Contcmporary chronicles attest to the extraordinary
recording industry got offto a remarkabll, earl1, stan in India, for
1:,o:ï:ll*. *ilpa,v of r_o.,don haå läj;;ää;:;
P¡omnenr courtesans appear to have figured prominenáy i" afr*. -discs
of various typcs of music (cro"o'" ,qárlriJ*_;^
qlrar¡urc J(vtc or urou (rather th¿n ¿ resion¿l L a,,r,,-r.^_ - Lnguage)- was alreadv popuJar
: ..1."r:, especia.llv srnce the gerire, with its accessible srvle
i_ï1, gb"r:îrdings of singers like G¿uh¿r J¿n and lanki B¿i ,rr urc rum_oÈtJìe -century sn4e, which may well have resembled
T..,-.*o-.-o Thcse gþøzøls are remarkabJy classicized jn r-hejr ytae vartery ol røts and ìn lhe cmphasis on virtuosiw in th. fo,- oi
fl^g-:J1i.-:'?dt nms (¡ø¡7s) Less apparent rn r..-a-g., J- oescnbed by rnformants, was ¡he use. i¡ pcrformancc, ofhisriionic gesrures, facial expressions, a''d declamation r..h"ié";i;€,, ;_ S_:llspïing. srnging toudty. and imitaring sobbi.gi. Sr.hï*
-,:ì.r::1:o . as n øklrø .rtit..
.,blandish¡nents. coqu-etrier,.). *..e rKs ot rhe courres¿rr srvie, which was. alter all, deiigned to entice a very mundane level aside f¡om its aesthetic appeaf rftesan culturc, however, was doomed to g.adrå .xtinctio.r, "s " oftÌ:e transition to bourgeois pauonage. Th. n.* Vicrori¿n_l¡_flul
::i,' ::t: ltat .tr a¡ e,ler8ing throughout urban India regarded tgnt drsrrrcts-including rhe counes¿ns ¿nd tleir musicawith 'sment. And ¿s the nationalistic bor : the nne ars, the p Jffi ä ffi lä"* ä:iiJJJ:ij; ,me of music a¡d da¡ce . The most talented courtesans _.;;; this transition, performing gþøzø!, thamn, and, hrrh;i ¿;;;;;;
u¡ban Nonh India. lj2 P€ter Manuel
their neu' patrons, or finding employment in filrn, theater, or folk
troupes iike those of nø.atønhi; most ofthe remainder were obliged
on prostitution, which in turn became for the first time the pr
ness of the redJight districts.
The Ghøzøl-Song in Mid-Century
The gþøzd-song r:aelf did not decline with the courtesan world;
inhercnt versati.liw enabled it to adapt to changing patronag€
of dissemination. Bv rgJo the genre comprised a continuum of
entcd, to a large ertent, toward discrete audiences
although it differcd substa¡tiaÌlv from its turn-of-the-century
The light-classical løzøJ con:ir.l.ted. to bc a vital and
seductle nàþþrø u'as disappearing, inappropriate as it is to the
stage; perhaps fo¡ related reasons, the practice of performing
metic gestures (øbbinø1ø) :vas also largely abandoned as an arcl
redoìent of the brothels. As microphone amplifcation came
singers began to emphasize subde vocaL nuances rather than
strength- Moreover, the use of difücult rãfs and virt'Joso tøn
declined; the nel gþøzal-song instead res eml)ed. modem ¡huwn
hg emotive text interpretâdon (bol bønu) in a leisurelv tempo.
Akhtar (d. 1974) rvas the most influential figure in this t¡end. It r
said that with her limited vocal technique she would have been
duplicate the virtuoso pvrotechnics of a Gauhar Jan even ifshe
to; but the penasiveness of her own lhumn-orienled style
broader trend in audience aesthetics (Ranade rqz+). At rt'orst,
style lent ißelf to sentimentalitv; talented singers, howcver,
hicle for a greater range arrd depth ofemotional expression than
rn light singers lack the formidable vocal technique and im. fluidigv required to do it justice.
har.'e been possiblc in the old courtesan sryle
.e sem-classical ¿þøzøl of tfiis period. aJrhough widelv dissemi_ n record.s, shordd not bc rhought ofas a popular music per sc, if bv ¡¡ musìc" we mean a genre whose stvlirti. å'ot ,tion tr"r'b;;; linked to the mass media a¡d to th¡ on a lmr-ngditr b",i,. r;, -ia..ffi5:1"jj:ï;::ffi*,i pan to the light-cla ssrcalgþøzøJhad emerged, disseminated to ,o_. n records- bur. more commonl¡ in the cãnrexr oflndi¿n 6l¡n. thtn ¿ tcw decades oi- the advenr of the sound fil¡n i¡ India in rg¡r. ar film industry has mushroomed into one of ¡he *JJ¡ I"rg.rr. all commercial films have been musicals, g."..rXu in,..rp"li;; d. dance sequenccs wit}' romance a¡d melãdrama.' D*pi.:;;;: *I ,t:.'" .:-T:n:".y, the 6l¡ns rend to avoid any p"'r,*uJ of bæ:ng much.of thcir appeal on lavish scts, exrravag_i.tr .rr, _a : Western-sryie lrrmrv. As such tÍey scrve as escapist f¿¡rasies, i¡
developed by Barkat Ali Khan (¡qro-ó¡) and, to a lesser extent,
A somervhat different approach to the light-classical
brother Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, representing the PatiaJa
tarv musical lineage). Like Begum Alhtar, Barkat Ali stressed
elaboration oftext rather than displays ofvirtuoso technique. His
Transformation of ùte Gbøza)^Song 353
fered, however, in its profusion of intricate, dificult zigz-ag
ornarnents more reminrscent of tø¡tpø ¡han lharør,
Barkat Ä[i's style seems to have perished rvith him, largel¡ no
Whrle Begum Akhtar continues to serve as a model for
ãnd largelv lower-middle-class audience; in this regard, i h",;;_
Promotrng the consumerist and bourgeois values of the co¡ upprr class tfiat produces them, rather tJran those of their
the fikns as profoundly alienating.'
]ifiSs,f t
arnong some India¡ intellectual circles to regard thc
ian msfi.rments; predominantly modal melodies. with occasional es added rn the ensemble backin g: hahenø and d"drã ^;;;;;;; solo voc¿l srylel simpJe dia¡onic modes rather tha¡ dificuit clas_ s with augmented intervals and oblique passages; "br..r.. of ltio¡; elaborate ensemble ar¡angeme¡tts, ;*trp"oring r..UonJ rt contrasting orchesrral rjmbres. ¿nd ofren combinine rridis._
T:n:lts n:t,normaÌJy played rogettrcr re.g.. shørai aÄd riri:; usc ot vâned enscmble interluder ¿¡d orler techniques whicú d tle music a progressive. goal-orientcd. secuon¿l format rather nPle strophjc strucrure. i¡ acco¡dance n.irh bourgeois aesrherics.. t!.
]54 Peter Manuel
Finally', for several decades, the vast majoriry of all Nonh Indian
(includrng frIm gþøzøls) werc sung on.ly by four or five
Mangeshkar and her sister Asha Bhosle dominated the repertoire
male vocalists, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, and espec
Mehmood sang the ma)oriq ol frkn gþøzøls. In the two decades
death in r9s7, Kishore Kuma¡ featured in roughly sixty percent
songs recorded in Bomba¡r (Rahman lo87:8r-82). The hegemonv
few singers and the th¡ee or four leading music directors may
t¡asted with the extraordinarv diversitv of vocal sÛ4es in re
folk musics, and well illustrates the manner in which a corporate
dustry may tend to superimpose a common-denominator,
product on its audience, effectivell' creathg and manipulating
than responding to it. Thus, while Adorno ma1, have overstated
ment that formulâic homogeneiqv is an unavoidable concomitant
lar music in capitalist societies, such rvould seem to be the case,
extent. with Indian fiIm music
film songs since the inception of the genrc.' 'lhts ùte frkngþøzø)
Ghøzøls had long constituted one of the largest categories
as an important genre, on the whole conforming to the srylìstic
mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Not surprisingly, it has
in contempt by manv singers and aficionados of classical and
music, who deplore its crass sentimentality, the absencc of
and bol bønøn, the frequentlv maudlin texts, and the mangling
phonemes b-v Hindu singers.s These purists, of course, have
outnumbe¡ed bv the fr)nt gLøzøls nelr,- audience, which indeed
be connted in the hundreds of millions. 'Ihe g1øzø1 had thrs
negotiated the transition from court and courtesan salon to
semination, becoming in the process an archerypica-l example
ofcâssettes, which have come to surpass both records and radio as a
commodified music, a catch¡ mnefirl roz¿ rather thal an
cess. In its melodic and textual simpliciry its sentimental and
o,f music dissemrnation, aad which now rival even the ci¡ema in
vocal style, ald its heav.v reliance on formulae in order to acÌieve
cial success, the ñkn gþøzal would seem to constitute an e
than records and record players, -*. i-p"r,".'ì,-_*il;;:
Cassettes and players are cheaper, more durable, and more
câssettes cosrs cnormously ]css tha¡ lh¿t ofiecord, _d, "f'.;;;;. ano t¡us the cassette boom has for thc 6rst time enabled dive¡se
ofrvhat Adomo rvould consider "pre-masticâted" music, whose
requires little discernment o¡ efort on the part ofthe listener.
and ìower-middle class groups to have direc¡ ,...r, ,o p,oau.,ioì
Transfo¡mation of the Gbøzø)_Song 355
results ofrhis development have been numerous. Throughout the smaJl-scaJc cottage casserre companies ¡,"". .ir.". rn_"-årr'ii.i sry zed verslons of-regional a¡d often lower_cl¿ss folk murics, utg new and diverse regional popular musics- These baclgard cas_ :stnes ¿¡e ¿ble to respond ro local tastes i¡ a m¿nner thr,'*a rno_ c fil¡n studios have been unable o¡ unwilling to do. The new rased pop musics h¿ve thus Lrndermined thJ hegemonv orevi_ oyed by the cinema in tic world of popu.lar .uíi., ". pråren,, ple, film music comprises less tha¡r half ãf cas ,rrr.. ",^to.' ÇulA d a¡r essential ¡ole in rhe boom of cassetre_U*"a À"riJl î two trends have gone hand_in_hand, for tl_re casserte booÁ h", ributed ro the nnprecedented vogte oî gþøzøl in the last nvo
Çþøøø1 tn t}:.e r97os and r98os
Since the earlv r98os, tlre urban music scene, ald with it the
of music via the mass media
went a limited but significant reorientation. The prìmary
general,6lm music is spoken ofas being in a state of decline, bottr
¡of Watr,V 1d quantiw of output. Compctition from rel..ision rco.. coupted. tn some stâtes, rviri high enterrainment tares, has rted hund¡eds of movie halls. Most of-the superso, *.¿i.i, _.ì_ tbo-ve are eithe¡ retiring or deceasèd. Moderniìrns in gen.r¿,it¡ hphasis on møsdø-,,spice,', tiat is, violence "na í.tio.r_terrì úes less well to sentimental a¡rd melodious musical ,.oro ah* dià
fi.lm music posed by the cassette vogue. In recent years, film music
li: :-ft:y:d, ro an unprecedented degree, ág.r; -h" i;;
the field of cassette- 6ased gþøzø) (Rahman r9s7 : tr _ tz)
predecessors. Most important, however. is the chal-
?lÌ1.0.*"tr reputarions_ outside the cùem¿ *åtd. -a op._
ï.::ï d.:",t::, one may speak of a conttnuum of gþøzø) one end lies tl-re fiIm -style gþøzø1, which may be said to reãble
entâtlon.not.rr.irhsranding. Many of thcsc songs exiibjt clabo_ 'xlry and sophistication in parameters of orchestrarion and t: but rn terms ofvocal melodies. thc modcrn fl,nt ¿þazah are, even simpler in s¡vle tha¡ rheir predecessors, *ith*at le¿st one
decades, occasional usage ofsynthesizers and other mod- 3Jó Perer Ma¡uel
Lcading filrn music directo¡ (Kalyanji, of Kalyanji-Anandji)
"every song should be as simple as a nu¡sery-rh).me" (in Marre and
ton r98J : r+2).
by t1le emergence of ahandfú of gþøzø! "superstar" singers rvho har'ç
'the frhn gþøzøls have been overshadowed, however, to some
their appeal largely on cassette dissemi¡ation. In the seventies tìe
lgures rvere nvo Pakistanis, Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam.AIi, who
a new slyle ofsinging l'hich. whether termed pop or light-classica.l;
to replace the older st,vle associated with Begum Äkhtar and her
Ghulam Ati and Mehdi Hasan both have some training in art musici
concerts a¡rd live recordings they often improvise extensively. In
cal tradition, the,v generall,v prefer simple harmonium and tabla
niment. Both have smooth, supple, and "sweet''r'oices; mic
as they are, thev tend ro croon sofdy rather that to declaim at
ume as their Þredecesso¡s did.
rween pop and light-classical become ambiguous. Some oftheir
ln the music of Ghulam A,li and Mehdi Hasan, the di
of gÞøzøls are complex and challenging, and are clearly aimed at
seurs; Ghulam AIi's most poptlar g!Øzøl "Chupke chupke," with
plex melodl' and its use of the sevcn-beat rùpøh (or rnugþøt) tal'
taken as a case in point. Yet both these singers also record ur
swles, eschewing improvisation, being backed bv large ensembles
man)¡ cases) empþing simple songlike settings (see, e.g., Mehdi
"Bãt kami mujhe").
with the rise of a new generation of singers who, while
In the r98os, the pop-classical distinction became even more
basic swle of Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam AÌi, are either unrvilling
likely, unable to execute the fluid and often complex improv
onvey a melJow- placid urbaniry rhar is quite uncharacterisúc of rhe .onaL counesan styJe . At rhe s¿me time, the unhurried eas. "f ,h; ;._ ¡on
^sry-le.
coupled wirh rhe very use of Urdu poetn. i;;;; í;_ L/. (onrLnues to sugges¡ ¿n arisrocra¡ic ambience ¿¡d etJros. o : seems clear ¡irat rhe audience_both inrended *¿ ..ao¿_of a¡. 'ossover gþøzøl is thc burgconing India¡ middle class. ln prr¿.,,ir- )ssovel g4øzøt appears ¡o be ¿imed a¡ thc c¿su¿l bourgeåis music_ vho lacks deep understanding of art m rrir, of *. @aii;ol^l gþì;;, t man,v cases, of any Urdu diction beyond the mosr elemen,";;;;i;
:T. ù., rlte.crossover gþøzøl listener prefers rn.toay ,o *. *ri sco-oriented film music, and is "w".e th"t his ,o.i"l .t"'r, À"; i;;;- ¡m its feud¿l predecessors the role of 6¡c arrs parron. ¡*o",.ìir.
111,11s constirure a significanr p"mon of ,f,i, "tia.;;; ;ïil" r) u¡c srngers trequent foreign tours. witfi ticket prices occ¿siona.llv rg as high as Sroo. ln irs ecleltic ,n I". ,Ì,. .ror,orf,r øþ^."^;;'ät" Las a response to dte gronth of the nerv tndian middle class, and can trasted in rhat sense with the older flm gþøzøJs.ai;'";;_
¡evidentþ aimed ar a lower_middle_class, rrrrrr""Uu ,"f...."ìã* -l;i1 1. **.lassical gþøzø!, wirf its con¡oisseu, d;;;.
'-
,e tnotan bourgeoisie is predominantìy Hindu; in recent dec¿des av; alsl c3m¡ to constirure a significit p*, .l rh. ;;;ì;;j; t flllrl ,r,rr srgn:frcanr that very few of the current gþøzø! srars are , atthougn g!þøzøt has tradirionalJy been a Muslimipecialw rsince mousranr musici¿ns have been Muslim- a¡d Urdu ls the liguage r lndi¿¡ Mustirns). The success of Jaglrr srngh_perhaps tfie most tnger-composer of the new ¿þazø| .tyle_marks r-he e ntrv of Sikh
lr^I. 1",:.rrl, renown. The promirence of non_MusLÁ singers
:1,:, 4""r, c¿n be seen as ¿ conremporary example oirhe vrus[l] cutrur¿l syncrerism that h¿s cha¡acrerized much ãf Hindu, l:1., f'".,'". even jf it is perhaps betrer reg¿rdcd as ¿ ..Hinduiza_
": ry1"* r¿rher rhan an Islamicizarion of Hindu Iisteners. s tlrnduizârion is most clearlv evidenr in the dramaticalJy sim_
llou.used rn modern gþøzøl_songs. In ¿ccordance with the áecüne
,t.r,ndr, 1 ¿ whofe. mort conrempor¿ry singe rs and th.i. no.i, lYold an-y bur ¡he most f¿milia¡ Urdu u ords jn order ro b. ,_d.._
. Ioer.l1lndl-spe¿king lisreners. Urdu,s decline, f¿r lrom beins ¿n e rcsulr of [)ar^rir jon. has been activeiy promoted by rf e federalïã S¡nrnenrs- defunding of Urdu educarìon and the svsremadc Þurg_ ruu worcts. however coÍuîonpJace. flom Hindi ¡¿dio ¿¡d telã_
Iatter vocalists. AJthough vocalists frequently emplo,v chordal
ment, their melodic setlín+s of 8þt4zø1s arc often simpler,
svnthesis of the light-classical tradition with the "
thetic. Forcmost in this group of vocalists are Anup ]alota,
and the duo Jagjit and Chitra Singh. In the hands of these
gþøzøt has achieved a vastll' broâder PoPulâr base than befo¡e
spite or because ofthe fact that manl' of their recordings and
T¡ansformation of the Ghøzø!_Song 357
escheq' featurcs associated u,ith the previously dominant film
heaw orches¡ration). This new brand of singers has taken the
characte¡ of Mehdi Hasan's singing to a new extreme. In their
timbre, bland diatonic melodies, slow tempi, and leisure\, 3j8 Peter Manuel
vision broadcâsts. The Urdu rvords (aìong with English loan
generallv replaced with obscu¡e Sanskit-derived terms, manv
unintelligible evcn to educated Hindi-speâkers. Quratallain H1'der
Thìs dereriorarion ofthe ghazal reflects the rapid socio'economic c
which are taking place in our multi-lngual societ,v. Urdu has, by a
taken a back seat- PoliricalÌ1', it has become a thorny problem and it
reemerged as a kind of entenainment industry. . . . The ghazals h
back as essentiall,v lJrdu exotica. The erotic pop varìegv ìs as hollow
es the video-cessette culture ofthe new rich in {hich ir is flou¡
Indeed, it is paradoxical that rhe gþøzø1, in however Hindified
should achieve such unprecedented popularity at a time rvhen
language is all but dying in India, Meanwhile, the traditional
ized poignaqcy and metâphorically antinomian praise of in
given wav to sentimental clichés and sybaritic celebration of
its orvn sakc. What ¡emains in the modem gþøza)-song are
sound like Urdu, phrases that sound like improvisation, and
that sound like emotiye express.ion; the result, from the viewpoint
purists and connoisseurs, is music that is mnefirì, soothing,
slick, and, in general, kitsch
another categor,v of popular music that, togetl'rcr wrút gþøzd, has
In its a¡istocratic ethos, the crossover gþøzøl may be
the hegemony ofmass-produced film music. I am referring hcre
panoply of sq4ized folk musics which have emerged in differ
throughout the countrv. On one level, these can be seen as prod
cassette boom, which has extended mass media technology
the most indigent and isolated classes and ethnic groups. On
the new syncretic pop-folk fusions are responses to the
.popuJar music. despirc tle previous hcgemonv of the mainsueam liflrn sryle., mav b. gro*rni increasingly morc divc¡se and demo, c æ regional a¡d iower-middle -class groups gain control over the u of musical production. Such heterogeneir¡, iÌlows the ,,.ro"ro.r.f øJ of Pankaj Udhas and others ro flo,r.irh * . a"..o p.pJ", ã".ì. ;, largely independent of the former hegemonv .f',frã nJrr,_röi" ø/. It has aiso led ¡o tìe emersence
"0, M;;,r";;; .,h., ,ï;:ä::'
ot pop sþøzøk sung in punjabi-
tion ofcountry people to the cities, where the,v enioy evcn greater
the mass media and develop nerv social identities and
aesthetic needs. Hence, for example, the appeararice, in Gujaratl
hr.brids as "drsco gørbø" (gørbø being a widely popular folk
daace). The flowering of srylized versions of Punjabi folk
cially pop úhøngrø-is pârticulâù remarkable and vital
havc no elitist pretensions, nor are they aifned at a ??nßleali
Tra¡sformation of the Ghøzøl_Song 35g
geoisie; rather, their appeal seems to be based on regionaì identì
inherent, often rustic, buoyangv of the music. The emergence
gionaL fusions of folk and popular musics illust¡ate the extent to
10ns
langes in Indiaa musical life in rhe last centurv have been as d¡amatic :broader social, economic, and technof.gi..f i*"rø"r;,ià"rlìì;;; rne.period. The advent of new classes_especiall¡ the modem urba-ã e class-has engendered new musicai sryies; ,h¿'rpr;;;-,h"-;;;;
-f.rt tery.9 an enrirely new caregory ot music. b¿sed on m¿ss dis_ re¡ ànd salc^as a lommodrry These and otler changes har.e re_ I tne narure ofthe djalectic inreraction ofcitu "nd uilJai"- rraditiàn odemiry, anstocracv and lower class- a¡d commerce alî .r.rri"ì.u. ne g4a.al-song h¿s succeeded remarkabJy welì in adapting ro rhese x while retarning its t¡aditional formal ..-*.. ""a frdi.."i",. ¡ame dme, given the fundamental sociohistorical aËr"frf_.",, .. n hæ had to respond. ir is not surprising that irs sryle hr'r.h*n.à r recogn¡uon. Needless ro sav. the new gþazøl srylÉs_indeed, iike ilc and a¡t-must be u¡derstood as in"xlric"bly rJt"red to ã; ;ì_ contexts-r¿ther th¿n as being autonomous ¿rt forms evolving ¿lons
lTrrlcr trnes Similarh.. they should be recn as ...il. "g.ntíil thã ton of new social idendties rather than as passiue supersä.rcrural re_ tb of socioeconomic developmenß.
.t:13:,1.1,i.1l Td ;ompÌ9ury of improvisarion_ tJre prime crite.
i^T::i i: lighr-classical gþazøJ was traditìonaIy judged_the nâs nâtur¿Ìl) suFercd in ùe process of being .aopìeå bi a so.ial ruto¡ed.in lndo-Muslim high culrurc. ln manirespËcts. th¿ Jarr; lne rn the emergence ofa popuiar music a¡e irreversible, rel¿ted"¿, : lo (te torm¿üon of modem rechlology and soci¿l cl¿sses. Othc¡ of tlle process -such as corporate hegemonv of rhe music indusrn.- rote ot music in re inforcing dominant class ideologl _shouiã 160 Peter Mâriuel
ne\¡er be taken for granted, and it is in the objective qucstioning
phenomena that the evolution of musical forms ceases to be of pure
demic interest.
Norps
r. 'iA.b jaù hai na wafà yãd-e-wañ baqr hai / rhi jahaa sham'a wahãn
parvane kl' (Fani Badayrni).
z. "Kaun r,-r¡ãne men dekhegã bahãr / phul jangaÌ men khile kin
(Simab Akarabadi).
in Manuel 1983, r98ó. Fo¡ a more fa\arabie intcrpretation of Lucknorr
Pedevich 1930.
3. Further discussion ofthese phenomena i n relation to thun¡i ca¡
4. See, e.g., Ruswa r9or, and Vidyarthi 1959.
7. The r¡ajoriry oflndiaa film songs do not adhere ro anv
fiablc o¡ traditionaÌ formal strucnrre, although most rend to us
j- Scc, c.g., Krisheû r98r
o. See Manuel rsEs for fu o. See Manuel r9E5 for further ó. See Manuel igEJ for further discussion of rhis phenomenon.
7. The r¡ajoriry oflndiaa film songs do not adhere ro any pan
øthøi-øntørø forrn, as does theføzal-song itsel€
8. Sec, e.g-, Durry 1972:23.
9. See, c.g., Dùbashi 1986 i rr2.
ccnt, and now dtoroughly bourgeois ethos, would be a highl,v unlike\
to. Ur:llke qøwøah, úte"crosswer" gþøzø1, u.ith its relaxed, urbane
dte rendering of an1, kind of political or socially critical verse,
u. 'A Tradition Betraye{" Titøts ofIødiø, May 19, 1989- Similarl}', mr
Subhæh Jha writes,'"The ghazal has been so bastardized in tle '8os ¡hat
versio¡rs sou¡d more ùnfeigned than the non-film exertions, wi¡h rheir fak
and ca¡ncd \vah-wah's fbravos] ("The1¡re ghazals-beliwe it or not "
Ind.ia, Sept. t3, t9t9) .
R-EFERENcES
Adorno, Thcodor
ry76 intrlùrctitn t0 the Socioltg ofMøsic (reprint). New York
Transformation of the Ghøzøl_Song 3ør
Formal Sr¡ucture in popuìar Music ¿s Reflection of Socio_Economic
|!ä?f"r':J#'*"øt Rettùat of the A"'h"^ '"; s";;;s;';i';;;;
most tend to use some
Dubashi, Jagannath 1986 Cassettc Piracy: H.igh Søkes. InelìaTodø1, Marcl.3r, 1966,
Durry Kaokab
rgzz Ghaz¿l: The Dyíng Su,an. Liþhø (February): zr-24.
Gronow, Pekka
r98r Record Indusqv Comes ro the O¡ient- Ethøonøøsiøltg1 25,á
Hydar, Quratallain
tEo The Evolution of Modern Thvmci. Ethn¡ausi¿olag1 rcl: ç7o..49o , Jeremy, and Hannah Charlton
CBeri:ts
0f tbe Heøñ: phpu.!!1r MArirs of tbe I4lozll. New york: pa¡ttreon.
The Two-School Theory of Urdu I_i versiry ofBritish columbia. teratu¡e Ph D. dissertarion, uni-
M,
1989 A Tredition B etraved. Tirws of Inlì,ø, May 19, 1989.
Krishen, Pradip
r98r Inrrod¡ction. Indiø IøternøtìonøJ Centre: Qaørter (M
Manuel, Peter
rç8: Thumri in Historical and Srylisric Perspective. Ph.D
Unive¡siw of Califi¡¡nia, Los Angelcs-
' lillrng the Void. 1z ùa Todø1; Nov. 30, 1987, pp. 8r_E2.
+ The MusicaÌ Evolution ofthe Gazal. Nø¡ø nøt Ceøtrefor the petforwing
_,. Art!: Qtlarte ! Joarhøl 3J. N¡lt-Z,e
U*rø Ia" aaa. Karachi : Urdu Academy
Lwþnotp: The Løsl phas¿ of an Orùun) Czl¡z¡¿. Tr¿¡sl¿ted bl E. S Harcoun ¿nd F¿khi¡ Hussein. Boulder, Col.: W.r*i.* p..1"". " -
Hirzdt stãal tahzib þ/i murølu"ãhoh þar ãsøx New Delhi: public¿rions Division.
Govind, rans.
Melody Through rhe Ccnrurics {a chaprcr of Mohamm¿d Kar¿m lmam's early oincteenth_cennrrv ûe.l Nørøh Í-o:13-26,71. ' tise' MìdønøL Maslqï' søL7eet SOUTH ASIA SEMINAR SERIES
ffi
Recent volumes in this series include:
Ifuntity ønd Ditisi.on in Cølts ønd. Sects in Soatb.ðsta.. tg8+
Sciznce ønd Technologl in South Asiø. tg85
Making Tbi??gs in Szatb Asiat: The.Role of Aøi.st ønd. Crøftsmøn
PubLùøtìnns of the Ameùcøn FolkJore Socìcry
New Sett¿s
General Editor, ?atrick Mullen
Gend,er, Genrlq ønd,
Power 'ì.n Soøth Asiøn
E xp r es s iv e Tr ød.it io ns
Ed.ited. by ArjwnAppød.ørø| Frønh f.
I(ororn, ønd. Mø:rrgøret A. Mills
w
University of Pennsylvania Press
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