The text of a ghazal affords a composer a great deal of freedom with regard to melody – which can be based on a purely classical raag (melodic framework) or a completely contemporary tune – as well as a vast range of orchestral arrangements featuring any number of instruments, Indian or Western. A ghazal singer does not have to sing the poem in its entirety but can pick four (or more) couplets from a ghazal featuring perhaps dozens. But when a ghazal is set to music, then one of the lines in the opening couplet also serves a refrain. Given the rich vocabulary of the Urdu language, there is an astonishing variety of ghazals with their dominant theme of unrequited or unattainable love featuring a pining lover (usually male) and an uncaring or coquettish beloved (female).Īlthough related thematically, the couplets are designed to stand independently of one another. Even so, the words of a ghazal may be interpreted at many levels, including both kinds of love, human and divine. It is probably the single most popular light classical form in South Asia as well as its huge diaspora abroad.Īlthough the term ghazal is an ancient form originating in Arabic verse, previously much in vogue for early mystic-poets to describe the pain of divine love, it is now viewed more as a vehicle for expressing the many nuances of human love too. Ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets, usually in Urdu or Persian, set to music and mostly performed solo.
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