Intoxicated with poetry

Pankaj Udhas has always been associated with ghazals that talk of intoxication, love and of course, sharab, which most believe is the leitmotif in most of Udhas' ghazals. Something that Udhas is not at all happy about.

"For the ustad (classical), poet Omar Khayyam, the maikada (a pub) was metaphor for the world at large and sharab was intoxication through various means... love, power, money and strength. Sharab was used to convey a state of mind. But unfortunately, this was misinterpreted as alcohol," and the essence of those powerful verses was diluted, lost.

"Of the thousands of ghazals that I've sung, only about 25 are on the subject of sharab. But unfortunately, those were the ones the music companies chose for the compilations. It was a bad marketing ploy. When I recorded them, I never thought this would happen," says the singer in faultless English. He believes it is a combination of misconception and misinterpretation that has led to this branding.

In the city for a charity concert, the soft-spoken Udhas recalled the time when he first discovered the ghazal. "I hail from Charkhadi, a little town near Rajkot, in Gujarat, and belong to a family of zamindars. My grandfather was the first graduate from his village and went on to become the revenue minister of the Bhavnagar State. My father, a government servant, met the veena player, Abdul Karim Khan saab, who taught him to play the dilruba. My mother too had a beautiful voice and would sing at family gatherings. So though I was not from a musical family, I grew up in a music-filled ambience."

That is how Udhas and his two elder brothers, Manhar and Nirmal, took to music. Udhas himself trained under Ghulam Kader Khan from the age of 13, and later under Master Navrang in Mumbai. But it was while listening to brother Manhar learn Urdu from a maulvi (at Kalyanji's suggestion) that the young St Xavier's College student was attracted to the language. Reminisces Udhas, "I requested the maulvi to teach me Urdu. He was sceptical at first as he thought I was not too serious about it. But he eventually taught me and introduced me to the poetry and style of ghazal singing ... " and to the world of Meer, Omar Khayyam and Mirza Ghalib.

Udhas cut his first album "Aahat" in 1980, and his latest was "Ghoonghat" in 2001. But his biggest success was "Afreen', which was awarded the Triple Platinum status. Of course, there are "Mukarar", "Shamkhana", "Mehek"and "Paimana" (to name a few) which have some lovely and soulful ghazals, which showcase his soothing voice.

Commenting on the general decline in "good, sensible" music, Udhas has this to say. "The problem in India is that there is no clear categorisation of the genres of music, unlike in the West. It is true, for in India, music is either film or non-film (be it pop or ghazal)." He also believes that television has played a major role. Channels push certain videos, while others get left out.

Of course, there is no co-relation between the hype on TV and the sales figures. In reality, hardly four albums have crossed the magic figure of 100,000 plus of sales. "Whatever the impact of TV maybe, finally the listener listens to what he wants and enjoys," he points out. In the current milieu, it is a little disheartening to see youngsters opting for careers in playback singing and `pop music, which they feel is more lucrative. So much so, one hardly hears of budding ghazal singers. But Udhas is optimistic. "I have seen it happen. In fact, the response I got for my concert in the U.S. four months ago was tremendous compared to the past year." The singer has three albums in the offing, of which one (nazms and geets) has music by the late Ananda Shankar, while the other, all verses of Meer set to music, is part of a series on the ustad poets.

As part of his endeavour to keep the ghazal tradition alive, Udhas plans to revive the concept of the Khazana concerts. "Between 1983 and 1986, all ghazal singers would perform all across the country, on the same stage. But it was discontinued after 1987. We are now reviving it. The first concert will be in Mumbai, on January 25 and 26, 2002, with the likes of Bhupinder and Mitalee Singh, Nina and Rajendra Mehta and Peenaz Masani participating." And his parting shot is "I hope to come to Chennai too."

Pankaj Udhas' concert was organised by the Madras Sterling Round Table 123 and the Madras Sterling Ladies Circle 63, to raise funds for the health and free education programmes that the Round Table promotes.

SAVITHA GAUTAM

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