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'I TOO AM A KING IN MY OWN RIGHT'

The Pakistani maestro is in Agra in connection with a live concert and to attend to a marriage. We caught him over the cell phone travelling by road between Delhi and Agra.

"To tell you frankly, Mehdi Hassan Sahab is a great singer. He is like a big brother. I will pray for his good health. May he live for long and keep serving the cause of good music," says the seasoned ghazal singer adding, "If you ask me I will say I am also a king in my own right. I have been singing for the last 50 years and has done a lot for classical music in my own modest way.

So, wearing the crown or not wearing the crown is immaterial for I have also carried the burden of spreading the message of ghazals all along," informs the 62-year-old singer who defies age when singing difficult classical ragas.

Asked if the constant travelling exhausts him at a age when most opt to retire. "I started singing at the age of 12 and had my training from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and also from Ustad Barkat Ali Khan.

These legends had made me go through the gruelling riyaz of singing ghazals, nazm and thumaris with equal elegance while I also developed a taste for classic poems by Mirza Ghalib, Aamir Khusro, Ahmed Faraz, Qateel Shifai, Farhat Shahzad and many many more. So, nothing is so demanding for me now. For almost half the year I am away from home for concerts. That's no doubt exhausting but I am used to it."

Does he still find a discerning audience for his kind of music? "Yes, there is no dearth of good and understanding audience. Despite the popularity of pop music a lot of people turn up for my concerts, which is proof that the genre is alive and kicking. I too make use of the guitar and the keyboard but I don't borrow Western music as such."

But then there is this trend of world music, which many ghazal singers are adapting wholeheartedly? "There is nothing wrong in that unless your traditional music doesn't lose out its own identity. Even I am getting my ghazals translated into English. I won't reveal much here but there's something happening in that direction. I believe in changing according to the times."

You are coming to Dubai after a year's gap, so what you have new to offer for the audience here? "I have a few ghazals from Vishaal, my new album with Gulzar Sahab and of course the golden oldies like Chupke Chupke, Hungama hai kyon barpa.., Kal chaudhavi ki raat thi, Dil me Ek laher Si, Hum Ko Kiske Gham Ne and many more. The Dubai audience is very warm and intelligent. They understand my ghazals and I enjoy a good rapport with them. I hope they will have a good time at the concert," signs off the maestro.

Ghazal Nite by Ghulam Ali is being organised by Signature Events in association with Transworld Group, Swiss Arabian Perfumes & 106.2 Hum FM. Tickets for the show being held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Friday, October 8, are priced at Dh225, Dh150, Dh100 and Dh60 and are available from 04-3373724 or 050-6549100."