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Ghazal Sardar

Young ghazal singer Jaswinder Singh predicts Gen Y will soon tire of remixes and Punjabi pop

PHOTO: MURALI KUMAR K.

TOUGH ROAD Jaswinder Singh: `With ghazals we can't expect easy publicity'

Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar's theatrical presentation Kaifi Aur Main introduced to a packed Bangalore audience last weekend the absorbing story of the life of great writer Kaifi Azmi and his wife Shaukat. It also introduced them to a young ghazal singer who brought alive Kaifi's poetry in all its depth.

Jaswinder Singh has performed in productions of Kaifi Aur Main in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ludhiana. "We are taking it across borders too," beams the enthusiastic Sardar. Jaswinder is not new to either Urdu or ghazals. "It has been a passionately nurtured warmth towards the language and the medium that has brought me so far." Son of music director Kuldip Singh, he grew up listening to the strains of ghazals even as a toddler. "Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan were already my favourites just as Urdu poetry fascinated me."

Coming from the land of Punjabi pop, wasn't steering away from the known road difficult for the Sardar? "Honestly, being a slim and trim Sardar with a music director father, I was flooded with offers for Indi-pop albums. But I was determined."

Not a bed of roses

But it wasn't a bed of roses. "I had to go through the rigours of learning classical music. Only then can one understand the ghazal form. It's an exhilarating experience, though. After my father as my first guru, I switched to Susheela Pohankar for advanced lessons. I am confident I will be called Ghazal Sardar one day. Jis kaam me mehnat kiya, usi me jeena hai (I will live with what I have worked hard at.)"

Jaswinder firmly believes there is a vacuum in the field of ghazals right now. "Tell me, after seniors like Jagjit Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Hariharan and Talat Aziz, isn't there a lull?" he asks. "I am trying to fill this gap." Jaswinder has been associated with Ghalib Nama, a similar show on Mirza Ghalib, and Shishon ka Masiha on Faiz Ahmed Faiz. His recent ripples in the industry include albums Jazba-e-Dil and solo hits "Yours Truly", "Dilkash" and "Arsh".

"With ghazals we can't expect easy publicity or easy money. The positive side is nobody here is an ek din ka raja. Although you have to sweat your way through for creating a niche for yourself, it is well worth it, for, there is a sense of permanence in your audience. After Punjabi pop and remix, Gen Y will come back to ghazals. Wanna take a bet?"

RANJANI GOVIND

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