‘Fusion music is nothing but confusion’

Think of Ghazals and the first name that pops to your head in Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan, the legendary Ghazal singer who gave us gems like Chupke Chupke Raat Din, Kal Chaudhvin Ki Raat Thi, Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Ye Dil Ye Pagal Dil and many more. 

Highly popular in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, as well as amongst South Asian diaspora in the USA, the UK and the Middle Eastern countries, his recent album Hasratein was nominated in the Best Ghazal Album category at GIMA 2014. Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan’s style and variations in singing Ghazals has been noted as unique, as he blended Hindustani classical music with ghazals, unlike any other Ghazal singer. 

You have completed six decades of singing. How was it learning from Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab?

You don’t train under someone like him, you just get their blessings and that is enough. I didn’t use to learn with him much, since I didn’t have the courage. I used to learn from his younger brothers and listen to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab. Had I not learnt from his younger brothers I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to even listen to him, so in a way they became a medium for me. Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saab would come to India and his brothers would remain in Lahore. So that is where I learnt my thaat, raag and sargams and everything else. I initially wanted to sing only classical but his brother introduced me to the idea of singing Ghazals. Classical has more vocals and less words and I thought people may enjoy listening to words more, and thus I went into singing Ghazals. By God’s grace, then I moulded classical into ghazals. Since for singing purely classical one has to have a stronger voice, introduced this soft hindustani classical way of singing ghazals. 

Yes. I have received a lot of awards in my life, by God’s grace but that award is the most special for me, because it is named after my Ustad. In these 62 years, I have received many award from around the world, in America, UK and Europe. But the Bade Ghulam Ali Khan award in 2013 that I got in Hyderabad is closest to my heart. I will cherish it  as long as I am alive. Having said that all the awards I have received have been very gratifying. I have been awarded the biggest honours in Pakistan as well as in many part of the world, but my biggest achievement and award are my listeners and those who love me. 

It feels exactly like I feel when I perform in Lahore. There is no difference. They have the same faces.  Wahi chehre hain. Wohi aablay hain wohi jalan koi soz e dil mein kami nahi, jo laga ke aag gaye they tum woh lagi hui hai bujhi nahi. Our music is the same, we have the same raag. Asian music is the same for all of us. Now, one can wish that we sort our other differences as well. 

It has changed. Just as before women would wear full clothes, that is what has happened to music as well. It is the era of ‘Hello Hi’, there is less and less originality. And we should try and bring back original stuff.

I don’t understand it. People may like it but I end up getting confused. Confusion is what it is. But alright, it is also experimentation and I am no one to say it is not good. It is melodious, it is good. But it isn’t really our culture. It is western. Countries should guard and remember their originality and what is their own. Let’s not forget ourselves in these experiments.