Ghazal is an exquisite gift to human beings. From among the various forms that it takes, Urdu poetry reaches the Uurooj (peak) with Ghazal, owing to the magical and addictive qualities of its structure. Rich with emotions, imagination and fantasy space, Ghazal is the most popular form of poetry in India, one proof of which is the never-ending love for the old Bollywood ghazals even in the hearts of today’s youth.
The word Ghazal means ‘To hold an intimate conversation with the lover; to talk to and seek love of a woman’. More often, the Ghazal is a first-person account of a passionate lover who mourns/laments his lack of access to his beloved. Ghazal can be described as a short collection of ashaa’r (plural of she’r ), where every she’r (couplet) is thematically its own independent entity. Each she’r tells a complete story by itself, which sets it apart from the Nazm, which revolves around a chosen theme. Typically, a ghazal contains anywhere between 5-15 ashaa’r, and what binds these couplets together as part of the same ghazal are some of the rules followed by the shaiyar (poet) about their structure — the first of these being that of the metre ( beher ). Various behers are generally put into three categories, short, medium and long, and every couplet of a ghazal must be of the same beher,
The radif of a ghazal refers to the repeated common word/words. . The radif (refrain) anchors the ghazal, and provides an emotional tone and central character to it. The radif connects with the heart of the listener by conveying the primary mood, theme and emotion of the poet. For instance, the following she’r of mine, Wafa karne se wo majboor ho jaaye to kya keeje/Mohobbat rooh ka nasoor ho jaye to kya keeje , conveys a state of helplessness and surrender…accepting the reality, feeling disempowered, etc.
The above is the matla , the opening couplet of the Ghazal. Matla actually states all the rules to be followed by the rest of the couplets. While in a matla, both the misras must end with the same words (radif), for the rest of the ashaa’r of the ghazal, only the second line must have the radif. For example, another she’r of the above mentioned ghazal goes like this:
Khuda ko itna chahu’n to Khuda ho jaayega raazi
Magar wo aur bhi mag’roor ho jaye to kya keeje
The qaafiya is the rhyming pattern of words, which comes just before the radif. The second line of every couplet must have the rhyming word, after it has been introduced through the two misras of the matla.
In the following ghazal by Jaa’n Nisar Akhtar Saab, the radif is To lagta hai k tum ho , and the rhyming words (qaafiya) are Koyi aaye, Lehraaye :.
Aahat cee koyi aaye to lagta hai k tum ho
Saya koyi lehraye to lagta hai k tum ho
The closing verse of a ghazal is called maqta , if it contains the penname ( takhallus ) of the poet. At times, the takhallus may be used by the shayar with its dictionary meaning relevant to the line, at other times it may be used just to convey the identity of the poet. Some ghazals may not have a maqta.
The author, a psychologist by profession, is a shagird of Janaab Asif Kamaal, and her ghazals feature in both live concerts and albums by noted singers. Her understanding of human relationships finds its artistic expression in her poetry.
