I wrote this article sometime back in my personal blog. I think it will be useful here. So a CC reproduction of the same. Hope it will be informative.
Well this one is close to my heart. I have a long standing desire to learn the metric system in which ghazals are written. Initially I had interest in learning the English metric system, but I found that as a “top-up” (or an icing on the cake) rather an established system.
Over the years I have read whatever I could lay my hands over. My inability to read the Arabic script hampers the learning in a big way. I am in the process of remedying that too! But it is quite possible to have a more than passable knowledge of it, if one knows to read and write in Devanagari/Hindi.
Before proceeding note: I am learning, so don’t take anything as final. As and when I learn, I will correct myself.
So, let us start. First some symbols: C=Consonant; v=short vowel [अ,इ and उ] V=long vowel[आ ई ऊ ए ऐ ओ and औ] This is a standard set of symbols used almost everywhere where Urdu metric system is taught.
Words are combination of syllables. Generally there can be one, two or three syllable words. Four syllable words and above are rare in ghazal constructs. A syllable will consist of combination of the above. The following can occur:
Cv, CvC, CVC, CvCC and CV.
Now, each of the above syllable constructs have an associated weight. We normally follow the “short” (denoted by 1) and “long” (denoted by 2). This as per the famous “L”, “Ga” system of Hindi prosody. Following are the weights of each syllable constructs.
1. Cv = 1 [कि, न]
2. CvC = 2 [हम, तुम, इस, घर]
3. CVC = 2 + 1 [काम, मोड़, प्यार, शोर]. However if CVC construct appears as the last construct in a ‘misra’ (the one line of a sher), it is scanned as 2 only.
4. CvCC = 2 + 1 [हुस्न, मित्र]
5. CV = 2 or 1. This is a flexible construct. Like 3, above it will be scanned as 2 always at the end of a ‘Misra’. ‘Misra’ never ends in a 1. However, if CV occurs in a single syllable word (and in between in a ‘Misra’), like in [को, का, की, वो] it can be scanned as 2 or 1. Similarly, if CV construct appears as the last syllable in a multi-syllable word, it can be scanned as 2 or 1. Otherwise it is mostly scanned as 2.
Once the entire misra has been scanned in this manner, one needs to find the ‘behar’ of the ghazal. Urdu prosody has defined set of ‘behars’. There is a famous book by Pritchett, on this topic here: Urdu Meter HandBook, and it lists around 37 most common ‘behars’. Any ‘behar’ not on this list is extremely rare.
In this list “1″ is denoted as “-” and “2″ is denoted as “=”. Rest all assumptions are same as discussed above.
Next post, I shall present a ghazal. I will then scan each sher in that ghazal using the rules above, and then determine the ‘behar’ of the ghazal.
The book is good. Ghazal in shorter metre (chhoti behar) presents unique challenge to composition. Ghulam Ali has composed number of them, Jagjit has a few too. In his younger days he used to sing one ghazal –
Mausam ka armaan samajh
Kuchh to mere yaar samajh
Gar mazboot iraada hai
Har mushkil aasaan samajh
La main tera ved padhoon
Tu meri quran samajh
Many composers also sing different ghazals of the same behar in the same composition. Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali have done this few times. Jagjit also. In early 1970s he composed this ghazal of Jigar for Chitra –
Os pade bahaar par aag lage kanaar mein
Tum jo nahin kanaar mein lutf hi kya bahaar mein
In 1980s he used the same tune for another ghazal sung by Chitra –
Aap ko bhool jaayen hum itne to bewafa nahin
Aap se kya gila karen aap se kucch gila nahin
In those times Jagjit was also singing other ghazals in the same tune –
Ab koi baat bhi meri maana ki hosh ki nahin
Aap ko bhool jaaoon main aisi to bekhudi nahin
and
Aahon main hai asar magar farq asar asar mein hai
Chain se so rahe hain woh dard yahan jigar mein hai
There are other examples also. It is more difficult to compose nazams because of different metres and radif/qafiya but everything is easy for Jagjit. Other than Madan Mohan Jagjit is the most competent composer of Urdu poetry according to me. Naushad was good but his songs were made strictly for the film situations,
and the writings by Shakeel Badayuni particularly used lot of words from dialects of UP. Madan Mohan was so great, even in film situation he composed ghazals and nazams in purest form which was appreciated by listeners at that time. Jagjit did this to some extent in Arth. Even these days Jagjit’s compositions are generally good but his choice of ghazals has unfortunately fallen drastically because of the quality of today’s audience. He is adjusting himself to the taste of the audience like Gulzar of same generation — that is how both of them are popular even now. When Indivar and Majrooh Sultanpuri tried to do this in late 1980s
they were criticised by media and their careers were finished immediately. If they were alive today, they would have been appreciated by today’s generation and made more money with one hit song, than all the money in
their entire career. That is life.
Wonderful information. In fact, the ghazals mentioned above are of the same beher, “rajaz musamman matvii makhbuun”, with the pattern 2112-1212-2112-1212. Truely, Jagjit ji has this uncanny knack of picking the beher perfectly well.
Just also wondering, If it could be possible to haul him up in room, and make him sing, “Aahon mein asar magar…” ! It must a beautiful ghazal, and going by his present selections, we may never be able to hear this one in a concert!
What Jagjit does is once he has made a composition, he uses the same composition to sing different ghazals requested by the audience. I’m talking about his live performances in 70s and 80s. For example, he has
recorded the ghazal “Daastaan-e-gham-e-dil unko sunayi na gayi …” early in his career. In one private concert I attended in late-70s, he was asked to sing Faiz sahab’s famous ghazal “Dil mein ab yun tere bhoole hue gham
aate hain ..”. Jagjit had never composed or recorded this ghazal. He promptly fulfilled the request by singing this ghazal in the same tune as “Daastaan-e-gham-e-dil …” Some years later, I heard him singing another ghazal in the same tune — “Meri basti mein jo suraj kabhi utra hota …”
That used to be the beauty of Jagjit’s concerts — you never knew what he will sing next, or which ghazal he will sing in which tune. Once a member of the audience was requesting for “Yeh inayaten ghazab ki, yeh bala ki
meherbani …” and at the same time another person was shouting for “Sadma to hai mujhe bhi, ki tujhse juda hoon main …” Jagjit said, “Yeh do farmaishen hain, in donon ko poori karne ki koshish karenge ..” What he did was a surprise … he sang “Sadma to hai mujhe bhi …” in the tune in which he had recorded “Yeh inayaten ghazab ki …” Both the persons were happy !!
Oh! how I wish I could have born another 20-30 years earlier and had the opportunity to attend such concerts.
Obviously, JS knows perfectly well about which tune would fit which beher and all that. I heard about a workshop held in Bangalore couple of years ago. He seemed to have given practical examples of such compositions vis-a-vis the meter of the ghazals.
And why does’nt he spring in these surprises, now a days? Only, people close to him can ask this question. I hope he knows, there is a huge audience waiting impatiently for such surprises from him.