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A changing world
Ustad Zafar Ali Khan, a renowned singer and composer, is an unassuming person with a wonderful sense of humour. Humbly, the maestro says that the title of ustad is one people have bequeathed upon him by default.
One of his achievements was rendering classical ragas for the television broadcast of the Lux Style Awards. All the numbers were sung with a mellifluous richness only a highly trained voice such as the Ustad’s could have achieved.
“Asim Reza asked me to help him with the background music of the video of the show. Shahi (Shahzad Hassan) did a great job arranging the music. I really enjoyed the experience as this was the first time I had ever sung classical with modern, fusion-style pop music,” Zafar Ali Khan says.
The ustad has been quite prolific, releasing some 15 albums in as many years. Having worked with playwright Fatima Surrayya Bajia on the compositions for the now well known ‘Haiku Raag’ cultural evenings hosted by the Japanese Cultural Centre, was a challenge he enjoyed thoroughly. Composing in 26 ragas was no small feat, considering that the Japanese poetry of Haiku is not only very different in essence from Urdu poetry, it is also very different in structure, consisting of only three lines per poem. “I had to make each song last for about five minutes,” he explained.
‘In the old days, people had the time to listen to a raga, which could last for a couple of hours. Now, they listen to 16 songs in one hour! Change is inevitable and one has to go along with it, but the quality of compositions and poetry has dropped. In its place, quantity has picked up’
Coming from a background where music is taken seriously, he learnt his lessons well, beginning at the tender age of six.
“I represent the Gwalior gharana in khayal singing, which is the gharana of maestro Tansen and Data Hadu Hassu. Our elder, Mian Bannay Khan, went to Gwalior to learn music. However, we are actually from the Durpat, Dhamal, Tappa gharana. My father, Ustad Qudrattullah Khan, my grandfather Ustad Mubarak Ali Khan and uncle, Ashiq Ali Khan were quite well-known in their time.” Teaching music in both English and Urdu, Zafar Ali Khan is quick to mention that many get confused by the term ‘gharana’ when talking about ustads and classical music. Gharana is basically a term used to describe the various gayeks (singers) following a particular school of thought.
In 1967, Zafar Ali Khan started off as a singer with PTV. He sang ghazals, gayekis, geet and kafis in five languages. “I made a name for myself by singing ghazals in a lighter, faster mood,” he says, talking about his style. Having graduated the following year, he discovered his talent for composing. His first film composition won him kudos: films like Pyar Ki Jeet and Boyfriend are a few of the ones he composed for.
“Runa Laila sang Dekhoji Samaa Ye Suhana for me. That was one of my first songs to become a super hit. I cried that day. I couldn’t believe the response.”
What are his thoughts as far as teaching classical music to the younger generation today is concerned?
“In this day and age, no one has the dedication or time. This is a very fast moving age. If I were to take five to ten years to teach a student, they would run away. My father taught me to say just the ‘Sa’ for at least a month or two to perfect it and be able to recognize its elements. These days, various ustads have created certain formulas for teaching music. This takes less time but achieves the desired result for the time being. It’s important to get the right teacher to train the voice because if one ustad can hone your voice, there are those who can destroy it too.”
What, does Zafar Ali Khan think, are the essential ingredients of a popular song?
“Old songs still prevail. I choose to work with poetry that can be understood not only by the layman, but also a person who relates to classical music and literature. The staying power of good poetry and music is still an unbeatable combo.”
His son, Rajab Ali, better known on television as Bobby G, is an example of the Ustad’s acceptance of the new style of fusion music. Bobby’s second song Tum, Haan Bus Tum is being aired on the music channels nowadays.
“My son is doing modern music, but one can still feel the presence of classical training in his voice,” he says about his son’s experiments with fusion. The ustad is realistic about the pitfalls of the industry and says that that’s why his other family members have kept music as a hobby rather than a profession. “There is no fixed income in this line, so one cannot survive on it alone. In the old days, people had the time to listen to a raga, which could last for a couple of hours. Now, they listen to 16 songs in one hour! Change is inevitable and one has to go along with it. The quality of compositions and poetry has dropped and in its place, the quantity has picked up.”
Is classical music dying then?
“Ups and downs come in everything one does, but I feel anything original always finds a way to sustain itself. Look at Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He sang pure qawwali for 25 years. He gave it its modern shape. People loved it. He infused new life into an old art! Everything has its time and place. Fashions come and go. The old is given a facelift to suit the times. But it’s still based on the same structure, thus the saying, ‘old is gold,” he concludes.
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