It is hard to name two bigger and
influential stars in sub continental music than Asha Bhosle and Ghulam Ali.
 |
| Asha Bhosle |
The former, along with her sister, Lata Mangeshkar, one of the two incontestable
Empresses of Indian film music, has recorded over 12,000 songs and acknowledged
as the ‘Most Recorded Singer’ by the geniuses at Guinness Book of World
Records. But her contribution is
measured by far more than the sheer quantity of her output. In an extraordinary
career she has not only recorded some of the most memorable film songs but made
records of pop, ghazal and avant
garde disco (see an earlier post) and jazz with some of the world’s finest
ensembles and artists.
 |
| Ghulam Ali |
For his part, Ghulam Ali, has for more than a generation, occupied the summit of
his chosen profession. Though
classically trained and an outstanding vocalist he has arguably done more to
create one of the most commercially successful and widely loved styles of
music, the popular ghazal than any other single person. While Mehdi
Hassan is probably better regarded by the cognoscenti Ghulam Ali’s place in the hearts of critics and the people is
unassailable. Making a definitive count of the number of outstanding and
timeless ghazals he’s gifted to the
world would trouble a maths professor.
You could say the place these two have
carved for themselves in South Asian music is akin to that of Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra in the American popular
music.
Tonight’s selection is a cassette I picked
up in the crowded streets of Calcutta before it was known as Kolkatta. Herein each sings a couple of their more
famous ghazals and then come together
for some very nice vocal jugalbandi-ing.
In a region where citizens rarely mix with
their cousins across the border (yet can be the closest of friends when they are
in a third country) both Asha and Ghulam Ali have huge and loyal fan bases in each other’s country. Makes you wonder what the world would be
like if singers, instead of politicans, ran the show. But obviously the
manufacturers were just looking to appeal to two markets with one product!
Track
Listing:
01 Dayar-e-dil ki raat mein charagh sa jala
gaya
02 Hangama Hai Kyon Barpa
03 Dard Jab Teri Atat Hai To Gila Kis Se Karen
04 Phir Sawan Rut ki Pawan Chali Tum Yaad Aaya
05 Gaye Dinon ka suragh Lekar kidhar se aaya kidhar
gaya woh
06 Awargi
07 Dil Dharakne ka sabab yaaad aaya
08 Nainan Tose Lage
Listen here.
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