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Indian sub-continent, now India and Pakistan, has given
many things
to the world's culture: Hinduism, Buddhism, the Taj Mahal,
and tea, to name but a few. The region has also given the
world
some of the most accomplished celebrations of human love. One
of these is the Kama Sutra, an epic description of physical
love, named after the Hindu god of love - Kama. Another is the
poetic song form known as the ghazal. Ghazals are like polished
diamonds - a single stone with many facets. Each ghazal is
a single poem containing within itself a myriad of passionate
smaller poems. When held up to the light they offer insight into much about the human condition.
Ghazals
came to the Indian sub-continent from Persia in the 14th
century. Unlike the physical love depicted in Indian erotic
art,
ghazals operate on the plane of poetic imagery and metaphor.
They explore the many moods of love, from the ecstatic
to the despondent. Ghazals also use human love as a mask
to address many other aspects of the human condition. For
over six hundred years the finest poets of what is now
India and Pakistan turned their talents to writing them
and the finest singers and musicians used all their skill
and training to interpret them.
Kiran
Ahluwalia is an Indo-Canadian singer who has devoted much
of her life to learning the art of Indian vocal music. Trained
in classical Indian singing, she found herself drawn to
the
ghazal form and folk songs of Punjab, her family's home region.
The ghazal is a challenging form featuring both structure
and improvisation. Accompanied
by tabla, guitar and harmonium, Kiran adds the drone of
the
tanpura to her voice to fill out an ensemble capable of both
delicacy and power
Ghazals exist somewhere between the classical and popular tradition. They begin life as poems and with the addition of music, become songs. Their unbroken, 700 year tradition is alive and well in the South Asian literary diaspora. Unknown to most Canadians, there is a vibrant literary scene in most Canadian cities, where poets from Indian and Pakistani backgrounds create and read their work. Kiran Ahluwalia entered this hive of creative activity looking for words for her music and she was not disappointed. Rasheed Nadeem, Rafi Raza and Tahira Masood, live in Toronto where they are deeply involved in a number of literary organizations. Their poems, written in Punjabi and Urdu, provide the texts which, combined with Kiran’s music, make an original contribution to the ghazal tradition.
In one of them, Rafi Raza abandons the usual ghazal theme of love to talk about the lot of the immigrant.
It is not that I intended to come here
but the path has led me here.
Laced with dust though I am,
yet please consider
that for years I have been wandering dusty paths.
In my travel I too have become a martyr of sorts.
This should be enough to earn me some fame too.
These lines could speak for a thousand artists from a hundred cultures. Kiran Ahluwalia pays tribute to the journey of these poets and offers their works up to an audience which numbers in the tens of thousands.
Punjabi Folk Songs
While ghazals explore the many aspects of the human condition, Punjabi folk songs celebrate them. Punjab is a large region which is divided between India and Pakistan. Like many states of India it has it's own language and traditions. Typically Punjabi folk music has faster, infectious rhythms. Many of the themes of Punjabi folk music come from rural farming communities.
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