It was a break from studies and regular activities for Techno India students recently as they discussed music at a recently organised concert workshop titled Rooh-e-Ghazal, with eminent singers Anup Jalota, Ashok Khosla and Soma Ghosh, at their Sector V campus.
Rooh-e-Ghazal, a series of workshop concerts, is a project by Madhu Murchhana, an organisation that works for the promotion of Indian arts, culture and music.
“Through this project we have been reaching out to students of colleges and schools in an effort to create a new generation of listeners and pass on our cultural heritage to them and promote Indian musical legacy. Ghazal is a very spiritual style of music but with time we are losing the ear for it. At ghazal concerts, most people in the audience are above 60. We hardly get young listeners. In singing competitions, I have seen young participants say that they would be performing ghazals but what they actually sing are not ghazals. With this programme we will be meeting students and sharing with them the beauty of ghazals to make good listeners out of them. Not everyone needs to perform, we need good listeners too,” said Soma Ghosh, a vocalist of the Benaras gharana, who is the founder-trustee of Madhu Murchhana.
Trisha Bakshi, seated in the front row, was there for her mother. “I love music but do not really understand or connect with ghazals. But my mother absolutely loves them. She wants me to understand ghazals. So today when such legends are here to teach us I signed up to learn and surprise my mother,” the biotechnology student said.
Students at the ghazal appreciation workshop. The Telegraph
Enthusiasm was evident among the students who were curious to see how much they could learn about ghazals. “I like to explore different styles of music, and songs of Lata Mangeshkar are an absolute favourite. When I got to know today that there would be an opportunity to learn and that too from such stalwarts, I did not want to miss the experience,” said Manisha Paul, a first year student.
Biotechnology student Priyasmita Ghosh was very excited about the workshop, being a singer herself. “I have been learning classical music for 10 years and I really love ghazals. The beauty of this style is unique, especially in the balance between music and lyrics. Unfortunately I learnt about the workshop rather late so I will have to leave early. But I will try to understand as much possible in the given time,” said the first year biotechnology student who later left the workshop midway but with a smile as she managed to get an autograph of Anup Jalota.
The workshop was started by Jalota, who said he was happy to be attached with such a wonderful initiative. He began by explaining the meaning of ghazal. “When people show their devotion they sing bhajan but when one falls in love and expresses one’s feelings then it is through ghazals. The lyrics must have depth to it. When we sing songs like Mohd Rafi’s Baharon phool barsao or Yeh mera prempatra padhkar, they are an expression of love. When we connect with the lyrics we feel the emotions,” explained the singer as he sang one of his popular bhajans Aisi lagi lagan and also explained the sargam of the song. “People have been loving this song for 45 years now because of its depth. We also explain the poetry to the students so they can appreciate the beauty of the song,” he added.
“The last two years have been very difficult. Students are stuck inside their rooms. But if they have music with them I feel it would create a feeling of positivity in them. If we do not know the grammar then how can we go on to read works of literature? We all love good music and we, as educators, must help our students understand good music from bad and also learn about Indian culture,” said Manoshi Roy Chowdhury, co-chairperson, Techno India Group.
“Education has more to it than examinations and books. We have had Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia visit our institute earlier and we are so glad that this time we got the chance to host such an event here,” she added.