Amal Al Sada
07/12/2006, 08:32 AM
What is a Ghazal
http://www.abhivyakti-hindi.org/rachanaprasang/2005/ghazal/ghazal.jpg
Ghazal! The word originates from arabic, meaning, "way or mannerism of talking to or talking about women." Thus in fact it's an expression of love! But in this ever changing world the Ghazal has become a reflection of the life around us, and now there is hardly any sphere of human interaction which the ghazal hasn't touched
A Ghazal is a poem made up of couplets, two-line stanzas. There is no specific rhyme scheme or pattern to these couplets, and the poem may contain any number of them. The most important thing about a Ghazal is that each of the couplets are capable of standing alone. In other words, each two lines represents something different and does not need the previous or following two lines to be understood. But the Ghazal is not just a nonsense poem of random couplets. When all of the couplets are put together, there is a recurring theme. It is not always obvious because the couplets do not tell a story. Rather, each couplet explains or illustrates or speaks about one piece of the whole. So, each couplet makes sense standing on its own, but when placed with the other couplets, something more is formed
Briefly stated Ghazal is a collection of Sher's which follow the rules of 'Matla', 'Maqta', 'Beher', 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'. So to know what Ghazal is, it's necessary to know what these terms mean
To understand these terms easily , we will take an example
koi ummid bar nahin aati
koi surat nazar nahin aati
aage aati thi haale dil par hasi
ab kisi baat par nahin aati
hum wahan hain, jahan se humko bhi
kucch hamaari khabar nahin aati
kaabaa kis muh se jaaoge 'Ghalib'
sharm tumko magar nahin aati
What is a Sher
It's a poem of two lines. This definition is deceptively simple
Please note that, every Sher is a poem in itself ! A Sher does not
need, anything around it, to convey the message
All the 4 stanzas in our example are independent poems
So Ghazal is necessarily a collection of two-line-poems called Sher
What is Beher
'Beher' is the 'meter' of the Sher. It can be considered as the
length of the Sher. Both the lines in the Sher *MUST* be of
same 'Beher'. And all the Sher in one Ghazal *MUST* be of the
same 'Beher'. There are 19 kinds of 'Beher'. But in simple terms
'Beher' is categorized in 3 classes. Short, medium, long
Small :
ahale dairo-haram reh gaye
tere deewane kam reh gaye
Medium :
umr jalwo me basar ho, ye zaruri to nahin
har shab-e-gam ki seher ho, ye zaruri to nahin
Long :
ai mere humnashin, chal kahin aur chal, is chaman me ab apanaa guzaaraa nahin
baat hoti gulon ki, to seh lete hum, ab to kaaton pe bhi haq hamaaraa nahin
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher of SAME Beher
What is Radif
In a Ghazal, second line of all the Sher *MUST* end with the *SAME*
word/s. This repeating common words is the 'Radif' of the Ghazal
In our example, the 'Radif' is nahin aati
What is Kaafiyaa
'Kaafiyaa' is the rhyming pattern which all the words before'Radif'
*MUST* have
In our example the 'Kaafiyaa' is "bar", "nazar", "par", "magar" etc
This is a necessary requirement. Something which is followed even in
the exceptions to all these rules.
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher of same 'Beher', ending in same
'Radif' and having same 'Kaafiyaa'
What is Matla
The first Sher in the Ghazal *MUST* have 'Radif' in its both lines
This Sher is called 'Matla' of the Ghazal and the Ghazal is usually
known after its 'Matla'. There can be more than one 'Matla' in a
Ghazal. In such a case the second one is called 'Matla-e-saani' or
'Husn-e-matla'
In our example, the first Sher is the 'Matla'
What is Maqta
A Shayar usually has an alias i.e. 'takhallus' eg. Mirza Asadullakhan
used 'Ghalib' as his 'takhallus' and is known by that. Other examples
are 'Daag' Dehlvi, 'Mir' Taqi Mir, Said 'Rahi', Ahmed 'Faraz' etc
There is a Sher in a Ghazal, the last one, which has the Shayar's
'takhallus' in it
[ A Shayar, can use the 'Maqta' very intelligently. He can "talk to
himself" like one in our example. Some gems are
koi nam-o-nishan puchhe to ai kaasid bataa denaa
takhallus 'Daag' hai, aur aahiqon ke dil me rehte hai
and
jab bhi milte hain, to kehte hain, "kaise ho 'Shakil'"
iske aage to koi baat nahin hoti hai
The first one uses the meaning of the 'takhallus' to create the
magic, and the second one is just simple, simply beautiful]
To summarize, Ghazal is a collection of Sher (independent two-line
poems), in which there is at least one 'Matla', one 'Maqta' and all
the Sher are of same 'Beher' and have the same 'Kaafiyaa' and
'Radif'
EXCEPTIONS AND IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
==================================
Ghazal is just a form. It is independent of any language
Some Ghazal's do NOT have any 'Radif'. Rarely. Such Ghazal's
are called "gair-muraddaf" Ghazal
Although, every Sher, should be an independent poem in itself
it is possible, that all the Sher are on the same theme
In modern Urdu poetry, there are lots of Ghazals which do
NOT follow the restriction of same 'Beher' on both the lines
of Sher. But even in these Ghazal's, 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif' are present
The restriction of 'Maqta' is really very loose. Many
Ghazals do NOT have any 'Maqta'. [I think 'Maqta' was used in
the earlier times, as a way to keep the credit. But since this is
traditional, many Ghazals do have a 'Maqta' just for the sake of it
Sometimes the name of the Shayar comes unnaturally in the last
Sher of the Ghazal]
http://www.abhivyakti-hindi.org/rachanaprasang/2005/ghazal/ghazal.jpg
Ghazal! The word originates from arabic, meaning, "way or mannerism of talking to or talking about women." Thus in fact it's an expression of love! But in this ever changing world the Ghazal has become a reflection of the life around us, and now there is hardly any sphere of human interaction which the ghazal hasn't touched
A Ghazal is a poem made up of couplets, two-line stanzas. There is no specific rhyme scheme or pattern to these couplets, and the poem may contain any number of them. The most important thing about a Ghazal is that each of the couplets are capable of standing alone. In other words, each two lines represents something different and does not need the previous or following two lines to be understood. But the Ghazal is not just a nonsense poem of random couplets. When all of the couplets are put together, there is a recurring theme. It is not always obvious because the couplets do not tell a story. Rather, each couplet explains or illustrates or speaks about one piece of the whole. So, each couplet makes sense standing on its own, but when placed with the other couplets, something more is formed
Briefly stated Ghazal is a collection of Sher's which follow the rules of 'Matla', 'Maqta', 'Beher', 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif'. So to know what Ghazal is, it's necessary to know what these terms mean
To understand these terms easily , we will take an example
koi ummid bar nahin aati
koi surat nazar nahin aati
aage aati thi haale dil par hasi
ab kisi baat par nahin aati
hum wahan hain, jahan se humko bhi
kucch hamaari khabar nahin aati
kaabaa kis muh se jaaoge 'Ghalib'
sharm tumko magar nahin aati
What is a Sher
It's a poem of two lines. This definition is deceptively simple
Please note that, every Sher is a poem in itself ! A Sher does not
need, anything around it, to convey the message
All the 4 stanzas in our example are independent poems
So Ghazal is necessarily a collection of two-line-poems called Sher
What is Beher
'Beher' is the 'meter' of the Sher. It can be considered as the
length of the Sher. Both the lines in the Sher *MUST* be of
same 'Beher'. And all the Sher in one Ghazal *MUST* be of the
same 'Beher'. There are 19 kinds of 'Beher'. But in simple terms
'Beher' is categorized in 3 classes. Short, medium, long
Small :
ahale dairo-haram reh gaye
tere deewane kam reh gaye
Medium :
umr jalwo me basar ho, ye zaruri to nahin
har shab-e-gam ki seher ho, ye zaruri to nahin
Long :
ai mere humnashin, chal kahin aur chal, is chaman me ab apanaa guzaaraa nahin
baat hoti gulon ki, to seh lete hum, ab to kaaton pe bhi haq hamaaraa nahin
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher of SAME Beher
What is Radif
In a Ghazal, second line of all the Sher *MUST* end with the *SAME*
word/s. This repeating common words is the 'Radif' of the Ghazal
In our example, the 'Radif' is nahin aati
What is Kaafiyaa
'Kaafiyaa' is the rhyming pattern which all the words before'Radif'
*MUST* have
In our example the 'Kaafiyaa' is "bar", "nazar", "par", "magar" etc
This is a necessary requirement. Something which is followed even in
the exceptions to all these rules.
So Ghazal is a collection of Sher of same 'Beher', ending in same
'Radif' and having same 'Kaafiyaa'
What is Matla
The first Sher in the Ghazal *MUST* have 'Radif' in its both lines
This Sher is called 'Matla' of the Ghazal and the Ghazal is usually
known after its 'Matla'. There can be more than one 'Matla' in a
Ghazal. In such a case the second one is called 'Matla-e-saani' or
'Husn-e-matla'
In our example, the first Sher is the 'Matla'
What is Maqta
A Shayar usually has an alias i.e. 'takhallus' eg. Mirza Asadullakhan
used 'Ghalib' as his 'takhallus' and is known by that. Other examples
are 'Daag' Dehlvi, 'Mir' Taqi Mir, Said 'Rahi', Ahmed 'Faraz' etc
There is a Sher in a Ghazal, the last one, which has the Shayar's
'takhallus' in it
[ A Shayar, can use the 'Maqta' very intelligently. He can "talk to
himself" like one in our example. Some gems are
koi nam-o-nishan puchhe to ai kaasid bataa denaa
takhallus 'Daag' hai, aur aahiqon ke dil me rehte hai
and
jab bhi milte hain, to kehte hain, "kaise ho 'Shakil'"
iske aage to koi baat nahin hoti hai
The first one uses the meaning of the 'takhallus' to create the
magic, and the second one is just simple, simply beautiful]
To summarize, Ghazal is a collection of Sher (independent two-line
poems), in which there is at least one 'Matla', one 'Maqta' and all
the Sher are of same 'Beher' and have the same 'Kaafiyaa' and
'Radif'
EXCEPTIONS AND IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
==================================
Ghazal is just a form. It is independent of any language
Some Ghazal's do NOT have any 'Radif'. Rarely. Such Ghazal's
are called "gair-muraddaf" Ghazal
Although, every Sher, should be an independent poem in itself
it is possible, that all the Sher are on the same theme
In modern Urdu poetry, there are lots of Ghazals which do
NOT follow the restriction of same 'Beher' on both the lines
of Sher. But even in these Ghazal's, 'Kaafiyaa' and 'Radif' are present
The restriction of 'Maqta' is really very loose. Many
Ghazals do NOT have any 'Maqta'. [I think 'Maqta' was used in
the earlier times, as a way to keep the credit. But since this is
traditional, many Ghazals do have a 'Maqta' just for the sake of it
Sometimes the name of the Shayar comes unnaturally in the last
Sher of the Ghazal]