Salamat Ali is one of the leading exponents of the genres of ghazal and thumri. Primarily trained by his father Ustad Sharif Khan, Salamat Ali has been able to carve an independent identity in light classical singing.  In this interview, Salamat discusses various aspects related to thumri and ghazal as well as stressing the importance of keeping the art of ghazal singing alive. 

Salamat Ali (SA): I was in the eighth or ninth grade studying in Quetta when I developed an interest in singing. I  expressed my wish to my father who keeping my interest in mind bought me a German swarmandal to practice on. My seriousness towards music only developed when I heard Mehdi Hassan Khansahab at a concert in Quetta. I was very much touched by his performance and personality, and thereby decided to pursue a career in music. At the age of 14, my father, Ustad Sharif Khan began to teach me classical music on a formal basis. In 1971 I had my debut performance on Karachi Radio as a ghazal and thumri singer. I sang and composed five ghazals in that performance. And the rest as they say is history.

SA: You will be surprised to know that my shagirdi to Mehdi Sahab was an informal and relatively recent event held at a concert in London in 1983. Mehdi sahab was actually a good friend of my father and asked me to stay with him in Lahore. I stayed with Mehdi sahab for almost a year and accompanied him daily during his engagements. Having commitments both in the concert scene and film industry, Mehdi sahab would have an extremely hectic schedule, this left me little time for riyaaz. I realised that if I kept to this routine I would not be able to achieve my goal. So I excused myself from Mehdi sahab and set off with my swarmandal to Karachi, where I utilized the classical teaching from my father and Mehdi sahab's inspiration to carry out a period of extensive riyaaz. Coming back to the shagirdi, this was unexpectedly and informally held at one of Mehdi sahab's concert in London where I was present as a guest.

Salamat Ali

Click to hear sound clip of ghazal

Which of Mehdi Hassan Khansahab`s qualities have you been inspired by?

SA:  Mehdi sahab`s superb tonal quality and perfection of sur are the elements which have primarily inspired me. Whatever he would sing would be pre-thought and meaningful and would not include gimmickry. I was amazed at how this man could give a performance so flawless that there remained little or no room for error. 

Click to hear Salamat Ali perform Mehdi Hassan's Ghazal Baat Karni    

Which other artistes have inspired you?

SA: I have always had great respect for my seniors, in particular Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Nazar Hussain sahab (music director), Master Abdullah (music director), and Tufail Niazi (folk singer) are some of the  names which come to mind. I am also a huge fan of the Indian flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, he is an amazing artiste who I respect as one would respect an ustad. 

SA: Even though Mehdi sahab has been a source of immense inspiration, I have been able to carve a style of my own with the help of my classical background, which has allowed me to naturally develop my own musical identity.

What are the essential features of a ghazal performance?

SA: Today, ghazal is being sung by artistes of various backgrounds each exhibiting their own version ranging from an extremely light form of ghazal  to a heavily classical ghazal where the singer will go to the extent of using taans, paltay and tihaais. Mehdi Hassan sahab`s interpretation of the ghazal has set a benchmark standard employing the balanced use of classical excerpts to embellish and reiterate the poetic meaning of the verses. I believe an artiste should understand the collective meaning of each verse, so that he can express this adequately through music. The pronunciation of each word should be correct, so that appreciation of the high literary value of this art form is reflected upon the listeners. The raag selected for the ghazal should denote a mood reflecting that described by the poet. As within the ghazal, each verse is unrelated to the next, the singer must be able to differentiate this difference whilst adhering within the boundaries of the raag selected. In addition to this a good voice and sound classical background are essential.

SA: I strongly believe that ghazal gayaki is a classical art form. For example, I will sing a short classical bandish in Raag Aiman and then apply a verse from a ghazal, please judge for yourself.

He sings:        ” Kinaare Kinaare Kinaare Kinaare………….…..” 

And then         ”Rait pe likh ke mera naam mitaya na karo……….” 

Now if you compare both pieces you will note the only difference between the two is that the ghazal has greater lyrical content, but the gayaki has been preserved nevertheless. Many ghazal singers have introduced raags to audiences, which were not commonly performed by classical singers. I regularly try to compose ghazals in uncommon raags. This in itself shows our commitment to the propagation of classical music. However as I said earlier, many ghazal singers have depreciated the authenticity of the ghazal by singing it as if it were a geet or film song, this has given the traditionalists an opportunity to criticise ghazal singers.

SA: In this day and age where commercialism is the means of survival, many record companies insist on the use of western orchestration. I am not against the use of non traditional instruments, as music is an international language and any instrument be it the sitar or keyboard can equally assist in enhancing the mood. However, if not used sensibly, Western instruments can spoil the mood and atmosphere of the ghazal, and therefore any use should be subtle and carefully thought through. For this reason my personal preference and enjoyment is in performing with traditional instrumentation.

SA: To begin with I always try to select a raag which is appropriate for the mood of the ghazal. From then on it is a matter of developing a suitable composition within the chosen raag. It is also a matter of chance on what ghazal clicks with the audience.

Who is your favorite ghazal poet?

SA: Television is the major medium today, and therefore can help promote ghazal singers on basis of merit, as was done in the days of radio. Half hearted productions of ghazal and classical programmes can only lead to the demise of this art form rather than promotion. Audiences in Pakistan are still receptive to ghazal gayaki as they were 30 years ago, but now people are driven by trends and icons. It is for broadcasters to demonstrate the beauty and sophistication of ghazal to prospective listeners and show that this form of singing is likeable. I think, it would be greatly misfortunate if ghazal is not preserved by Pakistanis as it has developed and matured in Pakistan to become an essential part of our musical heritage. 

Salamat Ali in conversation with Saqib Razaq and Inam Mir

In addition to being an accomplished ghazal singer, you are also known as a thumri vocalist, which do you enjoy more?

SA: I am passionate about singing thumris as this enables me to make greater use of my classical training. In fact thumri gayaki has helped me immensely in embellishing my ghazal performances as I can apply variations and style of thumri within the ghazal. My father`s wish was that I sing thumri, and so I have maintained this side by side with ghazal.

Click to hear sound clip of Salamat Ali perform a thumri in Raag Piloo

What is the difference between thumri, dadra and kajri?

SA: Thumri and dadra are more popular amongst the three. Kajri is primarily sung in Poorab and so it is not practised in Pakistan. Dadra is restricted to the six beat (dadra) rhythmic cycle. In thumri the artiste has a larger canvas on which to work on. Having fewer restrictions the singer can express the limited lyrical content present in the thumri in various ways using techniques such as behlaway, moorakhna and light taans.

What is the future of thumri in Pakistan?

SA: Specialist thumri singers cannot survive in Pakistan. The only way to keep thumri alive is by keeping it parallel with ghazal.

What are your hobbies and pastimes?

SA: In my youth I have played a lot of cricket, table tennis and football. Other than sport, I have an avid interest in human psychology and the way individuals relate to each other.