The Ghazal was developed in Persia from the Arabic verse form Qasida. It was brought to India during the Mughal conquest or Mughal invasion. In India and Pakistan Ghazals are set to music and have achieved significant popularity. A traditional Ghazal consists of five to fifteen couplets typically seven. A refrain appears at the end of both lines. A refrain is similar to a chorus. It is the part of the Ghazal that gets repeated at the end.
Each couplet is like a poem in itself quite similar to a pearl in a necklace. The classic Ghazal is in Urdu and is a highly sought after form characterized by its unique use of language. There was a time when it was believed that classical music had no place and no appeal for Bollywood audiences. Hindi Ghazals however place a lot of emphasis on the voice of the performer.
Ghazals continue to be very popular amongst masses. Appreciation of these traditional art forms has always been the hallmark of a music connoisseur. Ghazals have managed to become massively successful because of their ability to stir the human soul. Though Ghazals are still very popular it has almost completely vanished from the Bollywood music scene today. This music is still immortalized by Bollywood music directors by mixing similar genres of music together.
One of the main reasons why this music is slowly fading away is because most music directors are not aware of the complexities associated with this type of music. Ghazals are not specific and somewhere in all originality touch the subject of unattainable love.
Ghazals were written by Persian scholars in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Ghazal is an art form and is not dependent on the use of any particular language. Hindi Ghazals have managed to captivate listeners with their serene melody. Certain Bollywood singers such as Mohammed Rafi and Roop Kumar Rathod have the reputation of singing songs that tear into a person's heart.
The development of this form of art into a million different ways has been accompanied by concern of the poets not just about the craft of writing beautiful music and poetry; but also the language of poetic expression and the changes it has been going through.
Urdu is one language which has taken shape and got rooted in India's rich cultural diversity. It is through these genres of music that Urdu literature has been popularized. The Ghazals spread its appeal to Indian audiences with the dawn and extension of Muslim influence from the 12th century onwards. This fascinating art form was once a diamond in the crown of the Mughal rulers and so was available only to nobility.