 |
| Selected
Performance |
| Gazal,
"Bāt karani mujhe mushkil"
based on a poem by Bahadur Shah Zafar (1775-1862) the last Mughal emperor of India. In rag Bilaval and tal Kaherava. |
| Mehdi Hassan (vocal
and harmonium) with tabla. |
| Source: Khazana
(a live concert recorded in the 1970s) |
| Mehdi Hassan has
been one of the most influential and popular singers of gazal of this century, which is remarkable considering that he is
originally from Afghanistan. |
|
|
| His highly
romanticized and dramatic singing style is popular with both Pakistani
and Indian audiences and his concerts in South Asia, Europe, and North
America are always major social events. |
| In the following performance, the sthā'ī occurs with the words "Bāt karani mujhe mushkil..." In subsequent lines, the singer presents the first half of the couplet to the melody of the antarā, as in "Un ki ānkon ne..." with the second half of the line returning to the sthā'ī melody. |
| |
|
Bāt karani mujhe mushkil kabhi, aisi to nā thi
Jaisi ab hai, teri mehfil, kabhi, aisi to nā thi.
|
It was never
as difficult for me to talk, as it is now.
Your gathering has never before been, as you are now. |
Le gayā cheen
ke kaun āj terā sabr-o-qarār?
Beqarāri tujhe, ae dil! kabhi aisi to na thi. |
Who has taken
away your peace of mind and patience.
My heart, you were never as uneasy, as you are now. |
Un ki ānkhon ne, Khudā jāne, kiyā kyā jādoo
Yeh tabeeyat meri mā'il kabhi aisi to na thi. |
God only knows,
what magic her eyes have weaved.
My feelings for her were never as strong, as they are now. |
Chashm-e-qātil meri dushman thi hameshā,
Lekin jaise ab ho gai qātil, kabhi aisi to na thi. |
Deadly eyes have always been my enemy,
But they have never been as deadly, as they are now. |
Kyā sabab
tu jo bigad. Tā hai 'Zafar' se har bār?
Khoo teri hoor-e-shimā'il kabhi aisi to na thi. |
What is the
reason, you get offended at 'Zafar' all the time.
You, the best angel, never had a habit, as you do now. |
|
| |
| Vocabulary:
sabr (patience), qarār (peace), mā'il (attracted), Khoo (habit), hoor
(angel), shimā'il (the very best of the lot), Zafar (the name of the poet) |
|
| |
| Rāg Bilāval (a.k.a. Alhaiyābilāval) |
 |
| Bhatkhande (1970, 2:75) describes Rāg Bilāval as having dhaivat as its vādi and gandhār as its samvādi. He also describes it as a morning rāga. |
| Rāg Bilāval
is arguably the most important rāg in Bilāval thāt. |
| Many particularly remember Hassan's performance of this gazal, "Bat Karane Mujhe Muskil" in the film Sharik-e-Hayat (1968). |
| |
|