Ghulam Ali, the virtuoso, stands alone today, as arguably the finest Ghazal exponent in the South Asian region. The journey to present laurels has been hard and at times, minus the deserved appreciation.
The purists’, having tuned themselves to almost 30 years of faultless Ghazal and Geet prowess of Mehdi Hassan, were slow to recognize the fast developing greatness of Ghulam Ali.
However, towards the middle of the ‘70s’, assisted by a string of Ghazals, some of which, like “Mere Shaug Da Nain”, “Chumpay Di Bandh Kaliyay” and “Tumhare Khat Mein” achieved “pop” status, in a market that thrived on film soundtracks, Ghulam Ali announced his arrival.
Born in Sialkot in 1940 to a musically inclined family, his father was an accomplished Sarangi player and vocalist of considerable distinction, who imparted early training to the youngster.
A matter of providence then, that by the age of 15, Chulam Ali found himself under the tutelage of the great Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, a senior of the “Patiala” musical dynasty. Ably assisted by the senior maestro’s 3 younger brothers, it goes without saying that Ghulam Ali, had access to some of the finest learnings available to Eastern classical musicians.
He has developed not only as a vocalist of singular prowess, but also as a composer in his own right. Dabbling in pure “raga” based compositions; he seamlessly traverses between both genres - ghazals and classical music. He is without a doubt the reigning “King of Ghazals”
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