Ehsaas is an Urdu word literally translated as ‘feelings’ or ‘emotions’. The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. The form of the ghazal originated in Iran in the 10th century A.D. The ghazal travelled to India from the 12th century onwards. The Moghuls brought along with them Iranian culture and civilisation, including poetry and literature. When Persian gave way to Urdu as the language of poetry and culture in India, the ghazal, the fruit of Indo-Iranian culture found its opportunity to grow and develop.

Although the ghazal deals with the whole spectrum of human experience, its central concern is love. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The musical performance of ghazal was popularised over the last century by artists such as Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, and the legendary Jagjit Singh. Inner Circle Entertainment produced the last South African tour of Jagjit Singh in 2006. The live performance style of ghazal is similar to jazz, with vocals as a central feature yet creating sufficient space for the accompanying musicians to improvise (typically in the raga in which the song is composed).

Ehsaas – The Ghazal Festival will be headlined by the sitar maestro and vocalist Ustad Shujaat Khan, son of the legendary sitarist Ustad Vilayat Khan. Shujaat Khan has developed his own unique style of playing Indian classical music. His approach to rhythm is largely intuitive, fresh and spontaneous. Known for his exceptional voice, Shujaat is one of the very few artists who plays the sitar and sings simultaneously. His voice has earned him as much acclaim as his work on the sitar. His noted vocal albums include Lajo Lajo and Hazaron Kwaishen.

His successful collaboration with different genres of music is evidenced by the successful Indo-Persian venture, the Ghazal Ensemble with Kayhan Kalhor. Their album The Rain on the ECM label received a Grammy nomination. His album Strings Tradition with kora player Mamadou Diabate from Mali has broken new ground in bridging the musical traditions of India and Africa. His album Naina Lagai Ke is a collaboration with India’s melody queen Asha Bhosle. Shujaat has been invited as visiting faculty member at the Dartington School of Music in England, the University of Washington in Seattle, and is a faculty member at the University of California at Los Angeles.

The other artist who will be featured in Ehsaas – The Ghazal Festival is Surinder Khan who hails from Punjab, India and has been trained in vocal music in the Patiala Gharana. This classical style of singing has been popularised in the ghazal genre by the great ghazal singer Ustad Ghulam Ali. Surinder has been singing for the last 25 years. Surinder is said to be finest contemporary ghazal singer in this style, and is fast becoming the ghazal singer of choice at many of the prestigious music festivals in India.

The artists will be accompanied by performers from India on tabla, sarangi, flute, acoustic guitar, and dholak. 

The concerts will take place in Cape Town on Saturday, 23 May at the Baxter Concert Hall at 19:30 and in Johannesburg on Sunday, 24 Mat at The Lyris Theatre at Gold Reef City at 16:00.

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