As a singer, Anwesshaa has dabbled in a variety of genres. Singing a ghazal, however, has always been a special experience for her. One of her popular songs as a singer is ‘Benaam Khwahishein’, an original ghazal composed by Papon which she recorded for Coke Studio India in 2013. She has also released an indie-popalbum in the form of ‘Mizaaj-E-Ishq’ which comprised of a few immersive ghazals like ‘Rone De’ and ‘Thoda Tera’, among others. The young singer has continued her association with this genre with her recent release ‘Hathon Ki Lakeeron Mein’.
Talking about the experience of working on this ghazal, Anwesshaa says, “Quincy Chett, who has rendered the song with me, reached out to me for a musical collaboration. He sings a lot of ghazals and is extremely passionate about this genre. He sent me the track and once I heard it, there was no question of me saying a no. It was a beautiful melody with thoughtful poetry. I recorded the song in Lata Mangeshkar Studio or LM Studio in Mumbai. My vocals were recorded by Mayuresh Pai ji who has also arranged this ghazal. I had known him for a while but this was the first time I got the opportunity to work with him.”
Based on poetry written by the late poet and lyricist Qateel Shifai, ‘Hathon Ki Lakeeron Mein’ has been composed by Ustad Ghulam Abbas Khan. The ghazal has been released on Red Ribbon Musik. The music video, which features Gauri Shah and Ali Zi, has been directed by Hrishi Shah. According to Anwesshaa, there are several factors which make this ghazal very special.
Elaborating on the same, she says, “These days, musicians are experimenting with different sound and creating songs that are a mix of multiple genres. Experimenting or trying out different things is very important. However, we must also create songs that represent different genres in their purest form. There are many people who like to listen to ghazals that are created using traditional instruments. ‘Hathon Ki Lakeeron Mein’ has been created for those who like to listen to ghazals in their purest form. I have always been a big fan of Qatil Shifai ji’s poetry and it was an honour to lend my voice to verses written by him.”
There was a time when ghazals were given a lot of prominence by music labels. One would see full-fledged ghazal albums recorded by the likes of Jagjit Singh, Hariharan and Bhupinder Singh, among others, being released at regular intervals. These days, however, it’s quite rare to see artists or music labels releasing original ghazals.
“If somebody makes you taste a dish for the first time and you like it, you would want to try it again. Today’s generation needs to be made aware of the depth and emotions in ghazals. The youth of today is heavily into short-length content and English language music. Music is such a vast ocean. Instead of making people listen to just one kind of music, they should be given the opportunity to explore a variety of genres. We must make an effort to keep our traditional music genres relevant. A lot of music labels assume a lot of things about the audience’s taste. They assume that people will consume only a certain kind of music. It is not right to make such assumptions. I am sure the audience wants to listen to all kinds of music. A lot of youngsters, who come to my shows, request me to sing ‘Benaam Khwahishein’. If quality content is promoted adequately, it will reach out to the audience”, says Anwesshaa.