This ghazal is sung by the famous Afghan ghazal singer Ahmad Fanous, accompanied by his son, pianist Elham Fanous and by Ravi Albright on tabla. Ahmad reimagines this ever so popular piece in Dari-Farsi. The father-son collaboration creates one of the most successful fusions of the traditional ghazal with Western classical harmonies. Their unique blend of Indian and Western melodic styles owes much to the fact that Elham grew up with his father’s music in his ears and also began his own study of Western classical music at an early age in middle school.
“Ashkam Wale Ba Paye” was originally composed and made popular by Rahim Jahane in the 1980s. The original lyrics were written by Rahi Mo’ayyeri, an Iranian poet popular in the first half of the twentieth century.
Some lines:
I feel like an insignificant tear falling under the feet of others,
But I’m just so lucky to be around inspiring people.
This white hair of mine did not come free,
I have given my youth for it.
Ghazals are a traditional genre of poems set to music. Though they originated in Arabic poetry, the popular versions of ghazals sung in South Asia today can be traced to the 13th century Delhi Sultanate (present day India) poet/musician Amir Khusrau.
The ghazal is fundamentally romantic, often including overtones of both love and the pain of separation from love. The lyrics may also have a hidden double meaning that suggests another story which must be kept hidden.
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