This ghazal is sung by the famous Afghan ghazal singer Ahmad Fanous, accompanied by Ravi Albright on tabla. “Chupke Chupke Raat Din” was composed by Ghulam Ali, a well-known Pakistani singer of ghazals. The lyrics were written in Urdu by Maulana Hasrat Mohani, a freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement in the 1940s.
This piece became popular after it was sung by Ghulam Ali in the 1982 film Nikaah. This has been re-imagined by Jagjith Singh and Asha Bhosle. Ahmad sings this song in its original interpretation by Ghulam Ali and renders it beautifully with just a tabla accompaniment.
This song is about remembering the days of falling in love, a love that is now in the past, and the piece starts with these lines:
Chupke, chupke, raat din, aansu, bahana yaad hai,
I remember secretly shedding tears day and night
We still remember that time of love
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.