My students remind me of ghazals that even I’ve forgotten: Talat Aziz

Last year, veteran singer Talat Aziz had exclusively spoken to us about turning a music teacher during the pandemic. He has been conducting online ghazal classes for the last couple of years, teaching over 60 students from various parts of the world. And recently, his students recorded a ghazal that was composed by Aziz. Needless to say, the teacher is extremely proud. “I composed a ghazal by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri (Urdu poet), whose poetry has been sung by stalwarts such as Mehdi Hasan saab, Farida Khanum and Jagjit Singh. I composed it in raga khamaj in a very traditional style and had two different batches of my students sing it. We also shot a video that is now available on my social media platforms,” says the ghazal ace.

Aziz has 65 students so far across 10 batches and they hail from India, USA, Canada, Dubai and Bangladesh. They are aged between 13 and 60. While the common perception is that not many youngsters are inclined towards ghazal as a genre, Aziz’s experience suggests otherwise. Ask if there’s any change in the way the youth perceives the genre and the 65-year-old says, “I have many students between the age group of 25 and 40 and they are all inclined towards traditional ghazal singing. They request me to teach them authentic ghazals. In fact, sometimes, they remind me of ghazals that even I’ve forgotten.”

While he’s currently busy with his professional commitments in the areas of music and acting, the Zindagi Jab Bhi Teri Bazm Mein (Bazaar; 1981) singer wishes to continue with his music classes. “Teaching has been an extremely enriching experience for me and the students are like my family now. I feel like the head of a huge family and feel the responsibility [to help them grow], too,” he ends.