My real inspiration to enter the magical field of ghazals is my father as he let me know the innocence of ghazal gayaki and inspired me to be a ghazal singer,” shared renowned ghazal singer Penaz Masani.
Penaz Masani, also known as ‘Queen of Ghazals’ and ‘Shehzadi-e-Tarannum’ of the country landed in the city of lakes on Tuesday night. She was here to present a live concert of ghazals before the Bhopalites that was held on Wednesday at Ravindra Bhavan Hall. The concert was organised by the Directorate of Culture, Madhya Pradesh.
Notably, her basic training was done by her father, who was also a ghazal singer. While talking about herself and her love for ghazal gayaki, Penaz told The Pioneer, “I sung my first ghazal in the year 1981 and since then the journey has begun and I have never turned back,” adding, “I have sung the shayaris of various poets including Mirza Ghalib, Shakeel Badayuni, Ibrahim Ashk and many more. Out of which I love the shyaris by Shakeel Badayuni,” she said.
On asking about her visit to Bhopal, Penaz said, “I have visited the city after a long time. My first visit to Bhopal was in the year 1983, where I came to perform at Bharat Bhavan.” Elaborating further, Penaz said, “The city of lakes has changed a lot, it has become more beautiful and relaxing place. Moreover, the scenic beauty of the city embraces the visitors till now,’ she added further.
While talking about the ghazal gayaki, she said, “Ghazal gayaki was basically introduced in the time of Begum Akhtar. In the contemporary world it is losing its significance somewhere and somehow.” Elaborating further she said, “The youngsters of the city should learn the classical form of music as it is a significant part of our musical heritage. In fact this should be promoted too.”
Penaz performed here before the Bhopalites, her tender looks and humble nature enthralled the audiences as she sung the compositions with the eye-catching expressions on her face that complimented her performance further. Notably, before the concert an Urdu book ‘Mauj-e-Gul’ was also released during the programme.
She was accompanied by the Neuro-Physician Dr KK Kanwar as she performed the ghazals leaving the audience mesmerised once again with her melodious voice.