MUMBAI: Contemporary ghazal music has evolved over the years without adding much to the style and content of the genre, said ghazal artist Tauseef Akthar.

Akthar, a former student of the late Jagjit Singh who has pioneered the contemporary style of ghazal, believes that the new generation has missed out on some of the essentials of the music that has mesmerized generations of audience.

“The classical school of ghazal represented by artists like Mehdi Hassan and Begum Akthar had mastery over the language of ghazal that is Urdu- which after all was their family language and ghazal is Urdu poetry set in a melody. Very few among the new generation of singers take interest in the language and nuances. This has resulted in poor choice of material,” Akthar told Radioandmusic.com.

Akthar’s grounding has been comprehensive covering both the traditional and modern styles of ghazal. Starting under the watchful eyes and strict tutelage of his father Janab Akhtar Azad Saheb - a noted critic and a connoisseur of Urdu shayari and Ghazals, Tauseef received his initial, ‘taleem’ of vocal classical singing from the renowned Late Pt Govind Prasad 'Jaipurwale’.

He went on to be taken under wings of Jagjit Singh from whom he learnt the nuances of vocal rendition particularly the inimitable style significant to, ‘ghazal gayaki’ of Jagjit Singh, ghazal recital but also vocal classical rendition.

To become a well rounded ghazal artist, Akthar advocates a personal one-on-one style of teaching from a qualified and experienced artist. With the number of gurus slowly dwindling, Akthar opines that institutions can also impart training on ghazal singing upto an extent.

“There are schools and institutions that train though not very intensively. But Ghazal still has a number of unsung heroes- artists who can give the very best training. It is not necessary to be a famous name to be a good teacher,” he explained.

He has also just released an inspired patriotic single ‘Yeh Hindustan Mera’ based on poetry by Veer Sarvarkar that was digitally released on the Independence Day.

“It was a couple of weeks ago when it to struck me that most of the ghazal songs are about love and romance. There are hardly any about ghazals on the social issues. Then I read Veer Sarvarkar’s poetry and was immediately inspired,” he said.

Former assistant to Nadeem, of renowned music duos Nadeem- Shravan music director duo, Akthar has forged his own path and is currently preparing for a European tour. A new album is also in the works for which he is collaborating with Welsh folk music artists.

“Ghazal is like a tree- there are some who planted the trees and it is for the others to make it grow. But the future of ghazal is safe. A decade and a half back it was in the pop category, now it has its own audience. Being non-film music, it faces challenges like not receiving enough slots in the media and a little work may be needed to make the audience more aware. But then what’s the fun without challenges?”