MUMBAI: Mohammad Vakil, who shot into the limelight after his 1998 win on Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma lauched his second album 'Guzarish' on Tuesday at a suburban mall in Mumbai. The album was launched by singer Sonu Niigam.

'Guzarish' has been composed by Manju Narain and comprises ten tracks,  out of which seven tracks are Vakil's interpretation of ghazals rendered by stalwarts like Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum, Mehdi Hasan, Jagjit Singh, Begum Akhtar, Lata Mangeshkar and Ustaad Ahmed Hussain and Ustaad Mohammad Hussain.

Says Vakil, "This is my second album after 'Kasak'. The album couldn't have been possible without the blessings of my Guru Ustaad Ahmed Hussain and Ustaad Mohammad Hussain - also, Sonu Niigam's support means a lot to me. It was because of him that I went abroad on a tour for the first time," he recalled 

Vakil sang a few lines of Apni Tasveer ko ankhon se by Ghulam Ali and an original from his new album Khuda Kare ke wo mera nasib ho jaaye. His spot-on improvisations and note-play were more than laudable  Vakil is one of the few young ghazal singers who is keeping the legacy of ghazal singers alive in the country. Composing ghazals requires a different skill set. Composer Manju Narain was approached for the album because both Narain and Vakil learnt under the same Guru. Not many know that Mohammad Vakil is Ustaad Ahmed Hussain and Ustaad Mohammad Hussain nephew 

Considering the fact that a majority of songs are reworked, composer Manju Narain said, "We initially planned to include all original compositions in this album, however, the label suggested that including the interpretations of well- known ghazals is a safer proposition considering the market and its trends."

The arrangements for the album have been done by renowned guitarist Chintoo Singh, "We have kept the arrangements to its minimal. This album has an unplugged concert-like ambience". Sonu Niigam seemed was gitated at the electronic media for their constant muttering, nevertheless, he opined on the present music scenario, "Many people make music just to attain fame and amass money without contributing anything to �Music' as art. Also, it's best if there are only few listeners who appreciate good music," he added.

Ghazals as a music genre is niche and requires unique training and approach. Ghazal meastros like Begum Akhtar, Mehdi Hasan, Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh and Talat Aziz are names synonymous with Ghazal gayaki. However, the new generation has not been introduced to this genre since majority focus is on commercial music arena. Perhaps, that's the reason why many artistes including Aamir Ali (Ghulam Ali's son), in his latest album 'Generations', experimented with a contemporary sound to introduce it to the present generation. There are experimentations even on the live music scenario, recently, Ustad Ghulam Ali Khan and Pt Ajay Pohankar performed with son Abhijit Pohankar's group in a concert with a sole purpose of introducing the traditional and semi-classical genre to the young audience.

Will changing the sound, 'change' the present generations view towards ghazals? Won't the 'Ghazals genre', in its attempt to appeal to the present generation loose its originality to some extent? Will we find young voices who will shoulder the genre responsibly? Tell us what you think. It's a Guzarish…