Whenever there is a discussion on classical music one veers towards its impending and rapid decline, especially in this part of the world. But change is inevitable with the passage of time and is a natural process. What was popular decades ago is not bound to apply in the present era. Commercialism has become a major stakeholder, playing a decisive role in the lives of people around the globe.

Classical and ghazal singer Salamat Ali Khan feels that we, as a nation, are changing too quickly and puts forth a question before people—why have we lost our identity and stop taking pride in our traditions and culture? Granted that classical arts are difficult to understand but no one bothers to make an effort to understand them either, he says with emphasis.

Then he proceeds to answer his own question. Classical or refined music in his view is fading away in the subcontinent and across the world because popular music is taking over. Though it is faring better in the West, in this part of the world it will die out completely after a while, as time is required to learn and perform it and there is no promotion of this kind of music.

“To compound the situation, if a country is going through bad times and the people are facing problems and extreme stress, how can they focus on the arts? There was firing at a mushaira recently, poetry suffered because of the incident. If we have people promoting the arts it helps the performers because this is their bread and butter,” he adds.

Khan loved music from childhood. And as he had a good voice his father, a music composer in the Lahore Radio Station, seeing his interest started teaching him music at the age of eight. “For 10 years I practised with my father in Quetta where he had been transferred. My ideal was Mehdi Hasan who was my main inspiration.”

At the age of 18 he came to Lahore which was the hub of music at the time and had known ustads and many learning opportunities. Set on making it a career, in 1970 the young Khan decided that Karachi was the place to be in, and a year later having practised classical singing thoroughly he became a professional singer appearing in TV and concerts. “Apart from my father who taught me the technique of singing I regard Mehdi Hasan as a teacher because I learnt from his style of singing and from Hari Prasad Chaurasia, a flute maestro in India whose classical notes are outstanding.”

Though, a classical singer he chose ghazal as the genre of performance “because you can express yourself more in it. It also appeals to more people compared to classical music. I sing thumri and khayal as well which requires improvisation with one’s voice, whereas in ghazal the words of the poet help to bring out the feelings. In classical music you have to remain in the boundary of the raag and the feelings come through the performance of the sur.”

He states that ghazal can adapt to classical raags as Mehdi Hasan has demonstrated, but Talat Mahmood and Jagjeet Singh used the geet style which is popular with the masses as the classical style is not everybody’s cup of tea. He, too, uses raags in his ghazals but applies surs as well. Practicing religiously to keep his voice in shape he points out that a good singer knows that the words should be uttered properly and with the right pause. “I do not belong to any gharana, but if you have the talent you can adopt classical singing, if you lack the voice it is very difficult to become a singer.” Composing most of his songs he emphasises that all good singers tend to compose their own music. “Your own work is better for you because you know your voice and the nuances and surs which suit you. I have released 12 CDs of my composed ghazals so far.”

He feels that one of the reasons for classical music’s decline is that there are no proper academies to promote the music and the state does not sponsor either. The channels are not bothered and the PTV is not interested in this music anymore as it is not popular with the masses.

However, there are some music NGOs, says the singer, that are doing a good job such as Tehzeeb and All Pakistan Music Conference (APMC) which are trying to keep classical music alive. Some years back seeing the decline of classical music among young people, Khan tried to bring in a bit of pop and reggae into music to make it popular amongst them, but it wasn’t that successful.

“I felt it didn’t work for me. I was more comfortable with my type of music. This is a period of commercialism and marketing and media are the groups that promote what they want. They are not interested in culture and are more into what is popular.” But at the same time, he adds that though music needs promotion, traditions also need to adapt to the change to survive, giving the example of languages that have been lost because they didn’t assimilate new words. Classical music with a change according to the times can be made popular with the masses so it doesn’t get limited to a certain segment of society. Ghazal will continue because it adapts itself and is thus popular.

An institution that can do something about the decline of these arts is the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa). “I left Napa recently; in fact I have been made to leave because of the situation created there. The government gives money to this organisation and should keep check on what is happening there. The organisation should be run by people, not individuals. It can go to places with the right people running it. There is too much politics there and professionals are not encouraged. One hopes it matures into an organisation in the near future.”

He first met Azra Riaz, (his wife) also a singer, at a recording at the PTV. She was more popular than he was during those days. With time and responsibilities and less recording opportunities she has lessened her singing in public. But he says she does riaz everyday to keep her voice in shape. Like Khan she is into ghazal, geet and classical singing. “We have five children but none of our children were interested in music the way we were at their age. The youngest is into theatre and music; let’s see what he decides to do in the future.”

Though he has been singing for some time, Salamat Ali Khan has not been able to make a name for himself like others such as Ghulam Ali. He says it is just his luck that he has not been able to make a niche for himself. “Being in the right place at the right time is what counts, muqaddar is the word for it,” he says resignedly.