The Guzzlers saving the Ghazals

Imagine yourself at a beautiful restaurant, with dim lights, authentic cuisine, and people talking politely without any noise. On this already mesmerizing eve, you suddenly hear the song from the corners of the restaurant. ‘Tumko Dekha to ye khayal aya…..’ Instantaneously the mood of the evening turned different. It is that kind of magic no other songs can create; in seventy’s and eighty’s India’s maestros of Ghazal singing, brought to the common, the magic of ghazal singing.

The Guzzlers, including Shruti Pathak, created the magic of music; Source: TheGoodLifeotpourri

If you are asked about your favourite music genre most of you might skip the genre called ‘ghazals’. Though many listen to it even today, its core audience is pretty limited. Fortunately, many artists from the new generation are still making and promoting ghazals, which had the fortune to have names associated with Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Hariharan, Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz, Peenaz Masani, etc. One such name that is getting slowly associated today is Shruti Pathak.

Ghazals are truly one of the purest and most respected music genres. It has captivated audiences for decades with numerous songs that are loved and played still today. It has witnessed maestros like Ustad Mehdi Hassan Sahab, Ustad Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Hariharan, Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz, Peenaz Masani, and others who have contributed to this art form. 

Unfortunately, once these maestros left the music industry their magical music also left along with them. Since then, ghazals have slowly lost their impression in the minds of the audience. Rarely do singers compose original ghazal songs anymore? The main reason behind it is the shift from slow ghazals to fast rap and hip hop. Even after all of this, there are some artists who are putting their heart and soul, to keep this genre in the minds of people forever. One of them is Shruti Pathak.

Shruti is a youngster who is best known as the voice behind songs like ‘Mar Jawaan’ (Fashion), ‘Subharambh’ (Kai Po Che), ‘Tooh’ (Gori Tere Pyaar Mein), 'Tujhe Bhula Diya' (Anjaana Anjaani). She has made tremendous efforts to popularize the Ghazal singing among the young population of India. In 2013, Shruti Pathak launched a band called ‘Guzzler’. Her band is one unique band, possibly the first of its kind for any band that is based on Ghazal singing. She's been marketing it on tour all across the country.

This band is an attempt to reintroduce classic ghazals in a more experimental and progressive manner. "I call it ghazals with a twist," adds frontwoman Shruti Pathak. Shahrukh Khan plays the sarangi, Nawaz Hussain plays the drums, Andrew Ferrao plays keyboards, Glen Fernandes plays the guitar, and Akashdeep Gogoi plays the bass guitar in Guzzler.

The most refreshing thing about this band is that they just didn’t play the ghazals in the same manner as the original; instead to keep up with the time they added new elements to make it pleasing to the newer generations. They made sure that they didn’t take away the essence of the ghazals, but gave it a more contemporary and soulful twist. They modernized the music by using drums, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and jazz keys.

Although ghazals have not been completely successful through the test of time, artists like Shruti are giving a lot of effort to keep the genre still close to our hearts