Ahead of his Bengaluru show, Papon reflects on his lifelong love for ghazals

I call the performance Shaam-e-Mehfil and not Shaam-e-Ghazal because it’s not just ghazals. Unlike Bollywood songs or even my own songs, the sound design is very different. But, since not all my songs are released yet, this show is not going to be about the new ghazals. This will be a collection of tributes to the amazing artistes who are idols for me — Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali — but in my way. There will be a mix of familiar songs and some old classics. The audience is like guests in my house.

I have waited two long decades to understand the form and to figure out a sound for it. Over the last 10 years, I have built a new sound around ghazals to make it more connected to the times. Now, I am going one step forward with Shaam-e-Mehfil. We are writing the poetry to make it relevant to today's generation, with the technicalities of ghazal writing.

My parents were one of the most respected and popular musician families in Assam. So, from my childhood, I have had baithaks, mehfils and addas at home. I am from the fourth generation, so almost everyone in my family and extended family either sings or plays an instrument. This has been the core of what I am and how I have existed with people conversing through and spending time around music. It continued with my guitar when I moved to Delhi. People would ask me to sing whenever they used to see me. I believe that a mehfil is not just about music, it’s about so much more. It’s also about the energies, the conversations and the vibe which involves food, aesthetics, lighting and everything else. Everything comes together to create it.

I once remember, my mom was cooking and she heard me sing Ranjish Hi Sahi when I was in standard four or five. I was trying every line on my own with the harmonium and she got concerned seeing a little child talking about such deep, melancholic, sad poetry. So, my love for ghazals was from childhood. I grew up listening to beautiful LPs of Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh and Mehdi Hassan and thus, was pulled towards the world of ghazals.

When a person is alone, they do not jump around with some bouncy music. When one is truly alone with themselves, they tend to slow down by listening to long experiences. At that moment short form does not really come to play.

We have gone through a number of Irshad’s songs and ghazals before selecting these few. I was looking for a certain flavour. For the first album, we wanted to keep it simple and get the attention of the younger generation who aren’t into ghazals so much. Keeping in mind the different preferences and traits of listeners nowadays, we have created something very thought-about — an easy-to-listen, easy-to-understand and easy-to-sing album.

Over time, while these two things kept happening to me — seeking new music and singing ghazals — I think the mood and the flavour changed naturally over time. I wanted to change the sound of ghazals and that’s what this album actually is. The balance was not forced or planned. It came after years and years of wandering through the world of ghazals.