’Kavya Pushpa ‘was one such popular collection. Publications of ghazals contained information about the content and form of the ghazals. Gradually the tradition was done away with and Gujarati Ghazal came into its own.
Some poets wrote the first misra (line) of the couplet in chaste Urdu and the second in Gujarati. Mushaiyaras were organized and drew audiences in Surat and Rander. A ‘Muslim Gujarati Ghazal Mandal’ was formed in Rander in the 1920s. His tragic love life inspired text that influenced young lovers. Lathi’s poet prince Kalapi, died young at 26, had penned,’ Kalapino Kekarav ‘. Sursinhji Takhtasinh Gohil or ‘Kalapi’, Balashankar Ullasram Kantharia, Manilal Dwivedi - who blended Sufism and Advaita thought into verse, Damodar Tripathi alias ‘Sagar’ were some of the first ghazal writers of Gujarat. Appreciation of Urdu verses found a new wave with poets penning ghazals. The scene changed with the playwright Amrit Keshav Nayak, a celebrated actor, and a director of Urdu theatre. The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (volume 2) states that earlier poets like Dayaram and Narmad had tried their hand at ghazals but not with much success. Parsis, pioneers as stage actors, were very well adapted to both Persian and Urdu, hence ‘bayt baazi’-exchange of couplets, in the aforementioned languages were extremely popular with audiences. It is said that many Nagar Brahmins even performed the daily Sandhya-evening prayers in Persian instead of Sanskrit. Under the influence of Mughal rule, the cultural and literary spheres of Gujarat were set around the Persian language, which was then considered an official language of the state. The Persian form of poetry that speaks of languishing love journeyed to India via Urdu. Mellifluous Mohammed Rafi once sang -‘Divaso judai na jay chhe ae jasey jaroor milan sudhi.’ Few know that these lyrics were penned by a Surti ghazalkaar- Abdul Gani Dahiwala.
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