Hungama Hai Kyon

"Hungama Hai Kyon Baraas" gives Ghulam Ali a poem — this one variously attributed but in the Mir Taqi Mir tradition — that is essentially an observation: why all this commotion when the speaker knows exactly what the agitation is (love, and love's losses). The ironic distance of the ghazal allows Ali to play with register in ways that suit his particular vocal gift, which includes an ability to suggest humor and grief simultaneously. The opening phrases are almost conversational before the song settles into its emotional depth. Ali's sarangi-influenced vocal ornaments — the specific way he approaches and departs from the tonic — are more visible here than in his more restrained recordings, giving the performance a slightly festive quality that is never at odds with the underlying seriousness. A ghazal that manages to be both worldly and heartbroken, which is a specifically Urdu poetic achievement that Ali makes sound effortless.