In a rehearsal room in Mumbai, long before the tickets for his India tour went live, singer Nisschal Zaveri found himself in an unusual moment. He was singing a familiar ghazal line, but he recalls that afternoon, the sound of the sarangi and a 30-piece Western orchestral palette rose around him. “That’s when I realised that the mehfil’s intimacy could coexist with orchestral scale,” he remembers.
That realisation became Whispers of the Infinite, a production that blends ghazal and symphony. But grandeur isn’t what he is chasing with the concerts. If anything, he is gentle with the idea of scale. “Every arrangement is designed to breathe with the poetry, not sit on top of it. The strings rise only when the sher rises, the choir appears for a moment and disappears. In a way, the grandeur actually protects the silence,” shares the Delhi-born artiste who grew up training in Hindustani classical music. Now, with over 100 original ghazals to his credit, his discography includes collaborations with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and AR Rahman’s KM Conservatory.
With the latest endeavour, Zaveri believes he is carrying ghazals forward without changing their core. “I’m not breaking the form, I am honouring it. The structure of the ghazal remains untouched. All I’ve done is expand the canvas around it. When the intention is rooted in respect, even traditional listeners feel included, not threatened.”
The fear of alienating traditional listeners never found its way into his process. In a world filled with synths, loops, and hooks, the singer believes listeners are hungry and the ghazal offers an antidote. He shares a recent incident to prove how the young audience too tunes into ghazals. He recalls, “Just a few days ago, during a rehearsal for Whispers of the Infinite, five or six young girls, barely six to 10 years old, walked into the room and sat through almost four hours of rehearsal. I am certain they didn’t understand a word of the Urdu I was singing. But they sat there, listening. That moment reminded me that music, when it’s honest, can be boundless. A ghazal doesn’t rely on language; it relies on feeling. In a world full of hooks and algorithms, a ghazal gives you emotion in its purest form.”
Ghazals rendered by Nisschal Zaveri:
. Silsile Tod Gaya Woh Sabhi
. Kabhi Kaha Na Kisi Se
. Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar