Yesterday, today and tomorrow - that's ghazals for you!

Muhammad Zubair is Pakistan's rising talent. At just 22 years old, he strode ahead of grueling competition all the way to the grand finale of Asia's Singing Superstar broadcasted on Zee TV Middle East and Pakistan's own Geo channel in January 2016. The contest was open to all ages and thousands of hopefuls took part across the Middle East, Pakistan and India. A year on, I had the chance to listen to Muhammad at close quarters at a family function in Karachi and officially converted from someone who only listened to commercial music to someone with a great appreciation for ghazals.

For those less familiar, ghazals go back centuries to the time of Hafiz and Mirza Ghalib. Mostly written in Urdu or Persian, they are poetry personified and captivating with repetitive verses and traditional musical instruments like the harmonica and the tabla. Beauty is synonymous with a ghazal and true to it's Arabic origin - "talking to women".  Commons themes in a ghazal are love, devotion and wonder. As I observed the captivated room of men and women of different generations at this family function, I realized ghazals embody a level of spirituality that somehow have a hypnotic pull.

Muhammad's triumph at Asia's Singing Star rings even louder to me as he has a speech impediment, a result of a childhood illness. Amazingly enough, his powerful voice shows no signs of this, a hurdle he has overcome beautifully. In a televised interview, Muhammad proudly looks into the camera and says, "People often say you stutter - how can you possibly sing?". "Just watch me" he adds.  The world's doing just that! The famous composer, playback singer and judge of Asia's Singing Superstar, Shankar Mahadevan, called him a "young Mehdi Hassan", probably the best compliment he could have received.

The oldest of eight siblings, Muhammad was born in Karachi. His father is Ghulam Sabir Yusufi focused on naat's (poetry in praise of Allah), and his grandfather was Alhaj Khursheed Ahmed Khan, also not an uunfamiliar name. It is no coincidence perhaps that Muhammad decided to take the musical route. His musical aspirations started young where he sang national songs at school events. In 2008, he started to pursue music seriously. His teacher was Muhammad Hussain who he refers to as "saab" or "sir".

  
While ghazals can be considered a mature style for someone his age, Muhammad says that he had no interest in being a one-hit pop or rock wonder with a two or four year stunt. He realized early on that ghazals had longevity. I'll agree with him that Mehdi Hassan is relevant even today. Muhammad compares music to English and Maths, a subject that needs to be learned and nurtured properly. He has some tips for aspiring singers:

• Learn from an expert or "ustad"
• Practice every day
• Listen to experts who have already made their mark

His heroes in music include his father who taught him the basics as well as his "ustaad" and Mehdi Hassan. He draws his inspiration from folk music, namely Tufail Niazi's.

Asia's Singing Superstar is certainly a big feather in his cap, but he's not about to rest on his laurels. In a couple of months' time, we'll see more music from Muhammad, some original, others Mehdi Hassan covers with a touch of jazz for a contemporary sound.

I tried to dissect the ghazal and Muhammad was kind enough to explain the intricacies of a ghazal to me but I'll admit that they were lost on me and he may as well have been speaking Chinese. Don't think I should give up my day job any time soon. Some things are best left to the experts!

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