As ghazal singer Shailly Kapoor prepares to perform An Evening of Ghazals of Mirza Ghalib in Hyderabad on June 6, the city is once again getting ready for evenings filled with poetry, conversation and music. While one performance will celebrate the timeless poetry of Ghalib in a deeply curated format, the other promises a free-flowing musical night shaped entirely by the audience’s mood and requests. For Shailly, Hyderabad is not just another stop on the concert circuit. It is a city tied closely to some of her most cherished musical memories and personal milestones.
Speaking about the upcoming performances, she explained how this evening will carry completely different energies. “Sham-e-Ghazal is happening at Safdaria School, with a community of nearly 200 Hyderabadi ghazal listeners, who organise poet-based programmes frequently. On June 6, I will be rendering only Mirza Ghalib ghazals. Earlier, I performed Faiz Ahmad Faiz, and even the farmaish from the audience but this time the show will be on Ghalib only,” she shares.
Among her fondest Hyderabad memories is a performance that unexpectedly transformed one of her renditions into a viral sensation. Recalling the moment, she speaks about singing a famous Ghalib ghazal in an entirely different style. “I performed at a farmhouse, where I sang Ghalib’s Ghazal, originally composed by Jagjit Singh, in a different Qawwali style. It became a huge hit worldwide. While some questioned the style, many related to it, and the video received thousands of views on YouTube and Facebook,” she says.
Interestingly, music was not always her full-time profession. Reflecting on her transition, she expresses, “I have been in the corporate world for 28 years and started working at a very early age. I began as a banker, later moved to the IT sector, and served at Deloitte for 13 years. As I kept rising the corporate ladder, I got less time for music. After quitting Deloitte in 2023, I took the plunge into singing again, and today, direct enquiries and concerts across cities feel like a dream come true.”
Her digital presence slowly helped her rediscover her artistic identity. “I did a special project on Ghalib where I sang all the couplets of his ghazals, which nobody had really done before. From there, my popularity started growing, and I became more of a YouTube singer,” she explained.
Her first intimate gathering performance soon opened doors to regular concerts across cities, including Hyderabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. “People said the way I present and explain ghazals is what has been missing so far. They had seen singers sing, but because I explained the ghazals too, they could enjoy them more. I think that became my USP,” she highlights.
For Shailly, ghazals are deeply personal because Urdu poetry has always been part of her everyday life at home. “I sing ghazals because I love Urdu poetry and understand every couplet deeply. At home, we often quote Ghalib, Faiz, or Daag in conversations according to situations. Ghazals mean conversation, and it has to be both said and sung. Unless the singer enjoys the poetry and builds intimacy with the audience, the audience cannot enjoy it. That is why singing ghazals comes naturally to me,” she shares.
As younger listeners increasingly discover ghazals through social media, she sees hope for the genre’s future. “There are pages and singers today explaining poetry and ghazals, and making them accessible to younger audiences. Social media has created consciousness towards ghazals because different singers and pages are sharing ghazals, poetry and videos with explanations, which are reaching the younger generation in an easily understandable format that earlier platforms did not provide,” she notes.
Summing up her journey through a couplet she holds close to her heart, Shailly smiles and recites, “Bas aapki zara si der hai, to follow the path for the passion for your hobby. Raahe junoon-e-shauk mein badhne ki der hai. Manzil jagah jagah na bana doon, to baat kya?” For Shailly Kapoor, it is proof that passion may wait quietly for years, but when finally pursued wholeheartedly, it can transform life completely.