It is very difficult to say which ghazals of Ghalib were sung earlier and were popular with the audience that visited the salons. Gradually, as word displaced sur in music, it edged towards a more central position among listeners who were bigger in number and much more diverse in taste and background. Thumri too formed a definitive style in Lucknow, Benares and Jaipur.
With the gradual destruction and lessening of importance of Delhi, other centres started to emerge and kheyal prospered there more than in Delhi in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The grand tradition had travelled from dhurpad to kheyal in about three centuries while the singing of ghazal was restricted to the salons of dancing girls.
Ghazal till the turn of the century was a minor form of singing. During his lifetime, he was appreciated by a few, reviled by a lot more, because his sensibility and views violated the more conventional thinking patterns of Indians in general and Muslims in particular. This process started with the publication of a pocket edition from Berlin in 1925, very beautifully printed on thick paper, carrying a striking photograph of Ghalib. Ghalib became a favourite with the singers after he was accepted as a leading poet.
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