on the way back to India, Ghulam Ali's father requested the Ustad to take his son as a disciple. But Khan insisted that since he was hardly in town, regular training wouldn't be possible. But after repeated requests from Ghulam Ali's father, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan asked the young Ghulam Ali to sing something. It wasn't easy to have the courage to sing before him. He mustered the courage to sing the Thumri "Saiyyan Bolo Tanik Mose Rahiyo Na Jaye..". After he finished, Ustad hugged him and made him his disciple. Career Ghulam Ali started singing for Radio Pakistan, Lahore in 1960. Along with singing ghazals, Ghulam Ali composes music for his ghazals. His compositions are raga-based and sometimes include a scientific mixture of ragas. He is known for blending gharana-gaayaki into ghazal and this gives his singing the capability to touch people's hearts. He sings Punjabi songs too. Many of his Punjabi songs have been popular and have been part of Punjab's own cultural diaspora. Though from Pakistan, Ghulam Ali remains as popular in India as in Pakistan. Asha Bhosle has done joint music albums with him. He was introduced to Hindi cinema with a Hindi film song Chupke Chupke Raat Din written by the poet Hasrat Mohani in B. R. Chopra's film, Nikaah (1982). Other popular ghazals include Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa and Awaargi. He tends to select the ghazals of famous poets. On being questioned about Pakistani pop groups, Ghulam Ali replied, "Frankly, I am really bewildered at their style of singing. How can you sing a song by running and jumping around the stage? The stage is meant for performing not for acrobatics." Ghulam Ali has also sung some Nepali ghazals like Kina kina timro tasveer, Gajalu tee thula thula aankha, Lolaaeka tee thula and Ke chha ra diun in Nepali language with Narayan Gopal, a well known Nepali singer, and composer Deepak Jangam. Those songs were written by King Mahendra of Nepal. These songs were compiled in an album entitled Narayan Gopal, Ghulam Ali Ra Ma, and are popular among Nepali music lovers to this day. One of his memorable concerts was at the Taj Mahal. On being asked about the future of ghazal singers, he said he enjoyed popular ghazal singer Adithya Srinivasan's ghazals, who performed the opening act at his concert in 2012 at Bangalore. Recently, in February 2013, the maestro became