It was a busy Sunday morning as I was preparing to leave for Afzalgunj. I had promised to accompany my friend Prakash for a tour of the Salarjung Museum. The routine was interrupted by a phone call. The voice said, "I am performing in Ravindrabharati. If you have time do come". The fact that the performing artist had invited me was a good enough reason for me to attend. On top of that this was in Ravindra Bharati, the biggest stage in the twin cities for decades. And above all it was a tribute to Mehdi Hassan and Jagjit Singh. So I said to myself " chalo miyaa, itwaar ko yaadgaar banaaya jaaye".
By the time I reached Nampally I was overcome with excitement. This transcended into a trance when the concert began with "gulon me rang bhare". I started singing along, and happily clicking away snaps paying little attention to the names of the singers. The Mehdi Hassan favorite was followed by one of Jagjit Singh's mst popular numbers"sarakti jaaye rukh se nakaab aahista aahista". "baat karni mujhe mushkil", "Koyi fariyaad tere dil men dabi ho jaise", "nawazish karam shukriya" were some of other songs rendeed with gusto
by the other singers. Every singer was allotted 2 songs, and in most cases it was one Jagjit Singh number and one Mehdi Hassan song.
The compering was also excellent, with a sher read in introduction of every singer. There was one that just stuck in my mind.
" hatheli ki lakeeron ko maanne vaalon
jinke haath nahiin hotii, unke bhii taqdeer hotii hai"
resulting in a resounding "wah wah's from the auidence".
Every concert has a section of "over the top audience" and this was no exception. There was one character who said loudly "vo medhi hassan to main bhi haasan".
It was only during the break when all the artists were felicitated, that my intensity reduced a little and I started registering the names and faces of the performers .
Kejriwal of oriental cements started by saying that he is not a professional singer and he pursues it as a hobby. He rendered "ek baar chale aao" and "apni yaad ko zinda rakhna"prompting the comperer to say " inki aawaz to oriential cements jaise
majbuut hai".
The next singer was Swati whose opening aalaap drew applause from the audience. The Ghazal was "mohabbat karne waale kam na honge" which had lovely ashaar like "tere furqat ke gam na honge" and the audience lapped it up. With the words "Faiz gaane ki zurrat karti huun", Swati then rendered "aaye kuchh abr, kuchh sharaab aaye".
This was followed by Mazhar Khan who also sang 2 lovely Ghazals. By now "the hassan character" had started his parallel show in the back row and started doing counter aalaaps during the renedition. I will have to admit
that he was not besura. It must been an annoyance to the performers but it added to the entertainment value of some backbenchers.
Suresh Babu followed it up wih " zindagi men to sabhi pyaar kiya karte hain"
A fair and well built gentleman with a Shiv Kumar Sharma kind of flocky hair next came forward, prompting the the comperer to comment " Ye jitne sundar dikhte hain, utne hi sundar gaate hain".True to the words Sharad sang "yaad nahiin kya kya dekha tha", "tera chehra kitna suhana lagta hai" very well.
The last singer for the night was Zahiruddin Babar who regaled the audience
with "tere kushbu men bhara khat" and "har taraf har jagah".
The accompanying orchestra was excellent. Table Nawaaz Sadat Khan, who is also the organiser had a field day. Nothing less is expected of Saadat sahab who has accompanied Vithal Rao over the years.It was well into the night by now and I quickly got into an auto. I was in such a good mood that I engaged in small talk with the diver all throughout. He said " Koi tension nahiin lene ka aur bindaas rehne ka. Ye hyderabad hai aur yahaan raat ko bhi befikr ghum sakte hain".
In all that excitement did I mention that the friend who called me was Swati, a student of legendary Ghazal performer and teacher Pandit Vithal Rao ?Thank you Swati for inviting me.I was a little dissapointed that Pandit Vithal Rao wasn't there. However it was great to see his legacy being taken forward.
By the time I reached Nampally I was overcome with excitement. This transcended into a trance when the concert began with "gulon me rang bhare". I started singing along, and happily clicking away snaps paying little attention to the names of the singers. The Mehdi Hassan favorite was followed by one of Jagjit Singh's mst popular numbers"sarakti jaaye rukh se nakaab aahista aahista". "baat karni mujhe mushkil", "Koyi fariyaad tere dil men dabi ho jaise", "nawazish karam shukriya" were some of other songs rendeed with gusto
by the other singers. Every singer was allotted 2 songs, and in most cases it was one Jagjit Singh number and one Mehdi Hassan song.
The compering was also excellent, with a sher read in introduction of every singer. There was one that just stuck in my mind.
" hatheli ki lakeeron ko maanne vaalon
jinke haath nahiin hotii, unke bhii taqdeer hotii hai"
resulting in a resounding "wah wah's from the auidence".
Every concert has a section of "over the top audience" and this was no exception. There was one character who said loudly "vo medhi hassan to main bhi haasan".
It was only during the break when all the artists were felicitated, that my intensity reduced a little and I started registering the names and faces of the performers .
Kejriwal of oriental cements started by saying that he is not a professional singer and he pursues it as a hobby. He rendered "ek baar chale aao" and "apni yaad ko zinda rakhna"prompting the comperer to say " inki aawaz to oriential cements jaise
majbuut hai".
The next singer was Swati whose opening aalaap drew applause from the audience. The Ghazal was "mohabbat karne waale kam na honge" which had lovely ashaar like "tere furqat ke gam na honge" and the audience lapped it up. With the words "Faiz gaane ki zurrat karti huun", Swati then rendered "aaye kuchh abr, kuchh sharaab aaye".
This was followed by Mazhar Khan who also sang 2 lovely Ghazals. By now "the hassan character" had started his parallel show in the back row and started doing counter aalaaps during the renedition. I will have to admit
that he was not besura. It must been an annoyance to the performers but it added to the entertainment value of some backbenchers.
Suresh Babu followed it up wih " zindagi men to sabhi pyaar kiya karte hain"
A fair and well built gentleman with a Shiv Kumar Sharma kind of flocky hair next came forward, prompting the the comperer to comment " Ye jitne sundar dikhte hain, utne hi sundar gaate hain".True to the words Sharad sang "yaad nahiin kya kya dekha tha", "tera chehra kitna suhana lagta hai" very well.
The last singer for the night was Zahiruddin Babar who regaled the audience
with "tere kushbu men bhara khat" and "har taraf har jagah".
The accompanying orchestra was excellent. Table Nawaaz Sadat Khan, who is also the organiser had a field day. Nothing less is expected of Saadat sahab who has accompanied Vithal Rao over the years.It was well into the night by now and I quickly got into an auto. I was in such a good mood that I engaged in small talk with the diver all throughout. He said " Koi tension nahiin lene ka aur bindaas rehne ka. Ye hyderabad hai aur yahaan raat ko bhi befikr ghum sakte hain".
In all that excitement did I mention that the friend who called me was Swati, a student of legendary Ghazal performer and teacher Pandit Vithal Rao ?Thank you Swati for inviting me.I was a little dissapointed that Pandit Vithal Rao wasn't there. However it was great to see his legacy being taken forward.
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