As the Chief Guest Sheila Dikshit came and went, the compere Mirza Arif remarked, "ek zalzala sa aaya aur gaya." A few other luminaries came in as Sheila ji was walking out prompting him to say "chaand baadal ke piiche chhip gaya lekin sitare nazar aane lage". This was just an intersting sidelight of thethe curtain raiser to centenary celebrations of Mallika-e-ghazal Begum Akhtar.
The evening started with Shiela ji presenting BAAG (Begum Akhtar Academy of Ghazal) awards to shayar Rajesh Reddy, Photographer Avinash Pasricha. Lifetime BAAG award was presented to Ahmed Hussain and Mohammad Hussain.
This was followed by a 20 minute video on Begum Akhtar that was conceived by Rita Ganguly. It went into the intricate details of her childhood, how she escaped an attempt on her life at the age of 3 when her food was poisoned, the burning down of her house and all the trials and tribulations she had as a kid.
The documentary was extremely well made and was laced with Akhtari Bai's Ghazal excerptsas well as her spoken voice. The different phases of Akhatri Bai's life, including the 8 years after marriage when she didn't sing, the personal tragedies, the near death experience after which she came back to sing on Radio after advise from doctors were all highlighted.
Rita ji then talked a bit about how she became Akhtari Bai's disciple. Rita ji was a disciple of Siddheswari Devi when Begum Akhtar heard her sing in a concert. Akhtari Bai wanted to make Rita her disciple and approached her, but Rita cudn't as she was disciple of Siddhewari Devi. On top of that Begum Akhtar and Siddhewari were not on very good terms.Akhtari Bai went to Siddheswari's house to ask for Rita and that very same day the "ganda bandh" was done. Two of Rita ji's Guru-behan; Savita Devi (daughter of Siddheswari Devi) and Shanti Hiranand (discple of Begum Akhtar) were present on the ocassion.Rita ji also fondly recalled her days as a disciple of Siddheshwari Devi.
The other celebrity present on the occasion was Jackie Shroff. Rita ji announced that she is going to make a picture on the life of Begum Akhtar with the support of Jackie Shroff.
This was followed by Rajesh Reddy's shayri recital. Rajesh Reddy regaled the audience with sher's presented in tarannum style. Here is one that caught the imagination of everyone.
"yahaaN har shaks har pal haadsa hone se darta hai, khilona hai jo miTTi ka fanaa hone se darta hai;
mere dil ke kisii kone men ek maasuum sa baccha, baDon ki dekh kar duniya, baDaa hone se darta hai;
ajab ye zindagi ki qaid hai, duniyaa ka har insaan rehaai maangta hai aur rehaa hone se darta hai"
And finally we had a Ghazal session with Ahmed Hussain and Mohammad Hussain. They first presented a lovely number weaving the names of all popular ragas and then Hasrat Jaipuri's "ishq agar ek tarfa ho to sazaa deta hai aur agar dono.n taraf ho to mazaa detaa hai". Their next number "mausam aayenge jaayenge" was very well received and they closed with a Ghalib Ghazal.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening came when Rita ji said that just like all humans artists also have flaws. So when you enjoy the artists don't talk about the drawbacks in their personal lives. If you want to say something, do it after proper research. And research does not mean looking up google. That last line had the audience in splits but the message was well received.
It was quite a memorable evening and I am looking forward to many more of these.
The evening started with Shiela ji presenting BAAG (Begum Akhtar Academy of Ghazal) awards to shayar Rajesh Reddy, Photographer Avinash Pasricha. Lifetime BAAG award was presented to Ahmed Hussain and Mohammad Hussain.
This was followed by a 20 minute video on Begum Akhtar that was conceived by Rita Ganguly. It went into the intricate details of her childhood, how she escaped an attempt on her life at the age of 3 when her food was poisoned, the burning down of her house and all the trials and tribulations she had as a kid.
The documentary was extremely well made and was laced with Akhtari Bai's Ghazal excerptsas well as her spoken voice. The different phases of Akhatri Bai's life, including the 8 years after marriage when she didn't sing, the personal tragedies, the near death experience after which she came back to sing on Radio after advise from doctors were all highlighted.
Rita ji then talked a bit about how she became Akhtari Bai's disciple. Rita ji was a disciple of Siddheswari Devi when Begum Akhtar heard her sing in a concert. Akhtari Bai wanted to make Rita her disciple and approached her, but Rita cudn't as she was disciple of Siddhewari Devi. On top of that Begum Akhtar and Siddhewari were not on very good terms.Akhtari Bai went to Siddheswari's house to ask for Rita and that very same day the "ganda bandh" was done. Two of Rita ji's Guru-behan; Savita Devi (daughter of Siddheswari Devi) and Shanti Hiranand (discple of Begum Akhtar) were present on the ocassion.Rita ji also fondly recalled her days as a disciple of Siddheshwari Devi.
The other celebrity present on the occasion was Jackie Shroff. Rita ji announced that she is going to make a picture on the life of Begum Akhtar with the support of Jackie Shroff.
This was followed by Rajesh Reddy's shayri recital. Rajesh Reddy regaled the audience with sher's presented in tarannum style. Here is one that caught the imagination of everyone.
"yahaaN har shaks har pal haadsa hone se darta hai, khilona hai jo miTTi ka fanaa hone se darta hai;
mere dil ke kisii kone men ek maasuum sa baccha, baDon ki dekh kar duniya, baDaa hone se darta hai;
ajab ye zindagi ki qaid hai, duniyaa ka har insaan rehaai maangta hai aur rehaa hone se darta hai"
And finally we had a Ghazal session with Ahmed Hussain and Mohammad Hussain. They first presented a lovely number weaving the names of all popular ragas and then Hasrat Jaipuri's "ishq agar ek tarfa ho to sazaa deta hai aur agar dono.n taraf ho to mazaa detaa hai". Their next number "mausam aayenge jaayenge" was very well received and they closed with a Ghalib Ghazal.
Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening came when Rita ji said that just like all humans artists also have flaws. So when you enjoy the artists don't talk about the drawbacks in their personal lives. If you want to say something, do it after proper research. And research does not mean looking up google. That last line had the audience in splits but the message was well received.
It was quite a memorable evening and I am looking forward to many more of these.
