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Hitting the right notes: Manjari.

The first half of the concert featured mostly heavier numbers. Manjari began with ‘Aao ree sakhi,’ a ‘cheez’ in Desh rag, packed with a few light taans. The old world charm of ghazals came out with the well-known ‘Kuch to duniya ki inayat.’ The much sung and much revived number ‘Aaj jaane ki zid na karo’ was evocatively rendered. Mehdi Hassan’s version of ‘Pyar bhare do sharmeele nain’ and ‘Rudad-e-mohabbat kya kahiye,’ replete with sargams, were the other numbers that stood out. ‘Ye daulat bhi le lo’ and ‘Salona sa sajan hai’ were sung with the right expressions. ‘Ye pyar ka mausam hai, aise mein chale aao’ had the audience swaying in delight. Roshan, on the tabla, gave his best to bring life to these numbers.

Manjari combined many tonal variations in the base and high notes and deepened her voice at certain phrases to render ‘Chain se humko kabhi aap ne jeene na diya.’ The singer’s voice soared with ‘Chalo acha hua tum bhool gaye’ in high tempo. Another charming variation came with ‘Mohe panghat pe nandlal’ from ‘Mughal-e-azam.’

Baburaj’s immortal songs such as ‘Thedunnathare’ and ‘Thalirittakinaakkal’ were received well. Music director Berny, who accompanied the singer on the guitar, came up with some amazing chord work in ‘Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein’ and ‘Hoton se choo lo.’

The singer gave the listeners a pleasant surprise with the song ‘Parayaan maranna parinbhavangal.’ She touched the upper shadja in the third octave. ‘Mere jaise ho jaoge’ and a Punjabi number ‘Peeche peeche aanda meri’ were sung with zest and punch. She was ably supported by Prakash on the harmonium.

The programme was organised by Bank Employees’ Arts Movement in Kochi.

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