Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Silken songs...
|
People gathered at the Taj Residency's Ball Room wanted to just listen to the dulcet-voiced ghazal maestro, Jagjit Singh. They had patience for little else
|
Jagjit Singh: a voice to die for
THE BALLROOM at Taj Residency reverberated with the hum of ghazals. With maestro Jagjit Singh leading the group, who could resist? The evening organised by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, in association with the Women's Institute for Social Education (WISE), was a soulful treat for loyal Jagjit Singh fans. Who could blame the fans for picking up the WISE brochure from the reception desk and settling down in their seats without even opening the literature? They were there to rejoice in the velvet voice of the ghazal king.
But before Jagjit Singh could start his concert, it was Vipula Khadri's turn at the mike. She introduced the audience to the activities of WISE, an organisation whose members include Vimla Patil, Dolly Thakur, Saryu Doshi, Kiron Kher, Tina Ambani, Shobhaa De, and others. Since its inception in 1992, WISE has done exemplary work in the field of health, education, and vocational training. As an umbrella organisation for Save Our Sisters, it is also focussed on the prevention and combating of sexual exploitation of the young. For someone involved in such honourable activities, it must have been disappointing to see an audience, which wasn't all ears.
But that certainly did not justify what happened next. The lady screamed at the audience, called them the worst one she had ever seen, and then walked off in a huff. Was that really WISE, Ms. Khadri? The gentle Bangalore crowd was too shocked, and Jagjit saved the day by intoning in his deep voice: "Om Shanthiiiiii."
In an atmosphere brimming with thoughts of love and romance and the warmth of belonging, honestly, it would have been less than human for anyone in the audience to think of all those less fortunate. The concert was part of the Musical Relief series, proceeds of which would be utilised to fund the various projects and activities of WISE. The mission of WISE is to combat sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children through prevention programmes, awareness generation activities, and to provide life skills for women at the national and South Asian levels.
It is a lesson in stagecraft and communication that the singer had the audience eating out of his hands. One wave of his hand, and the music lovers quietened down. Another wave, and they clapped along, one more lift of his hand and they hummed along, another, and they stopped. At other times, when we were lulled into thinking, he was whispering sweet nothings, what they turned out to be were commands to the sound technicians to reduce bass, increase voice, and so on!
Ghazal lovers waited patiently for Jagjit to start each song, and showed their approval every time he started on one of their favourites. The concert, laced with the right touch of humour, was a great hit. So what if the jokes were a repeat from earlier concerts, the golden voice was enough to make hearts soar, helped no doubt by the cocktails provided by sponsors Triumph Distillers, Jet Airways, and the Taj Group.
"I do wish he had sung some of the ghazals we don't get to hear so often," said a kudi Punjaban, who enjoyed his concert all the same. The man with the magical voice enthralled the audience with popular songs such as "Chand bhi dekha", "Ahista, ahista", "Hoton se chulo tum", and had the audience ecstatic for his Punjabi folk songs too. Requests were not entertained, and Jagjit Singh closed his concert with "Bale bale". Ahista, ahista... the crowd came down to earth, still humming his medley of old film hits — "Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye... ", "Mujhe jeene de..." walking out into the cold Bangalore night.
MALA KUMAR
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
