Well known Bollywood singer Kailash Kher made a stop in Boston with his 10 year old band “Kailasa” on the evening of August 19. He was on a US tour celebrating the release of his brand new album “Ishq Anokha”. The fact that Keefe Tech Auditorium in Framingham was only half full did not deter Kher and his band from giving their 100% to the music show featuring popular Punjabi Hindi and Sanskrit songs written and composed by members of the Kailasa band.  The show started 45 minutes late but picked up momentum very quickly once Kher sang the first song at 9:15pm. Members of the audience that included the young and the old (including babies) enjoyed the music presented by Kher and his talented band.

Kher, who spoke spontaneously from his heart, developed excellent rapport with the audience right from the outset. “Who put this bench right in the front of the stage?” he asked pointing to a small wooden bench. “Did they not know that I was a back-bencher in school?” he asked again, prompting members of the audience to laugh with him. Kher proceeded to entertain non-stop for 2.5 hours with songs, humorous remarks, dancing, jumping and hopping on one foot like Lord Shiva holding a dumroo percussion instrument in one hand. The Kailasa orchestra comprising of seven accomplished artists (3 electric guitarists, a mandolin player, two percussionists and a keyboard-synthesizer player) provided Kher with excellent support. Giving the audience a preview of songs from his new album “Ishq Anokha” such as his favorite number “Daaro na rung mope”, the artist invited the audience to purchase autographed CDs and to take photographs with him on stage after the show.

A great variety of songs were presented at the show. There were songs with moving lyrics that addressed the universal human emotions of love and joy such as “Rung deeni, rung deeni, rung deeni”, pain and sorrow due to separation from the beloved such as “Tere bin nahi lagda dil mere dholna”, slow songs such as “Mai tho azaadi mein bhi quaid ho gayi, mere albeliya”, rhythmic songs with a steady rap pulse such as songs in praise of “Bholenaath Shiv Shankar” and songs with a distinct middle-eastern Arabian flavor such as “Tauba tauba teri soorat”.  

Supporting vocals by band members provided a flavor of western harmony and occasional dialogues between the western drummer and the tabla player as in the song “Dhol bajta”  kept the audience engaged from the beginning to the end of the show. The song “Bismillah” composed to a 14 beat time cycle was not easy to clap to, but, due to the artist’s staunch faith in the audience, they clapped in unison without any hesitation.

Kher’s powerful, open-throated voice as well as classical training in delivering gamak taans and sargams lent itself to a few of the Sufi numbers that he sang, reminding the audience of the renowned quawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s signature style. The classical treatment was kept to a minimum in the song offerings and the emphasis was on presenting rhythmic songs with short and simple melodic lines which had a catchy and steady pulse. The audience repeatedly requested Kher to sing numbers from his albums such as “Teri deewani” and “Saiyyan” and he willingly obliged them much to their delight, inviting them to sing along.

At one point, Kher invited young ladies from the audience to come on the stage to dance with him. Pretty young women happily responded to the opportunity and danced alongside Kher and members of the Kailasa band.  Acknowledging the efforts of the music show’s organizer Neha Sahni, Kher thanked Boston audiences for their love and support and asked to keep him and his band in their prayers as they continue their US tour and move on to taking the show to other international destinations such as Singapore!

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