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| Dil Ki Mehfil |
Siraj Khan
05/25/2010
May Day is celebrated in different countries for different reasons and in different ways. Some of the musically oriented Bostonians celebrated this special day this year with an unusual treat – a bouquet of carefully selected Hindi film songs. The theme wasn’t of old or new songs; rather it was a colorful collection of good and great melodies. The ambience was in place early in the comfortable settings of The Hall in Hawa mein urta jaye is a song which has done more for the careers of Lata and Shankar-Jaikishan than probably any other song. Krithika sang this upbeat Lata solo of Barsaat with tremendous feel, which was duly acknowledged by the audience. By now, we were totally immersed in melody. The dil ki mehfil had warmed up to the right temperature when Sudha glided in with Geeta Dutt’s Hoon Abhi Mein Jawan. The timing was perfect as no other song would have captured the same effect as this OP Nayyar gem from Aar Par. Sudha’s prowess and the depth of her voice come out best with solo Geeta numbers and this was no exception. Sudha and Krithika got the audience really charged up with the fast-paced Gorey Gorey Baanke Chhorey. I doubt whether there was anyone who had not chimed in with the chorus. Krithika and Raghu then came up with the first of the many duets together for that evening. Dheere dheere chal chand gagan mein must surely be one of the most romantic duets created by Shankar-Jaikishan. Sudha and Raghu followed that up with several SD Burman composed duets taking everybody down memory lane. Raghu went solo with his magically-weaved version of Kishore’s Aane wala pal jaaney wala hai, penned by Gulzar. But it was Krithika’s refreshing semi-classical Bol re pappi hara that sent the sparks flying. She caressed every note admirably and received tremendous applause from the packed hall for her wonderful rendition of that Vani Jayaram immortal hit. If Sudha had done a wonderful job with Hoon Abhi Mein Jawaan earlier, her Jaane Kya Toone Kahi went a notch higher. What better tribute can one give to Geeta Dutt than to attempt to replicate her voice modulation and do a good job of it too? Jaaneman from Choti si Baat may not go down as one of the big hits of Salil Chowdhury, but Krithika and Raghu thoroughly enjoyed singing this fun-filled romantic duet, fully justifying the inclusion of this Yesudas-Asha number, bringing out its naughtiness. Little did we know that there would be surprise item in store for us before the intermission. What we witnessed was an amazing dance performance by Anandini Sekhar to accompany Sudha singing Honto me aisi baat, the popular Jewel Thief number. Not only did this performance add that extra spark to the evening, it held the audience spellbound and even going towards chai, samosas and mithai seemed like an effort. After the interval, Sudha and Raghu set the tone for the second-half with Mujhko Apne Galey Laga Lo from Humrahi, the evergreen and immortal duet synonymous more with Mubarak Begum than with Rafi. Krithika was fantastic with the slow romantic Ye Sama for Jab Jab Phool Khile. We were then taken to the tulip gardens of Rekha and Amitabh’s Silsila. Krithika and Raghu’s rendition was welded together splendidly and was an absolute delight to hear it live on stage. The effect of Sahir’s beautiful lyrics has been captured very well in Jahan mein aisa kaun hai and Sudha’s passionate delivery left a deep impact. Duets had clearly dominated the evening so far but Geeta Dutt-Asha’s Thandi Thandi Hawa was, undoubtedly, from the top drawer. Acknowledged by OP Nayyar as one of his own favorite compositions, Sudha and Krithika brought the freshness of the cool spring breeze right indoors with their passionate rendition. The audience thoroughly enjoyed this number from Johnny Walker. Raghu joined Krithika next to sing another lilting duet Gunguna Rahe hein bhanware from Aradhana. Raghu’s own personal touches to the original were a treat. On its heels, came another Asha/Rafi duet from Evening in The audience was not ready to call it a day yet and there were several requests, which were cheerfully honored. How could anyone visualize a musical evening with Sudha ending without Aao Huzooor. The usual magic was there. Krithika did the encore performance of Bol Re Pappi and I recall some voices still chanting “once moreâ€. Sudha and Raghu brought the magical evening to closure with the song with which they had started. The curtains finally came down on a highly entertaining evening with Milte Hi Ankhen Dil Hua. The songs selection was excellent and the sequence and timing of each song perfect. An evening of pure and clean entertainment like this takes one’s heart and mind into a different world for a few hours. This was a mehfil where my dil was not quite ready to leave that easily. Links to the actual songs Bol re pappi - by Krithika Jeyaraman
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Hothon
me aisi baat - Sudha (with dancing by Anandini Sekhar)
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Jaane
kya tune kahin - Sudha
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Gore Gore banke chore - female duet by Krithika and Sudha
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Oh
hansini - Raghu
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Aaja Panchi akela hai - Raghu and Sudha
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Tarari
Yarari - Sudha and RAghu
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Hoon abhi main jawan
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Dekha
ek Khwab - Raghu and Krithika
http://www.youtube.com/user/
Siraj is actively involved in assisting several sub-continent singers and musicians of yesteryears and has recently launched the official OP Nayyar website www.opnayyar.org He serves on the Board of Trustees of the OP Nayyar Memorial Trust and is a regular contributor to the recently launched aman ki asha initiative. He can be reached at Khansaheb2@aol.com)
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