Sounds for Mumbai...the much-awaited concert
It was worth the wait! An evening like never before. To come face-to-face with the Maestro and to listen to him sing was an experience I can never forget.
Although I'm not one for re-creating such experiences through words, for it's better to taste and feel such moments rather than trying to capture and confine them in words. Nonetheless, I'm feeling compelled to pen down a few moments, for posterity. So, here's a brief account of the evening.
First of all, I had no idea Mumbai has so many Ghulam Ali fans, moreso youngsters. The audience that had gathered for the concert had about 40% of youngsters. And people ask me, how do you like ghazals so much?
The concert was supposed to start from 6.30 p.m. onwards. We reached there bang on time and joined a long queue outside the Shanmukhananda Hall, waiting to pour in. After settling down in our seats, we were shown a video clip of the Ustad briefly talking about his musical journey till date. And then after a good half an hour had passed, he appeared onstage. I just looked at him in awe. This was the man who has made such a difference to me. The breezy summers and rainy afternoons, all came rushing back to me. And here he was standing with a warm smile playing across his face. The man, the moment. Simply unforgettable!
After a round of greetings and introductions, he seated himself and waited till everyone in the audience settled down. This wasted a good fifteen minutes and had me frowning a little. 7.15 p.m. and the program's not started yet! Right then, he said, "Bas yeh thoda sa waqt aapka zaaya hoga. Iske baad main zaaya nahi hone doonga." Sweet! :-)
After another five minutes, he said, "Aap kahiye toh main shuru kar deta hun." And when the restless audience replied with a fervent 'yes', he said, "Aap toh baithe hue hain. Main unse pooch raha hun toh ab tak aa rahe hai." Thank God he started in the next few minutes cuz people were strolling in even half an hour after that. Fans, they call themselves. :P
Anyway, he started with Laakhon ke bol sahe, a daadra (a genre of light classical music), which I have no understanding of. :P But the voice! Oh the voice! It gave me goosebumps.
Then, came a few ghazals which were new to me and sounded just as marvelous as the ones I'm familiar with. Some of these were Main khayaal hun kisi aur ka, Paaraa paaraa hua pairahan-e-jaan, Yeh baatein jhooti baatein hai, and Chamakte chaand ko tuta hua taara bana daala. All the while, the Ustad kept explaining meanings of some difficult Urdu words like dast-e-talab, munsifon ki rivaayaten, faislon ki ibaaraten, and many more along with their context. It felt as if it was a private mehfil and he is talking to each one of us. Such is his magnetism! One thing that came across about the Ustad is his endearing sense of humor and his modesty. At one point, he said that he himself didn't know meanings of some of the difficult words of a particular ghazal. He had to find out what those words meant.
Then came the popular ones Dil mein ek leher si and Chupke chupke raat din which had the entire place thundering with applause. The Ustad mentioned that Chupke chupke raat din was written more than 100 years ago, even before we were born. It became popular only when B.R. Chopra's 1982 movie, Nikaah, featured it. Even in the movie, only a couple of shers are included. So, here he sang three other shers from that ghazal which have never been recorded before. True, a popular ghazal can transcend generations just as this one did.
Sometime later, the Ustad was asked to introduce his shaagird Niaam Ali, upon which he said, "Mujhse announcement karvaayi jaa rahi hai. Ab yeh bhi main kar leta hun." Niaam Ali sang two ghazals which were appreciated just as much. He thanked the audience saying, "Allah jaanta hai mujhse gaaya nahi jaa raha. Mera dil kaap raha hai. Ustaadji ke saamne...suraj ke saamne diya hai." I know where he got his modesty from. Like Guru, like disciple. :-)
Finally, like all good things come to an end, the magical two and a half hours ended too. However, the end was a little disappointing. The flipside of the concert was the lack of time due to which the last half hour was rushed. The Ustad had a long list of farmaaish in front of him but he had very little time to please each and every one of his audience. So, he hurried the last bit, apologizing profusely for it. The good part was that he ended it with Hungaama hai kyun barpa, which at least pleased a major portion of the audience, including me. :-)
Personally, I would have loved to hear Aawargi, Humko kiske gham ne maara, and Apni dhun mein rehta hun, which weren't performed this evening. Not to mention the evergreen and my all-time favorite Kal chaudvin ki raat thi. Sigh!
But looking back, I'm more than happy because this is just the beginning. I have only just touched the surface of the beauty called 'ghazal'. And there are still many many more concerts waiting for me. :-)
Waqt acha bhi aayega Naaseer
Gham naa kar zindagi padi hai abhi
Although I'm not one for re-creating such experiences through words, for it's better to taste and feel such moments rather than trying to capture and confine them in words. Nonetheless, I'm feeling compelled to pen down a few moments, for posterity. So, here's a brief account of the evening.
First of all, I had no idea Mumbai has so many Ghulam Ali fans, moreso youngsters. The audience that had gathered for the concert had about 40% of youngsters. And people ask me, how do you like ghazals so much?
The concert was supposed to start from 6.30 p.m. onwards. We reached there bang on time and joined a long queue outside the Shanmukhananda Hall, waiting to pour in. After settling down in our seats, we were shown a video clip of the Ustad briefly talking about his musical journey till date. And then after a good half an hour had passed, he appeared onstage. I just looked at him in awe. This was the man who has made such a difference to me. The breezy summers and rainy afternoons, all came rushing back to me. And here he was standing with a warm smile playing across his face. The man, the moment. Simply unforgettable!
After a round of greetings and introductions, he seated himself and waited till everyone in the audience settled down. This wasted a good fifteen minutes and had me frowning a little. 7.15 p.m. and the program's not started yet! Right then, he said, "Bas yeh thoda sa waqt aapka zaaya hoga. Iske baad main zaaya nahi hone doonga." Sweet! :-)
After another five minutes, he said, "Aap kahiye toh main shuru kar deta hun." And when the restless audience replied with a fervent 'yes', he said, "Aap toh baithe hue hain. Main unse pooch raha hun toh ab tak aa rahe hai." Thank God he started in the next few minutes cuz people were strolling in even half an hour after that. Fans, they call themselves. :P
Anyway, he started with Laakhon ke bol sahe, a daadra (a genre of light classical music), which I have no understanding of. :P But the voice! Oh the voice! It gave me goosebumps.
Then, came a few ghazals which were new to me and sounded just as marvelous as the ones I'm familiar with. Some of these were Main khayaal hun kisi aur ka, Paaraa paaraa hua pairahan-e-jaan, Yeh baatein jhooti baatein hai, and Chamakte chaand ko tuta hua taara bana daala. All the while, the Ustad kept explaining meanings of some difficult Urdu words like dast-e-talab, munsifon ki rivaayaten, faislon ki ibaaraten, and many more along with their context. It felt as if it was a private mehfil and he is talking to each one of us. Such is his magnetism! One thing that came across about the Ustad is his endearing sense of humor and his modesty. At one point, he said that he himself didn't know meanings of some of the difficult words of a particular ghazal. He had to find out what those words meant.
Then came the popular ones Dil mein ek leher si and Chupke chupke raat din which had the entire place thundering with applause. The Ustad mentioned that Chupke chupke raat din was written more than 100 years ago, even before we were born. It became popular only when B.R. Chopra's 1982 movie, Nikaah, featured it. Even in the movie, only a couple of shers are included. So, here he sang three other shers from that ghazal which have never been recorded before. True, a popular ghazal can transcend generations just as this one did.
Sometime later, the Ustad was asked to introduce his shaagird Niaam Ali, upon which he said, "Mujhse announcement karvaayi jaa rahi hai. Ab yeh bhi main kar leta hun." Niaam Ali sang two ghazals which were appreciated just as much. He thanked the audience saying, "Allah jaanta hai mujhse gaaya nahi jaa raha. Mera dil kaap raha hai. Ustaadji ke saamne...suraj ke saamne diya hai." I know where he got his modesty from. Like Guru, like disciple. :-)
Finally, like all good things come to an end, the magical two and a half hours ended too. However, the end was a little disappointing. The flipside of the concert was the lack of time due to which the last half hour was rushed. The Ustad had a long list of farmaaish in front of him but he had very little time to please each and every one of his audience. So, he hurried the last bit, apologizing profusely for it. The good part was that he ended it with Hungaama hai kyun barpa, which at least pleased a major portion of the audience, including me. :-)
Personally, I would have loved to hear Aawargi, Humko kiske gham ne maara, and Apni dhun mein rehta hun, which weren't performed this evening. Not to mention the evergreen and my all-time favorite Kal chaudvin ki raat thi. Sigh!
But looking back, I'm more than happy because this is just the beginning. I have only just touched the surface of the beauty called 'ghazal'. And there are still many many more concerts waiting for me. :-)
Waqt acha bhi aayega Naaseer
Gham naa kar zindagi padi hai abhi