Return of the Legend

Kuch na kuch to jaroor hona hai, samna aaj unse hona hai…”. It was with these words that ghazal legend Jagjit Singh made his introductory return to the audience of Sydney. His voice, though enfeebled by age, still penetrates to the heart. The melody and poetry of his ghazals bring out the romance and emotions of one’s past. Accompanied by his team of musicians –Deepak Kumar Pandit on violin, Abhinav Upadhyay on tabla, Devendra Bhatt on flute and Narendra Vasant Salaskar on guitar, each musician left their mark on the audience with their unique performance. Delivering to a near-packed house at the fabulous Hillsong Convention Centre in Baulkham Hills, the show started close to schedule. The programme began with an old time favourite, “Chaundhavin ka Chaand” sung by Sydney’s popular singer – Bhupinder Mintu. Jagjit sang nonstop for the first half of the programme, rendering popular ghazals like “Chithi na koye sandesh”, “Kal Chaudhvin ki raat thi”, “Baat Niklegi to door talak jayegi”, “Huzoor aap ka bhi aahtram karta chalun”, and others However, through the eight ghazals in the first half, there was virtually no involvement with the audience. One could have been listening to a CD of his recordings, rather than a live concert – the interaction with this huge and eager audience was missing. The few verbal conversations he had were mostly with the technicians controlling sound, and that too, in not very polite tones. Having attended many of his concerts in India particularly during the 80s, I found the penetration of his voice missing. Perhaps age and personal events in his life have dimmed his performance on stage.

Before the interval, two young female singers, Shweta and Ankita sang a “Tum aasha vishwaas hamare”. Their voices were fresh and melodious. When Jagjit took to the stage again, he sang some of his popular hits like “Hoosh waalon ko khabar kya”, “Apne ankhon ke samanadr mein utar janede” and a few Punjabi songs. But here too, it was his team of musicians who seemed to enthral the audience with their skills, rather than his routine singing.

The concert was brought to an abrupt ending when two policemen walked to the stage and the Master of Ceremonies announced that they only had permission to perform until 10:30pm, which is why the programme would have to end immediately. Naturally, the audience did not appreciate the announcement and asked for more. After a discussion with the organisers and in the presence of the policemen, they agreed to another 5 minutes, during which the hall suddenly came to life – Jagjit was lively and the crowd joined in – alas, at the very end! If I, with my complimentary ticket felt disappointed, I can empathise with those who paid big dollars to attend the show. Perhaps the glorious days of Jagjit Singh are now a thing of the past… But there’s no doubt that his melodious memories will live with us forever, particularly those that he performed with his wife, Chitra Singh.

The Jagjit Singh show was brought to Sydney by Yogesh Sharma from Cinestar Channel Pty Ltd and Kashi Indian Restaurant and Commonwealth Bank were the Platinum sponsors.

Vivek Bhatnagar