The night was bright. The stars seemed to have come down - to perform.Anup Jalota in person lending the voice and mood, creating the perfect ambience!The Pune Festival, took off full steam on its second day, on Sunday at Nehru Stadium. The `Friendship' night was a little incomplete. Pankaj Udhas, the other friend, did not make it. But the Bhajan king definitely made up for it.The huge stage and beautiful decor lent colour. Jalota's opening bhajan got the audience in the mood, with the santoor a perfect accompaniment.The crowd sat up as soon as Jalota filled in Pankaj Udhas's absence with his famous ghazal Mohe aye na jag se laj. But the best element of the show was the `jugalbandi' between Jalota and the santoor player. The stadium seemed to echo in complete tandem. Then came some popular bhajans which even the youth enjoyed because of the improvisations of the originals. Some of them were Kabhi Kabhi Bhagwan ko bhi, Laga Chunari Mein Daag.Taking the audience back to Kargil, Jalota paid a tribute to the martyrs by singing Eh Mere Vatan Ke Logon. But what literally got the public moving was the well-known Dama Dam Mast Kalandar. The whole stadium rang with applause and many sang along. There also was a remix in his songs and Jalota with instant humour introduced it to the audience. After the ten-minute break, which no one except Anup Jalota and his troupe wanted. They were felicitated by Mayor Dattatray Gaikwad. Continuing with the music-filled evening, Jalota went on to sing the all time Udhas' favourites Chitthi ayi hai and Chandi jaisa rang. which had the aficionadoes joining him. For the final touch, Jalota sang a Punjabi number adding that `folk touch' to the evening. Finally, as the show had to end, Anup Jalota introduced his new bhajan Choti Choti Gaiya which left everyone in the hall humming it till the gates and maybe even till their homes. A soul-searching experience indeed.
