Roving Eye — Pune

His Master’s Voice
Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh dazzled the 500-odd previleged audience at the Le Meridien hotel on October 10, with his spellbinding rendition of evergreen ghazals sprinkled with new ones. A delightful variation which sometimes exuded sprightly melodies much like cascading waterfalls and sometimes allowed the accompanying artistes to draw mesmerising music from their instruments. The two and a half-hour show had the audience in raptures, sometimes showing appreciation with thunderous claps and during the last half an hour, actually dancing vibrantly.

The reason was, that Singh-ji seemed to be in a exhilarating mood, although he was very clear that he would not acknowledge farmaish (that’s one thing he hates. We presume this, because we think, that he thinks, he knows, what is best for the audience – ah, this master!). He began on a sentimental note, with his new numbers dominating the first half.

Actually, it was to be an uninterrupted programme for two hours, but Singh suddenly in the middle of the show decided to be generous and asked for a break (not a commercial one, but an intoxicating one) and suggested to the people that they could come back after a drink or two. After that it was a rich repertoire from his evergreen hits that has won him international acclaim. While Tumko dekha to ye khayal aya and Hoto se chhulo tum, mera geet amar kar lo transformed the large hall into one big chorus, his grand finale came in the form of some vibrant Punjabi numbers that left the audience on a high note. Later, the lavish buffet spread too was a delight. What an evening of music and food!