Atlanta Dunia

By
Kavita Chhibber

Photos=20 by
Vinod Devlia

It was captioned = =93Klose to=20 my Heart=94 and how close Jagjit Singh is to the hearts of music lovers = in Atlanta=20 was obvious by the enthusiasm of a sell out crowd.

Brought by Mark = Premji=20 Promotions, the concert which was held at the Atlanta Symphony Hall on = 30th=20 April, was yet another in their signature tune of class performances. = For Jagjit=20 Singh the road has been strewn with thorns and roses. One of seven = children in a=20 lower middle class family Singh struggled in Bombay for several years = eking out=20 a living singing jingles and at film star parties where he was never = paid, and=20 realizing that his melodious and deep voice was unsuited for film music. = He then=20 set out to create a niche for light non filmi ghazals. His first album=20 =93The Unforgettables=94 with wife Chitra came out in = 1976 and=20 Singh has been the King of ghazals since then ruling the roost for more = than 2=20 decades.
His impeccable choice of lyrics, his brilliance as a = melodious=20 composer and the perfection with which he sets his voice to music has = been a=20 hit, and is obvious in the booming sales of his albums. With wife Chitra = he=20 ascended to great heights till the tragic death of their only son in = 1990 sent=20 the heart broken Chitra into a self imposed exile. For Jagjit Singh, = music=20 became a solace and a haven to retreat into. It gave him the strength to = move on=20 and he feels his pain has enriched his music.

Jagjit Singh = began the=20 evening with a bang singing many of his popular ghazals like = Umra jalwon mein basar ho yeh zaroori to nahin, Yeh daulat = bhi le=20 lo, Huzoor aapka bhi ehtram karta chaloon, Kal Chaudhvin ki raat=20 thi.

Singh is known = for his=20 wicked sense of humor. It seems during the making of the famous album=20 Sajda with Lata Mangeshkar, each recording began with a = joke=20 session between the two artists to warm them up. He brought the house = down as he=20 sang his popular ghazal Tera Chehra Kitna Suhaana Lagta = hai and=20 then added mischieviously uske bad chasma bhi lagta hai, daant bhi = lagtey hain.=20 He then cracked the audience with a joke about an elderly couple = celebrating=20 their 50th anniversary. The wife said you need to replicate our first = wedding=20 night where you were so full of passion and covered me with love bites. = The=20 husband got up and when she said where you are headed-he retorted-To get = my=20 dentures.=94 He also =93See now you have to celebrate old age! So what = if its like=20 trying to seek the sweetness and juiciness of a grape from a shriveled = up=20 raisin!=94

Singh joked that = every love=20 song is full of white lies and went on to describe how unbelievable and=20 exaggerated the lyrics of Tera Chehra Kitna Suhana lagta = hai,=20 were by ripping every line poking fun at how the poet says in your = absence it=20 seems honey tastes sour, in your presence tamarind tastes sweet-how = believable=20 is that in real life?
He then regaled the audience with some canine = jokes.=20 When someone from the audience yelled to get on with the show-he said = hey it=92s=20 the turn of the dogs now-yours will come soon.
A man who came and = showered=20 dollar bills on Singh was first reprimanded by him and then he pointedly = looked=20 down at the cash and said tongue in cheek-=93All are one dollar bills=20 only!=94
After the intermission he began with his famous ghazal from = Mirza=20 Ghalib Aah ko chahiye ik umra asar hone tak, and then=20 Teri khushboo see pyar mein duba hua khat, = interspersing=20 lilting film songs like Jhuki Jhuki si nazar, = Tum Itna=20 Jo muskura rahe ho from the film Aarth, = Tum Ko=20 dekha to yeh Khayal aya from Saath Saath and = songs=20 from his latest album Close to My Heart, where he has = chosen=20 some of his favourite songs by other singers and given his own = rendition. He=20 sang Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai by Mukesh, and Seene main sulagte Hain armaan, = by=20 Talat Mehmood.
Singh then sang several songs based on the same raga, = starting=20 with Hoton se Chulo Tum and interspersing it with = several=20 others and then returning to Hoton se Chulo tum. There was an exciting = jugal=20 bandi(duet) between his outstanding violinist Deepak Pandit and his = tabla player=20 Abhinav Upadhyaye.
The grand finale as always was a medley of his = Punjabi=20 hits Chulle ag nag ghade de wich paani, dhai din na jaani nal = chaldi=20 kurti malamal di and tappe.
There were some = in the=20 audience who wished he had sung some bhajans and others who felt the = quality of=20 his voice had not been at its best, but for most it was a fun evening, = at the=20 end of which Jagjit Singh sat down for a fairly long session of = autographing his=20 biography which was on sale and picked up rapidly by an enthusiastic=20 crowd.