Live Concerts

I have been to a few- Shankar Mahadevan, Sudesh Bhosle, Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar-RD Burman-Asha Bhosle, Pandit Ravishankar, Pankaj Udhas (aka Punk Rock of India- just a joke), Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ghulam Ali+Mehdi Hasan, and a couple of them dedicated to people no more- SD Burman, and Mohammed Rafi, for instance.

I enjoyed all of them, because hearing music live, specially from the artist himself, is a different feeling, and he/she brings some story about the music or songs to the event.

Live Shows- Music

I remember the following concerts vividly-

Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle and RD Burman. Three of my favourites live at Brabourne stadium, Mumbai, around 1985. It was great fun, with Kishore and RD fooling around in between some marvelous songs.

Hariprasad Chaurasia did a SPIC-MACAY show at IIM Bangalore when I was a student. I remember being amazed by the size of his flute!

Ghulam Ali and Mehi Hasan live in Atlanta..this was a rare treat, to have two maestros of ghazal on the same stage. Their styles were contrasting, with Ghulam Ali more conscious of the public, and talking to us often, and Mehdi Hasan was a lot more serious.

Shiv Kumar Sharma and Zakir Husain together in Atlanta. Their jugalbandi was divine, with the Santoor and Tabla sounding out-of-the-world.

Pankaj Udhas singing his melodious ghazala, again at Atlanta, USA.

Shankar Mahadevan recently did a show at Pune just after he had acted in and composed for the Marathi film Katyaar Kaljaat Ghusli. A great show, with lots of tracks composed by him with Ehsaan and Loy. Dil Chahta Hai was the standout film album for me, along with the Marathi film.

Sudesh Bhosle doing a Kishore Kumar special in Mumbai a couple of years ago. Outstanding mimic, he sounded exactly like the original.

S.D. Burman special, done recently by a group from Pune, which recounted most of his hit songs. He is a favourite music director, and I first became aware of him through the music of Aradhana around 1970- both Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar owe him one for that album.

Kishore Forever - A Show at Mumbai

Sudesh Bhosle was the star of this show, held in sync with Kishore Kumar's 86th birth anniversary. The hall was full of fans-most were in their 40s and 50s, and some in their sixties, with a few youngsters too.

And what a show it was. Kishore Kumar started with mimicry at his home in Khandwa when young, struggled to become a mainstream singer for many years until Rajesh Khanna happened (they both happened to each other) with Aradhana in 1969. His first break had come from Khemchand Prakash,  a music director who made him sing a Saigalish song- Marne ki duaen kyun mangoon. SD Burman brought him into his own and it was then that he took off like a rocket, zooming into a million hearts.

Sudesh Bhosle is also a great mimic, and he has a great stage presence too. He did the Jaane jaan song (with Bela Sulakhe) with aplomb, but also many others, diverse in range. From O Nigahen mastana, to Yeh raatein yeh mausam nadi ka kinara, to Chingari koi bhadke, and so on.

His son Sidhant joined him with a couple of songs, like Neele neele ambar pe, and then they both sang Ek Chatur naar-superbly. His wife also joined in and played the piano keyboard for two lovely songs- Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat.., and Pyar diwana hota hai..his quip before she started was ..Main roz inki ungliyon pe nachta hoon..aaj main inki ungliyon pe gaoonga (I usually dance to her tunes..today, I will sing to her tunes). He also sang the rumbunctious Are rafta rafta dekho aankh meri ladi hai, with verve.

The orchestra was the next generation of Melody Makers, one of the best in the business, and I was able to appreciate the effort that goes into playing each instrument (and the arranger's contribution in making these play in tandem). A talented bunch it was, from the trumpet to the tabla, adding a charm to the proceedings.