Ghazals are never about instant gratification. They are to be savoured, over repeated listening. Within this musical zone, the lyrical familiarity, an eye for poetry, the appreciation for innate philosophies, the word play, enhances the impact by many bounds. It was one such evening of soul- stirring music recently at The Sound of Silence (organised by Cisne Events), a unique Ghazal symphony that made an attempt at balancing energy with an old-world charm. On a chilly night at Sandhya Conventions, Hyderabad, the music provided the much-needed warmth.
An excellent jugalbandi of the flute and the violin initiated proceedings. Rasika Shekhar, the flautist cum singer, who had made a mark at MTV’s Coke Studio was complemented by violinist Deepak Pandit. While the music oozing out of their instruments synchronised and complemented each other perfectly, their competitive spirit (albeit with mutual admiration ) was much appreciated and cherished by the audience. This paved the way for the first ghazal of the evening with Shakeel Badayuni’s Ae mohabbat tere anjaam pe rona aaya , rendered by Rasika as the lyrics dig deep into the arena of love.
The rendition was testimony of her comfort with singing. Mehdi Hassan’s Zindagi mein toh sabhi pyaar continued the mood. Rasika and Deepak Pandit’s Ranjish Hi Sahin and Koi paas aaya savere savere ( that celebrates the moments one falls in love) delved deeper into this zone .
Hyderabad-born Talat Aziz was in his element right from the start. Laughing at himself as he combed his hair right on stage, he was unpretentious of his desire to look good amidst his co-musicians. That did not however, dilute the quality of his music. He took a moment to say, “Concerts happen every now and then; but it is this moment (pointing towards the collaboration with co-musicians) that we’ve to celebrate.”
His performance began with one of his popular numbers Phir chhidi raat baat phoolon ki (that he had sung with Lata Mangeshkar for the film Bazaar ). His finesse came through with Maine roka bhi nahi aur woh tehra bhi nahi , one of his recent ghazals that scored high on metaphoric value. Ghazals like Kaise sukoon paaon tujhe, Zindagi jab bhi teri (from Umrao Jaan ) and Aaj jaane ki zid na karo followed. The film songs received a sound reception from the packed crowd. His stage presence and musical ease were his strengths during the act.Then it was time for Pankaj Udhas to take over the stage which he did quite effortlessly. One needs to listen to him live to realise his command over the genre, the fact that his spontaneity matches his musical depths catapults the impact to a different level; Deewaron se and Jiye toh jiye kaise reflected his style the best for the evening. One’s left with the feeling that the event didn’t make the most of the veteran and young musician mix.
Deepak and Rasika served the purpose of their acts better, one could see a style of their own and the effort to cater to music enthusiasts across all ages.
The symphony of Bombay Strings, artists like Jeetu Shankar, Raja Pandit added value to the show. One was often divided for attention between the symphony and the singing.The blend of the multiple violins, guitar and the flutes added a new dimension to the tracks while honouring the original and scoring well in innovation too.Their improvisation during the concert was laudable.
