Pankaj Udhas had predicted Covid years ago. Such an eye-popping suggestion had apparently been made during the onset of the pandemic. Sharing the nugget of information with the audience at the Science City auditorium was the singer himself towards the start of his concert, titled Jazbaa, held in association with The Telegraph.
“Even during the pandemic, some people retained their creativity. Someone created a meme and posted it on Tiktok, claiming that Pankaj Udhas could foresee the onset of Covid many years back. It became viral. He had posted this ghazal of mine with his meme,” Udhas said, as he launched into the opening notes of Niklo na benaqab, zamana kharab hai.
It is seldom that a ghazal elicits ripples of laughter in the audience. But in this case, the interpretation of the lyrics penned by Mumtaz Rashid, warning women to hide their beauty, reimagined in the context of mask etiquette required to stave off the virus, had to create a moment of mirth.
There was another when just after Udhas had finished the soulful Deewaron se mil kar rona, a member of the audience shouted out a request for Thodi thodi piya karo. Udhas immediately quipped: “Bilkul zyada na piya karo,” triggering chuckles in the audience, before starting his next number, Jiye toh jiye kaise, the hit song from the 1993 film Saajan.
Dressed in black sherwani and dhoti pants, the soft-spoken singer was back on a Calcutta stage after 2018 for a concert on June 4. “It’s been three-and-half years that I last performed in Kolkata. Aisa mehsus hota hai ki oxygen phir se mil gaya. I was telling The Telegraph in course of an interview a couple of days earlier that my first concert in this city was in 1981. So it’s been 41 years that I am connected with this wonderful city,” he announced.
He was welcomed with a bouquet of roses by at least a dozen dignitaries who went up on stage one after another. Possibly the rosy welcome made him start the concert with Log tumko gulab kehte hai, which are the opening words of his popular ghazal Aap jinke kareeb hote hai. Before starting the show, he had asked the audience to rise in silence in memory of KK. In fact, the concert by Udhas was the first by a singer of national stature in the city after KK’s back-to- back stage shows earlier in the week, the last of which ended in catastrophe. Conspicuous by its presence outside the auditorium at Science City was an ambulance. Thankfully, its service was not needed.
Pankaj Udhas called on stage Anup Kumar Biswas, a fan who had come from Chhattisgarh to attend the concert. “He has travelled 25,000km to hear me sing at 15 concerts over the years. I came to know of him through his writings on my Facebook page,” said Udhas and handed him a bouquet of flowers.
After the intermission, four children took the stage to meet and greet Udhas along with Asraf Ali Shaikh, whose Our Children Foundation provides education and mid-day meals free to 300 students from underprivileged families in two schools in the Madhyamgram area since 2009. A part of the proceeds of the concert would be handed over to the foundation.
The performance lasted close to three hours, with the last song Ghunghroo tut gaye concluding around 10.15pm. Udhas kept everyone’s request, with Chitthi ayee hai, his chart-busting number in the film Naam, eliciting the biggest response. “I am populist in the sense that I choose poetry with simple words to sing. That way I can reach out to more people,” Udhas had told The Telegraph in an interview in the run-up to the concert. Watching people react emotionally to Anand Bakshi’s lyrics 25 years after the song hit the screens, one could only laud the sagacity of the choice of simple words for the hits in Udhas’s private albums also.
One must mention the brilliant musicians who accompanied Udhas and added their magic to each song. Especially during the recital of Thodi thodi piya karo, they came completely into their own with the flautist, the mandolin player and the tabla player each highlighting his skill separately in the long interludes.
Pictures by B. Halder
What They Loved
It was great to see so many people coming together for an evening of ghazals. One feels nostalgic to hear all those evergreen songs. Even now, Chitthhi ayee hai brings tears to the eye — Imran Zaki
Pankaj Udhas is an all-time great. Not only did my whole family attend, we also took guests from Bangladesh who were on a visit with us. Everyone enjoyed the show — Syed Anwar Maqsood
It was my first ghazal concert. He did not sing my favourite Maikhane se sharab se but it felt awkward to shout out a request. Yet it was very nice experience overall — Trishala Shaw
This was my first experience of live Indian music by an artiste of national stature. It was fantastic. I was also pleased to learn that it raised funds for children. I am looking forward to more opportunities for exchange of traditional musicians between China and India — Zha Liyou, consul general of China
Organiser Speak
I organise shows across the country but this is my first event in Calcutta. I thought of a ghazal evening as people have spent two years in mental agony and ghazals would bring them peace of mind. I got such response from the city that na Kolkata meri dil aur dimaag se chhutega na Kolkata ke log — Vivek Kaushik, Rudraksha Communication
