It was an evening of excitement, cheers and also clock-watching at Salt Lake Maitri Sangha’s Kali puja function this year, where the audience had to wait till after 10pm to hear Indian Idol Season 10 winner and Bollywood singer Salman Ali.

By 8.30pm, the stage was set near the BF Block swimming pool, musicians had taken their positions, but instead of Salman, it was Indian Idol 11 contestant Chetna Bharadwaj who took stage. On the tune of Jo bheji thi dua, Chetna began crooning. “It’s always so special to come and perform for Calcutta. Everyone here is a music lover, and it is a pleasure to sing for them,” said the singer as she sang popular tracks like Deva deva, Lag ja gale, Saiyaara tu toh, Lambi judai and Bulleya, keeping the audience cheerful till 10 pm.

While Chetna’s performance entertained the crowd, many kept waiting to listen Salman. “It is almost 10 and I have to leave. I wanted to listen to Salman as I’ve been a fan of his voice from his reality show days. If I stay longer, I won’t get a bus home,” said 17-year-old Rohit De of DL Block.

It was only after 10.15 that Salman finally took stage, greeting the crowd with Teri dewani. The high notes of the first song itself left the audience in high spirits and transformed the energy of the gathering. From romantic hits to high octane songs like Mere raske qamar and Kaala chasma to Tere mast mast do nain, Jhoom Barabar, Sanson ki mala pe, he belted out one song after the other. “You are such a wonderful audience; I can hear your voices from stage,” he smiled.

He went on to sing a medley of songs – Muskurane ki wajah, Hume tumse pyar kitna, Gulabi ankeen, Aajkal tere mere pyar ke charche, Badan pe sitare and more, which left the crowd all grooving and cheering.

“ I wish they had started his performance earlier, as I was really enjoying it. Last year, they started this performance at around 8.30 or 9, but now it’s almost 10.30 and I have to leave,” said Anita Ghosh of AG Block.

Nisha Bose and her friends decided to stay back despite all. “Every year I wait to see which artist would come to Maitri Sangha. I have even heard live concerts of Sonu Nigam and Pritam here. I hope they scale up to that level again,” said the AC Block resident. “But Salman is also a strong performer, so my friends and I will stay back and watch the entire show even if we have to walk back home late at night.”