Residents of Karunamoyee housing complex undertook a journey down melody lane to the 90s when singer Kumar Sanu came to perform on the occasion of Jagaddhatri puja on Monday evening on an invitation from Karunamoyee (ED Block) Abashikbrinda Jagaddhatri puja committee.
The singer took stage at 8.30pm, but the audience had started trooping in from 5 oclock. “I saw the poster on Sanu coming to Salt Lake last week on my way to office. I stayed back at my friend’s place on Sunday so that I could listen him today,” said Priyanka Mehra, who stays near Ruby Hospital as a paying guest.
The orchestra started playing a medley of his popular tracks to introduce the singer that continued for so long that the audience started wondering at what point the singer was going to make his entry. But instead of him, it was his co-singer Anuradha Ghosh who took the stage singing Na mono lage na, following it up with the peppy Asha Bhosle number Jawani janeman.
Finally Sanu entered the stage singing Do dil mil rahe hai from Pardes. “I don’t want to see a silent and well-behaved audience. How many of you can whistle? I need sounds after every performance or I will leave without singing,” said the singer who ruled the roost in the post-Kishore Kumar phase in Bollywood. “Sanu no longer performs in open events like this, but today he kept my word and agreed to come here,” said MLA Sujit Bose who was present to welcome the singer. “He has also opened a restaurant in Sector V dedicated to his musical journey. While we enjoy his songs today do enjoy the ambience there too later,” added Bose.
Shibani Mukherjee might be 73, but that didn’t reduce her excitement at hearing the singer live. “My six-year-old grand-daughter is also a Sanu fan. Everyday while eating she needs to hear Sanu’s voice. We have a playlist dedicated to the singer,” said the EE Block resident, who stood up after every song to clap for the singer.
“In 1993, Panchamda called me for the first time and asked me to sing a song for him. When I reached his studio, he saw me and said, ‘No, today you are not ready, your look is not perfect. We will do it some other time.’ Then after a week, he again asked me to come over. This time I shaved, ironed my dress and visited him. This time he said, ‘Yes, now we will record the song. Actually we are looking for a romantic voice and your previous day’s look didn’t match my imagination.’ Such were the standards of music directors then,” said the singer before he started singing Ek ladki ko dekha from 1942 A Love Story. He later went on to sing his other hits like Sambhala hai maine, Sarki jo sar se woh dhire dhire and Churake dil mera.
“I have been singing romantic tracks now. My next will be a bhajan dedicated to the goddess.” But he stopped and exclaimed: “Ma, please forgive me,” and started off with Yeh kali kali aankhen, to the bewilderment of the audience which did not complain at his change of heart.
“All these songs remind me of my college days. Today hearing him live made me younger. His voice hasn’t changed one bit. The feeling his songs arouse can’t be matched by today’s singers,” gushed Anurekha Das, a resident of BE Block. “I asked my husband to return home early from office today, and since the World Cup has ended he agreed to accompany me without any hassle.”
Satadipa Bhattacharya
