FD Block took the musical way to ring out this year’s Puja celebrations, as singer KK took the stage at Vijaya Sammilani held on Sunday.

“I am a huge KK fan and reached the park by 4pm so I could manage to get a front seat,” said Piyali Raha, who had come to listen to the singer all the way from Behala. “My friend had the passes, but knowing about my fascination she gave them to me,” said the overjoyed fan who recorded the whole event on her mobile phone.

The evening started on a lighter note when singer Sraboni Sen started performing Rabindrasangeet to entertain the audience. Sakhi bhabona kahare boley, Bhenge mor ghorer chabi, Tumi robe and Amra shobai raja set the perfect mood for the Vijaya Sammilani.

KK took the stage around 7.45pm and went on to sing his popular tracks like Aashayein, Kya mujhe pyar hai, Tu hi meri shab hai, O meri jaan which made many leave their seats and run towards the stage. “This is why I love coming back to this city — for the love you all have for music and for your encouraging faces. All sweet people around,” said the singer, adding “I love you, Kolkata”.

While the audience was having a gala time, the bouncers were seen running around to stop fans from going too close to the stage. “Please get me one picture of KK from the front, on my mobile. I won’t go near the stage, I promise. I will stand right here,” pleaded an audience member, ready to hand over his phone for a coveted shot.

“I was on a family holiday abroad when Pritam called me and said, ‘I have this beautiful track and want you to sing it.’ He sent me the music and the lyrics and asked me to record the song there itself and send him back. They loved it and on my return they added a few extra lines,” said the singer before performing Tu jo mila from Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

As requests for dance numbers started coming in, the singer set a condition: “I will, but first I want to sing a few of my favourite tracks.” Soft melodious numbers like Abhi abhi, Pal and Yaaron dosti took the audience down memory lane. “I don’t know why, but every time I hear this song, I start crying,” said the Ruchika Nair of BD Block, wiping her tears as KK sang Ismail Durbar’s ode to desolate love Tadap tadap ke.

But soon the mood changed as it was time for peppy numbers like Desi boys, Khuda jane, Zara sa dil me de jagah tu, Koi kahe kehta rahe. Finally, the bouncers had to let go as the singer himself asked everyone to come up near the stage and dance. Fifteen-month old Anamika Saha from CL Block freed her hand from her mother’s grasp and toddled over to sway to the tracks. “She is always dancing at home. This is the first time she is seeing someone perform live. So keeping her under control is getting difficult,” said her mother Susmita Basak.

Puja Shaw got the news of the singer performing from the singer’s social media fan page. “I adore his voice. When I learnt that he was coming so close to my place I couldn’t miss the opportunity to see him,” said the Maniktala resident who had also brought two portraits of the singer along, one of them with his wife Jyothi Krishna. “I have sketched them myself and gifting them to him was my dream.”