"Kazra Muhabbat wala…"

Oh my my what a treat for a musical night.. Thank you all Sa Re Ga Ma friends..

I can close my eyes and still hear those beautiful melodies.. It was a treat for all of us.I don’t sing but I enjoy music, being with you all made the long drive worth it. Thank you Sudarshan, I enjoyed introducing everyone and being with all.

Now I will try to put down my happiness on paper.

First of all I would like to thank Sunanda and Praveen Sahay for arranging the clubhouse for us. Thank you Meena and Brij Singh for hosting the event.

Its always a challenge to be the first one.. After a quick introduction to the whole group Meena did a great job starting the night for us. The Classical she sang was the perfect night opener.

Then came our Ms fun Gauri Chandana  with song "Tumhe ho na ho mujho itna yakeen hai" – Oh my we were back in those Golden days of our life, when the playfulness was the fun of love. Thank you Gauri, to take us back in time machine.

It was the first time I heard Praveen Sahay and now I am sure we all want him to sing Hemant Kumar all the time, "Ye nayan dare dare".. We needed this tranquilizing melody after Gauri’s song.

The Chatterji Couple was the next – Chat sang – "Chalke teri ankho se sharab aur jyada" he just took us in another romantic era reminiscent of Goblets and Ghazals , and Shobha di brought us back to Meera’s devotional world – "Payo ji maine Raam rattan dhan payo"..

Every month we get to meet new people and listen to new styles of singing.This Friday wasn't the exception and we got to hear couple of new singers.

Anisha was a delight to hear.( we named her Sanyukta for the night because she was with Prithiviraj last night. She sang "Mera kuch saman tumhare paas pada hai". It was a tough song and she did a great job with a deadly combination of Asha and Gulzar’s sublime dance of words and notes on Pancham Da's composition.

Thank you.. we cannot wait to hear more and more from you. It was a very soothing song and then came the Phatakha song of the night..Another great new face to the group – Suraiya and I thought her name is musical enough. I grew up listening Suriya and couldn’t wait to hear what was she bringing to us and yes “Kazra Mohhabat wala”

That is an evergreen song, older than me and wow Suraiya was too good. Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum were right there with all of us.. I just couldn’t stop and many of danced to her tunes.

Sudarshan was the next with "Jindagi bhar nahi bhoolegi" – we all were soaked drenched in feelings.. His is always very good with his mesmeric eclecticism.

Then Vinay Goel sang another - Hemant Kumar gem - "Seene me sulgate hai arman".. his voice was perfect for the song.

Last night was a perfect combination of fun and different songs. After the calmness of Hemant Kumar , Chanchala sang a

Bhojpuri song for us -"Jheeni jheeni ahrachea ke paar goria", Anuj, Next time you will sing for us.

Rohini Mehta- sang the title song from "Kabhi alvida na kehna".

Then came my favorite part of the night - The couple song

Brij and Meena singh- "Bahut shukria badi meharbani".  

That song has lot more than just words.. It takes us to another world of love.

I grew up in MP in India. So listening Ruma Sing in Bengali opens up

another dimensions for me. I didn’t understand the words but it felt great.- "Amra sabhai raja"..

Another fun song last night was Manjul Nigam singing "Bemurawaat bewafa begana ye dil aap hain" to her husband :) he was sitting right there and we all enjoy listening to her and watching him.

Meetu Gupta sang "Daba daba sa sahi dil me pyar", a tribute to Jagjit Singh..Its his signature song and was a perfect choice for the evening.

Then came Sesha with his charm and fun style and sang

"Jeevan ke safar me rahi milte hain bichad jane ko" and

"Lekar ham dil deewana dil phirte hain manjil manjil" .. we cannot wait for next month to hear more of our Kishore Kumar.

The good bye song of the night was a timeless classic– "Aaj jane ki zid na karo".

Sudarshan, Meetu, Manju and Anisha sang together and yes none of us were ready to let the night end.

Here is the list for second round and third round.

After 11 we all were supposed to wrap up and clean the place and I asked  Sudarshan to sing another Mohd. Rafi hit – "Ehsaan tera hoga mujha par" And apart form his singing the fun part was Mustapha and Prakash Bhaiya singing with him, Then all of us. That was the best way to end the night. I am sure we all drove back home singing the same song.

Thank you folks for the memorable night , hope lot more to come and sweep us off our feet.

Next round -

Praveen Sahay - "Na tum hame jano"

Shobha di & Chat - "Kahin door jab din dhal jaye"

Guari - "Saiyan dil mein aana re, aa ke phir na jana re"

Suriya - "Piya tose naina lage".

Vinay goel - "Kahan le chale ho musfir . Sitaro se aage"

Rohiti Mehta - "Aati rahengi baharen"

Ruma Neogyi - "Nache re .. aache re"

Gauri - "Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko"

Sudarshan - "Kal chaudawi ki raat thi"– special Thank you

from me

Suraiya - "Raat akeli hai bujh gaye diye"

Gauri - "Ye mera dil pyar ka deewana"

 Sudarshan, Prakash bhaiya and Mustafa and all of us- "Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par"

RIP - Don't rest in peace - Return please..

After mourning for over 2 weeks today I write to pay tribute to two special men in my life. Steve Jobs and Jagjit Singh... Will my techy and musical life would ever be the same?

Jagjit Singh is not just the name of a singer he was an experience to listen or see him sing. I would say could I ever see him sing no it was to feel him all around you.

I remember I was 11-12 when I heard my uncle play his LPs. My dad was never into ghazals so my summer trips to my uncle’s home were the starting point. I still remember his collections of LPs. That started my love affair with Jagjit Singh’s voice. Slowly I collected his cassettes first then cds and now I can say I almost have all his ghazals.

Jagjit Singh gave different meanings to emotions. When Ashish and I were apart it was Jagjit Singh's ghazals which kept me going, made my tough days bearable. He was the one who could sing “mere jaise ban jaoge jab ishq tumhe ho jayega” or “socha nahi achha bura dekha suna kuch bhi nahi” and forever changed what Love is. We lost our dear friend in 97 and I remember it was Jagjit Singh who sang “aapni marzi se kahan ke kidhar ke hum hai” and I felt he was just narrating our loss. It felt so close to heart and i cried in every live performance for Ashutosh when he sang that.

For me Jagjit Singh is the memory of my newly wedded life. Ashish and I could stay up whole night listening to Jagjit Singh. I cannot thank that silken voice to make my years beautiful, in love. We both are not even bathroom singers but Jagjit Singh sang for us to each other.

Now when I think of it he practically lived in my bedroom to kitchen to the basement. Thanks to my another love, Steve Jobs, I could carry the magical voice everywhere.

The first concert Ashish took me to in Pune was the experience I would hold close to my heart all my life. I had no idea when I left my seat and walked to front and just stood there. All I remember later that Ashish held my hand and brought me back. It has been a joke that I was in some other place that night.

I had been lucky to listen to him live few times and was amazed how he could be so entertaining. So much energy and enthusiasm and so professional. Last  year I saw him in Boston and I feel blessed that I could make to that show.

But is that enough for me? I feel that one part of me is just empty now. I have his ghazals but what would I look forward to. He sang enough to last lifetime but still the feeling that he is not around is very depressing.

It was Steve Job’s death when I realized that I chose to ignore the truth, didn’t want to face it.  We all knew we won’t have him for very long but I was expecting miracle. But sure enough Steve Jobs was needed more someplace else.

I have been an Apple fan forever. But when I look back I wasn’t just an Apple fan, I was a Steve Jobs devotee. It was his personality which drove me to Apple. His iPhone introduction speech was the first thing I heard from him and oh boy I was hooked.

I did wait for a year before buying my first iPhone but after that I have been in love with Steve jobs and his ideas.

I had owned an iPod and bought a touch for Ajey but it was the iPhone what changed my world. I was addicted. He always thanked his team and talked about team efforts but I respected him for his vision. He is the one who changed the way we have music in our life. Just music nah, how we live our life. So when I turned 40 all I wanted that damn iPad and lucky for Ashish just a week before it was announced.

My 40 birthday was great, thanks to Steve Jobs. I loved my gift like no gift ever.

I mourn for a visionary and I hope Apple can continue his legacy. But for me I just cannot go to Apple like before. It’s been days and I push myself everyday to move on but what I would do to the emptiness I feel. We would get new singers, innovators but I don’t feel hopeful. This is the time when I want to believe in Hindu believe of Reincarnation and don’t wish Moksha for them. Please come back, don’t rest.. we need you.