By: Shobhna Raj Singh
It was so difficult to hold my excitement on September 4th as we were amongst lucky ones to witness the live performance by the Gazal icon – The one and only Pankaj Udhas at the Sydney Opera House.. it was a totally sold out concert, fully jam packed with fans from not just Sydney but also from interstate and far off NZ too…
And finally it commenced with Pankajji remembering his Gurus and inspirations, speaking fondly about his younger days, his 40 plus years of moving journey… his awesome gazals in his velvety soulful voice, his soul stirring lyrics and music. Everything kept us mesmerised… the best was him infusing it all with his witty side kept us all super entertained with his jokes and humour… touched our being and core with his super hits and our favourites; to name just a few
1) Chandi jaisa rang hai 2) thodi thodi piya karo 3) ek taraf uska ghar 4) aap jinke kareeb hotey hain..5)deewaron sey milakar… but when it came to our most favourite and Chiththi aayi hai aayi hai… it instantly hit our core ,nostalgia creeped in… the crowd choked to tears… it was an emotional moment for us all… we could feel the words, faces of our parents and families back home flashed before eyes and the helplessness we could all relate to each other… was three hours long event but it just seemed to have finished in blinks.
His entire troop , every one on the instrument were superb and each rendered their best in making the event way majistic ..
Like all good things must come to an end… the show too had to with Pankajji promising to come back very soon… he released his new album “”Forever Galib “ which was gifted as memento to all present that day ..
Honestly It was a great evening that kept music lovers spell bound and enchanted by HIS musical awe and grandeur throughout .. last but not the least really really greatful to the organisers , infact can’t be thankful enough to the Akash Lodhia and The Commonwealth Bank for making this happen .. shall cherish the beautiful memories.. till we meet again
