Grand Ghazal Nite By Bhupinder Singh And Mitali Singh

 SINGING TO EACH OTHER?



Rahon Pe Nazar Rakhna, their opening song went. And you wondered how they 
knew so fast - about the chaotic Hyderabadi traffic, that is. Well, actually it 
is not all that surprising - one drive is all it seems to take these days. Only, 
perhaps that song came a little too early in the proceedings - the people who 
came early wouldn't be the ones who suffered in the traffic, right? Then maybe 
not. In typical Hyderabadi style, this show started late, too. A full 1 hour. 
But the audience were fully compensated for it.




Bhupinder and Mitali Singh, the couple-cum-ghazal-duo, were entertaining the Hyderabadi crowds - rather expensively, we might add - for a charitable cause, the Abid Ali Khan Eye Hospital on Saturday night. And it was one great nite for ghazal lovers in town.


The start wasn't really a cracker - the acoustics were giving ample reason for 
Bhupinder to complain, the photographers were irritating him and the organizers 
were just not shutting out the video cameras. And the result was that the initial 
songs didn't really have him at his best. But Mitali decided that she wasn't going 
to be bothered by the trifles, and that her voice would cut through all barriers. 
And she literally belted out a few numbers, a la Begum Akhtar and Mubarak 
Begum. And was she good!




The couple also decided to romance each other on the stage to enlighten the audience about the little adjustments that good marriages have to make, the subtle nuances of love and communication and so on. Many a broken heart must have come to grips with reality, making a vow not to lose itself in unrequited love. But then, what was it that Bhupinder sang in that husky voice of his, "I wish there was another God for love alone," breaking the earlier resolve we just made?



Then there was a familiar turn that the singing took, thankfully - it was now film numbers. "Dil Dhoondta Hai" from Gulzar's Mausam, which recreated the magic of the film itself, and "Kisi Nazar Ko" that continued the mood, were welcome changes. Mitali's Allah Hi Allah touched one's religious depths, and not necessarily those of Islam's practitioners either. And by now the minor irritations were eliminated and Bhupinder was in form, too.



Around 11:30pm the couple requested a short break to recharge themselves. The return had the audiences' farmaishein (requests) being obliged willingly by the artistes, and the 'evening' carried on into the late late night as the singers took us all to euphoric heights. Give me a musical flight like this any day!



Please contact B Ramachander Rao, Managing Trustee, at 460-5719/474-2046 for further details.


SU