Rohit's memorable weekend

This weekend must have been one of the most memorable weekend for Rohit. I've mentioned about him in earlier posts, that he is crazy about JS and his music. He had all the plans to meet the maestro on 30th June, but his plans were ruined by the rain gods!

He was very very upset that day. He called me up, SMSed me and when we met for the concert kept on speaking about the lost oppurtunity. I should not forget his kindness, he had included me from the beginning for the meet. I told him however "Waqt se pahle aur qismat se zyada kuch nahi milta". But I was equally sad to miss the opp.

It seems with the "Shani" changing its planetary position on Saturday, time went in his favour! He kept on calling me in the evening and I noticed his call only after 3 missed ones. His voice was filled with excitement. He said that he had talked to Abhinav Upaddhyay, the senior tabla player in JS's team, over the phone, moments ago. This was facilitated by another great fan of JS, Naresh, who was attending the Ahemedabad concert on the 19th. Rohit kept on speaking about the new 'opportunities' that were open for him.

At around midnight, (12:36 A.M) on Sunday, I got a SMS from Rohit. It said that he had just had a talk with JS on phone! In that short textual message I could virtually see what he must have experienced minutes ago. A burning desire in his heart for 10 years, fulfilled!

I know what it means to have such passionate desires fulfilled. I consider myself lucky, that I was probably the first or the second one to whom he may have disclosed this. I have not talked to Rohit, after this episode. I will let him savor the moment some more... and then ask him about the details of the conversation he had with JS.

JS Live

I attended my first concert of Jagjit Singh on 30th June. This was at Siri Fort, New Delhi. Many thanks to Rohit, for arranging my pass. May god bless him!

Hearing the master live is indeed an experience one will always cherish. He sang for around 2 hours excluding the 15-min break. The flights were delayed from Mumbai due to continuous rains, and thus the concert started late by almost 2 hours!

The first 'ghazal' that he sang was 'Der lagi aane mein 'humko''.... and was accompanied only by the flutist and the guitarist. His half team had not yet arrived!! This proved to be a boon in disguise for us, as we could hear his bare voice. His voice is so soothing even at this age!

However he kept his choice of ghazals/songs as per the taste of the larger public. No difficult urdu poetry (in fact, no urdu poetry at all). Only exception was "Baazeecha-e-Atfaal hai". He does not sing this often in his concerts.

At Last, we left at around 11:15 P.M. Our group constantly discussing that he should have sung some "new numbers" and his rare compositions which he used to sing around 35-40 years ago.

Maybe god will fulfill our desires someday!