Thursday, April 22, 2010

Ghazal Nite at the Tuli Imperial - "The Boutique Hotel", Nagpur.

It was an immense pleasure performing at the splendid Ball Room banquet of the recently inaugrated Tuli Imperial - "The Boutique Hotel" for a private gathering on 17Th April 2010.

I selected very soft and popular ghazals of famous Ghazal singers like Jagjit Singh, Mehdi Hassan, Pankaj Udhas, Bhoopendra, Farida Khannum etc.

The ambience was just perfect for Ghazals. Round tables & chairs were put up in front of the stage from where the guests enjoyed listening to the ghazals while the snacks & cocktails were being served.


The sound mixing was perfect. I had instructed Anil to keep the output as soft & low as possible. The acoustics of the hall are perfect too.

I used a brand new Harmonium made specially for me by Srujan Musicals, Nagpur.

The listeners enjoyed the performance and there was a spontaneous appalause after every Ghazal .The selection of Ghazals seemed to be appropriate for the occasion.



I was requested to sing some Ghazals from my albums "Ahteraam " & " Once More".
I also sang some more of my new self composed Ghazals which were very well appreciated too.

Ustaad Nasir Khan, Nishikant Deshmukh & Sandeep Kapoor did a splendid job on the Sitar, Violin & Acoustic Guitar respectively.


Dr Devendra Yadao & Praveen Lihitkar exceled on Tabla & Rhythm Guitar.

The Ghazal program ended at around 10:45 PM after 2 HRS of non stop performance while the party continued .......followed by dinner.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Sun-n-Sand Ghazal Nite by Shishir Parkhie.

A Ghazal nite was held recently at hotel Sun-n-Sand, Nagpur. It was a private program which started at around 10:30 PM & continued non stop till around 1 AM.

The requests started pouring in from the very beginning. I was mostly requested to sing the popular Ghazals of Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Pankaj Udhas & Mehdi Hassan etc.

I have noticed that even when these legendary singers perform, most of the listeners want them to sing only their popular Ghazals everytime. Very few are interested in listening to any new creations from the legendary artists also.

I understand that the legends will always remain legends but on request from the listners , I tried to sing various Ghazals of their choice. You can see every one singing Bollywood songs in live shows & television reality shows, so this is my own way of promoting Ghazals by reviving the memories of the great work done by the legandary Ghazal singers, while also singing the Ghazals from my albums Ahteraam & Once More. I try singing my other self composed Ghazals as well & some Ghazal lovers in the gathering definately appreciate the new creations too!

The team

Even after trying to balance the sound levels for half an hour before starting the show, there was still a problem. One of my musicians having a fairly good idea of sound mixing had to get up and make the things right.I feel that sound mixing for a live show is an art and requires a good music & creative sense along with all the technical knowledge... But in recent times I observe that many sound providers with good name take multiple bookings and at times are forced to send incompetent people to operate the sound. It has become more of a rental business for some people.

The event organisers must also assure that his sound provider is present himself or at least sends a proper person to do the needful.

Irresponsible behavior of some people and their urge to make quick money can ruin a live performance.

Some of the Ghazals requested were Ghulam Ali Ji - Hungama Hai Kyun, Chupke Chupke, Aawargi, Chamakte Chaand ko, Humko Kiske Ghum Ne, Hum Tere Shaher Mein.

Jagjit Singh ji - Aahista Aahista, Wo Kagaz Ki Kashti, Baat Niklegi to, Aapko Dekh Kar, Hoshwalon Ko Etc. and many more popular Ghazals.The show was very well appreciated.

The Team : Dr Devendra Yadao - Tabla, Ustaad Nasir Khan - Sitar, Nishikant Deshmukh - Violin, Pravin Lihitkar - Guitar.