Ada hai, awaaz bhi aur aashiqui (there's style, voice and romance). Small wonder, after 29 years of singing, Pankaj Udhas's ghazal performances are still accompanied by loud wah wahs! So it was at the Taj Coromandel recently, where he rendered some of his favourites (‘Deewaron se milkar rona', ‘Aur ahista kijiye baatein' and ‘Dukh sukh tha ek sabka') and an endless listeners' choice (‘Niklo na benaqaab zamana kharab hai', ‘Jiye to jiye kaise' and ‘Chandi jaisa rang hai tera'), at a fundraiser organised by Round Table 30 CHENNAI AT TAJ HOTEL
Udhas, accompanied by an entourage of musicians, conveyed wonderfully the lyrical and musical essence of the ghazals with his inimitable gentleness, communicating to the audience the nuances of some of the Urdu compositions. Unperturbed by the restless audience, some of whom kept walking in and out of the hall and talking blissfully among themselves, the acclaimed performer came up with a fine blend of thought-provoking and light nazms and geet.
Striking a balance
“It's a challenge to maintain the standard of your creative work with increasing diversions, co-existence of multiple genres, fading power of words and music taking on a techno sound,” says Udhas in an interview before the concert.
“The situation is confusing. While live performances are in great demand, the sale of albums has dipped drastically. Music companies are sceptical about going in for new recordings; they prefer repackaging old hits. They cannot be blamed since piracy has eaten into their profits. Anyway, CDs will soon disappear as ‘downloading' is the new way to listen to music.”
Udhas, who has just returned after performing in London, feels that hectic travelling does not allow musicians to spend time in recording studios and come up with new works. “Every album is a product of extensive research and elaborate coordination,” he says. Udhas has 40 albums to his credit, many of which have found a permanent place on shelves in music lovers' homes.
He is now working on two albums — a tribute to renowned Urdu poet of the Mughal era, Daag Dehlvi, and the other based on the works of new-generation poets. “There are many talented youngsters writing beautiful verses in Hindi and Urdu. I plan to bring them to light by including them in my repertoire.”
He did so at the concert, singing the verses of young Rajesh Reddy, which touchingly portrayed the current situation. “Yahan har shaksh haadson se darta hai, khilona hai jo meethi ka, fanaa hone se darta hai”.
Clad in an elegant brown achkan, the singer rues the death of melody in film music. “Barring some rare soulful numbers, songs are either item numbers or remixes. In fact, movies will soon become song-less. That leaves ghazals with thin hope in Bollywood.”
Yet, Udhas is persistent in his efforts to keep this ancient genre alive. He plans to revive his popular ghazal-based TV show “Aadab arz hai”, is excited about the annual two-day festival “Khazana” in Mumbai that offers a platform to established and young ghazal artistes, and is working to team up with an Arabic musician to reach out in a new way.
