Huddled
they came in raincoats and under umbrellas on a rather wet and rainy evening;
an evening that would weave melodies with memories. Bostonians had the rare opportunity to pay
tribute to the many singers, composers, lyricists and actors who have given us
so much joy and happiness in the years gone by. Those who attended Melodies
& Memories at the auditorium of Ashland’s David Mindess School on June
2nd were treated to a musical feast of the entire era of songs
(1950-75) in one evening, where every song rendered was symbolic of each year.
These were presented collectively by the most popular artistes of Boston’s
local music scene and supported by the finest emcees in town.
The
evening opened with the somber Mughal-e-Azam immortal classic bekas pe karam
kijiye presented by Meena Sundaram and Iffat Wahid. The program formally
started the chronological hit parade with the breezy 1950 hit Gorey gorey
bankey chhorey by Sudha Lakshmi Rao and Rageshree Mehta.
During
the evening Meena appeared on the stage with Waqt ne kia and Chein se humko
kabhi in solos and with others in some extremely diverse and creative
presentations. She sang with Mohan Subramaniam, on a cheerful romantic note,
with Bade armano se rakha hai balam. She then joined Salman Dar on stage with a
black umbrella to perform the evergreen Pyar hua iqrar hua hai of Shree 420.
Even more impressive was her delightful rendition of Dil cheez kia hai aap meri
jaan lijiye, to support Arsh Mehrotra’s superb and colorful dance performance,
providing the ideal ending to Act I of the show. In the second session, she set
the hall alight with her breezy Pia tu ab to aaja of 1971, where Siraj shared
the stage with her with Monica oh my darling, to the surprise and delight of
many in the audience.
Sudha
Lakshmi Rao was in her elements with the immortal Babuji dheere chalna and with
Sankar Gangaikondan in Jo wada kia. However, it was in Inhi logon ne where she
sang to realtor-dancer Muneeza Nasrullah’s stunning performance, that she
sounded at her very best. This presentation was clearly one of the main
highlights of the program, where a mujra was recreated on stage,
complete with “patrons†with hukkas and Nawabi attire, a Khaanam
with her paandaan, the musicians, and dollar bills flying around for
nazraana. This unusual presentation was deftly executed and received a
tremendous applause from the packed hall.
Anuradha
Palakurthi came in with only two solos but created a tremendous impact
with the immortals - Ye Zindagi Usi ki hai of Anarkali and Aja re pardesi of
Madhumati. Her voice recaptured the haunting quality of these Lata classics,
and the audience responded with thunderous applause. Young starlets Anusha
Kulkarni and Selina Banerjee continue to improve by leaps and bounds. Anusha’s
Aap ki nazron ne samjha and Zara si aahat hoti hai (both Madan Mohan classics)
were performed with character and poise, with far more depth and maturity than
one would expect at her age. Selina yet again showed her confidence and Kuch
dil ne kaha, followed by Bayyan na dharo, were both delightfully delivered.
Both Anusha and Selina, earlier in the evening, had already created quite a
stir with their superlative rendition of the sparkling Lata-Asha duet Aji chale
aao.
The male
singers were also in fine form on this memorable evening. Mohan Subramaniam excelled
with two Rafi solos Tere mere sapne and Tum jo mil gaye ho. Mohan’s capacity to
emote, and attention to sur were evident. Shekhar Shastri’s O duniya ke
rakhwale and Padosan’s kehna hai were well applauded. Shekhar’s
stage presence shifted in keeping with the emotions of the two songs: emoting
suffering and comedy not just with his voice but his entire stage
presentation. Salman Dar, a master at stage presence, brought back
memories of the naughtiness of Kishore Kumar and Rajesh Khanna days, with his
free-wheeling stage presence. The audience cheerfully joined in with the beat,
as Salman sang Talat’s Jaen to jaen kahan and later Kishore Kumar's mere
sapno ki rani.
The show
was expertly stage managed by emcees well known to area audiences. Led by
Siraj Khan, and supported by Kumkum Pareek Malik, Razia Mashkoor, Binni Dang
and Harish Dang, this group informed, joked, and connected with the audience
throughout the evening, linking the songs to each other, and adding to the fun
and flow of the program.
Farooq
Ansari, representing the three sponsors, provided the perfect introduction, the
conceptualization and backdrop to the event and in Act II also presented the
Award of Audio Excellence to Jawed Wahid.
Meena,
Sudha and Anuradha shared the stage for the last time that evening as a trio,
to bring the musical treat to a grand closure with memories of that Suraiyya
masterpiece of a swan song Ye kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayee
hai. A particular touch was added to this presentation by Siraj gently blowing
out the shama on stage when the three female voices crooned bujha do bujha do
bujha do sitaron ki shammay bujha do. The curtain for this melody-filled
evening could not have come down in any better fashion, capturing the entire
hit parade of 25 years in one evening. As a guest at the event rightly put it,
it was a brush with magic. Ye shama jalti hi rahe aur kabhi na bujhe. 
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