Hot August Ghazal Nights
Come to an Epic Close
By Ras H. Siddiqui
Rajkumar
Rizvi and Runa Rizvi
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The San Francisco Bay Area was
really blessed during the month of August. First we had Sudhir
Narain from India headlining a ghazal event put together by
the Bazm-e-Arbab-e-Sukhan organization at Mehran. Next we
heard Asif Ali from Pakistan entertaining us at the inaugural
Pak American Gymkhana Club program at the Fremont Marriott.
And last but not least August closed with the father-daughter
singing sensations Rajkumar Rizvi and Runa Rizvi at the Chandni
Restaurant in Newark. All one can add is “What a month
for the ghazal connoisseur?”
This writing will focus on what can only be described as an
epic closure of the month on Thursday, August 31, 2006 as
Rajkumar and Runa from India made the art of South Asian Urdu-Hindi
ghazal and geet singing proud.
The only drawback to this event was that it happened to be
on Thursday night. And unlike Pakistan, this is not the start
of the weekend here as Friday is a working day and a serious
ghazal event usually lasts way into the night. Had this been
on Saturday, hundreds more would have been in attendance as
local Aligarh Alumni Nihal Khan opened the program and introduced
the duo that had quite a challenge before them. This was their
second visit to Chandni in six weeks so they tried not to
duplicate their last song list. But the group that they were
entertaining would have none of that. “Jaisay Raag Kabhi
Purana Nahin Hota” (just a a raag never becomes old)
said Rajkumar, he just had to duplicate his old list many
times upon request. He thanked host Syed Sarwat and his wife
for their hospitality. “This place feels just like home,”
he said. Little did he realize that it was Rajkumar and Runa
themselves who were making us feel right at home!
Rajkumar started off with “Jhooty Dua..” with
a voice that reminded us of Mehdi Hassan of the old. In a
way, this program turned out to be a tribute not only to the
art of the Indian-Pakistani-Bangladeshi singing styles, but
also a reminder of the great singers of our generation and
the memories that they helped us create that are now embedded
in our minds. It was a reminder of that in “Dil Ki Baazi”
that Rajkumar so meticulously delivered followed by “Nahin
Bhulay” in the same raag.
Runa Rizvi started off with an “Adbi Qisam ki Ghazal”
by Momin. She reminded me of another Runa with the last name
of Laila, but that is another story from the memory banks
for another time. The song “Nahin Hota” was an
instant hit. “Tum meray Paas hotay ho jab koi doosra
nahin hota,” was wonderful. And the follow-up “Zara
Si Aanhat hoti hai to Dil yeh Sonchta hai, Kahin Yeh Who to
Nahin...” was just plain superb.
Rajkumar came back with “Mein Nay Lakhon Kay Bol Sahay..,”
a rendition that would have its Pakistani original vocalist
proud as would have been Naseem Begum whose “Sau Baar”
Runa followed up with.
We have already mentioned the fine presentation of old songs
by this duo, but let us add that the poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz
would have been proud of Rajkumar’s singing of “Guzri
Hai.” “Na Gul Khilay, Na Un Say Milay, Na Mei
Pi Hai, Ajeeb Rang may Ab Kay Bahaar Guzri Hai,” words
written by a master and sung in a superb manner by Rajkumar
Sahib,
The duet that followed “Bheega Bheega Mausam Aaya”
and Runa’s “Oh Baharon mera Jeewan Bhi Sanwaron’
were well done but many a teary eyed couple really appreciated
Rajkumar’s duplication of the old Khyyam-Rafi great
‘Chaudween Ka Chand.”
And from the other side of the border “Baat karnay ki
mujhe Mushkil kabhi Aisi to Na Thee” proved to be as
motivating as Jave Akhtar’s ‘Kabhi Yun Bhi To
Ho.”
For those of us that do not know, Raag’s like drinks
can also be mixed. Rajkumar proved that by singing “Rait
Pay Likh Kay Mera Naam Mitaya Na Karo” a thought that
we will certainly end this report on. And the last two songs
that I could stay for Rajkumar’s version of Mehdi Hassan’s
“MujheTum Nazar Say” and Runa’s “Aaj
Jaanay ki Zid Na Karo” (a Habib Wali Mohammed original)
left the listeners in awe.
To conclude, thanks are in order to Raana Faiz of the local
Hamrahi Radio Program for insisting that I attend this repeat
event that I could not make it to six weeks earlier. Those
that appreciate South Asian vocal arts can add Rajkumar and
Runa Rizvi to their list of “must listen to” singers.
And as mentioned before, this certainly was a month of “Hot
August Nights” for Desi performers in this area. Great
food, fine poetry and superb singing. It certainly doesn’t
get much better than this here in Northern California .
In life, we are all writing our stories on the canvas of sand
that time and the waves can easily erase at will. But it is
the beauty of these temporary words written, the “kaifiyat”
or feeling that the Urdu-Hindi realm provides that keeps us
going back to our poets and singers, as we thirst for something
more to re-connect us to our culture or “Tehzeeb”.
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