Bow to the Maestro

So, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to the ghazal maestro, Jagjit Singh. The concert was held in Queen Elizabeth theatre, he sang in front of a full house, some 3000 people. The stage was very nicely decorated with little oil lamps spread across, two big projection screens displayed artwork at changed according to the mood of the song being played.. so did the lighting.

The first half was mostly dedicated to ghazals but I was somewhat disappointed as he did not sing my favorite Mirza Ghalib (مرزا غالب) ghazal "Dil hi to hai (دل ہی تو ہے)". Perhaps it would have been a little too heavy for the crowd as the major portion seemed to be Punjabi speaking.
The live renditions were also dinstinctly different from the versions you hear on recorded albums. There was usually a lot of emphasis placed on the first verse of a couplet to build up anticipation for the second verse. This is actually quite typical of Urdu poetry readings. However, it is somewhat inconvenient when one already knows the ghazal.

The second half was devoted to requests and since the crowd was mostly Punjabi, I wasn't surprised that most of the songs were Punjabi. The tempo also built up from soft and mellow to loud and more Bhangra like. I wasn't expecting this at all as I know Jagjit solely as a ghazal singer.
On the whole, it was quite a memorable experience and I would definitely see him again if I have the chance.