LEXINGTON, MA– Awaaz-e-Jazbaat Shankar Jaikishan Ke Saath, a musical program dedicated to songs composed by Shankar Jaikishan, the duo who dominated Hindi film music for several decades, echoed the songs of days gone by on Saturday and entertained the packed house at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum in Lexington, MA.
The net proceeds of the show were donated to two charities: Saheli, which helps battered South Asian women and the Indian Circle of Caring, which helps the Indian community in times of sickness, accidents, bereavement or death.
“We are overwhelmed by the warmth of the response we got for Awaaz-e-Jazbaat Shankar Jaikishan Ke Saath. We profusely thank the audience for their love and encouragement,” said Mohan Subramaniam, a key organizer of the show and one of the singers. “Shankar Jaikishan have given us such timeless music that it was a joy to perform the songs.”
Subramaniam thanked audience and his team of singers.
“The team chemistry amongst us singers was exceptional … everyone pitched in so beautifully,” said Subramaniam. “This show has left us with some very fond memories. Thanks to the entire team.”
The Subramaniam team has produced several hit shows over the years such as, “Shaam-e-Burman”, “Khandan-e-Kapoor”, “Badhshah-e-Romance” and “A musical journey with Hrishikesh Mukherjee”.
The show focused on Shankar Jaikishan, whose music portrayed an array of different emotions or jazbaats through the magical voices of Rafi, Lata, Mukesh, Manna Dey and Asha, among others. Some of the immortal songs by Shankar Jaikishan include” Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par”, “Yeh mera prem patra padhkar”, “Yeh Raat bheegi bheegi”, “Dheere Dheere Chal” and “Awara hoon”.
In addition to Subramaniam, other singers who participated in the program included Sowmya Shri, Raghu Saranathan, Nidhi Tare Lad and Hemant Patkar, each well known among film music lovers in Boston. The core organizing committee and emcees of the show consists of Harish Dang, Dr. Manju Sheth, MD, Preetesh Shrivastava, Eshani Shah, Jharna Madan and Dr. Meera Subramaniam, MD. Bipin Parekh, a knowledgeable connossier of hindi film music serves as an Advisor.
The show was sponsored by Tanna Insurance, Kay Pee Jewelers, and the Desai Foundation with Samir and Nilima Desai.
The singers entertained the audience with the following songs:
O mehebooba
Hamre gaon koi aayega
Kaun hai jo sapnon mein aaya
Tum se achha kaun hai
Paan khaye saiyan hamaro
Bhawrein ki gunjan
Teri pyari pyari surat
Aye sanam jisne tujhe
Sajanwa bairi ho gaye hamar
Tera jana
Teri yaad dil se
Rasik balama
Ye mera diwanapan hai
Ye raat bheegi bheegi
Mujhko apne gale laga lo
Awaaz de ke hamein tum
Aji rooth kar ab
O mere shahekhuban
Meri mohabbat jawan rahegi
Aap yahan aaye kis liye
Dheere dheere chal
Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke
Pyar hua ikrar hua hai
Sau saal pehle.
It delights me no end — as one of Shankar-Jaikishan’s greatest fans — that the program dedicated to the genii… of the incomparable emperors of Hindi film music was a stupendous success… My especial compliments to all that scripted and sculpted the program and also everyone that attended. May their tribe increase — ‘coz this was a wonderful initiative and also a small, big step to relive and spread the sublime, immortal music of SJ to GenNext.
April 26 marked the 30th death anniversary of Shankar — it was sad, also deplorable, that no Indian newspaper of note [as far as we know] featured a tribute, or an accolade, for the maestro… unlike two [one wacky; the other much-hyped] music composers of the past and present, both ‘media darlings,’ who hog the limelight for no real reason, every now and then… or, practically every day…
For S-J fans and others [who would love to know just a tad of their amazing talent and greatness], here’s a meditation [published on a little known, fringe website] that they could delve into and savor: https://theintegrativepost.com/post.php?id=203
Long live… the magic melodies of S-J!