‘Jane kahan gaye woh din’ relives Mukesh’s magic

NAGPUR: On the eve of composer Naushad’s birth anniversary, it was befitting to hold a musical show comprising songs sung by Mukesh. It was after all Naushad who helped him create a singing style of his own. On Sunday evening at Scientific Society hall, Rajesh Duragkar of Swarmadhura along with three other singers; Shraddha Joshi, Akanksha Nagarkar and Dr Sudhir Kunewar, paid a musical tribute to singer Mukesh.
Picking up 25 songs from the nearly 1,300 sung by Mukesh from 1940s to 70s, Duragkar started with ‘Aaya woh mujhe phir yaad kyon zalim’, which set the tone for the evening.
The next two were duets with Shraddha and Akanksha, ‘Ye mausam rangeen sama’ and ‘Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai’. Mukesh was known more for his melancholy renditions like ‘Zuban pe dard bhari’ which was presented by Kunewar. Carrying on with the sad songs, Duragkar was back on stage with ‘Ansu bhari hain’ and ‘Bhuli hui yaadon’.
For an audience mostly in their late fifties, this was an evening filled with nostalgia as they soaked in the magic of the lyrics and melody of the compositions. Remaining oblivious to some missing beats and words, and singers, especially Kunewar, going totally off key with ‘Woh tere pyar ka gham’, they enjoyed songs like ‘Koi jab tumhara hriday tod de’ from Manoj Kumar’s ‘Purab aur Paschim’, which are not frequently heard today on FM radio. Duragkar, who presented nearly 20 of the 25 songs, did justice to many such numbers like ‘Mai to ek khwab hoon’ and ‘Kai bar yuhi dekha hai’ for which the legendary singer had won the National Award in 1974.
The concert titled ‘Jane kahan gaye woh din’ rode on the strength of Mukesh’s immortal hits sung in his soulful and silky voice, and refreshed in the minds of the listeners the rich repertoire of his songs.