I'd been invited for an evening do and was promptly at the hosts' door, by a quarter to eight, like a good guest only to find that I was very, very early by Delhi's standards! But the positive outcome was that I'd enough time to bond with the hosts and willingly offered to help them in their last minute efforts!
It was a lovely musical evening where a couple of guests, who're good singers, gave a fine rendition of some of the favourite numbers now in circulation. As I warmed to the music, a suicidal bravado overtook me and I offered to sing the first two lines of a popular Hindi film song if somebody took on from me thereafter. There was widespread acceptance from the small crowd and I started on my favourite from a Sunil Dutt - Nanda starrer of yesteryears(I'd heard it on 'Rangoli' this morning),
"Yeh waadiyaan, yeh fizaayein bula rahi hai tumhe
Khamoshion ki sazaayein bula rahi hai tumhe"
The song was taken on from there by another guest who sang it beautifully to its logical conclusion and the applause lasted quite a while. Popular demand made me start up two gazals, thereafter, that are my favourites:-
"Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aise tho na thi
Jaise ab hai teri mehfil kabhi aise tho na thi......." (sung by Mehdi Hassan)
and
"Der lagi hai aane mein tumko
Shukr hai phir bhi aaye tho
Aas ne dil ka saath na chhoda........." (sung by Jagjit Singh).
Well, the response was superb and my hosts were pleasantly surprised that they had found a prime mover to shake the other singers to action, in yours truly. And the upshot of the whole affair is that I've already got an invite for a get together this Wednesday, when all I wanted was to stay indoors in the comfortable environs of my cosy home in these harsh winter evenings.
I seem to have cooked my chips!
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