First some basics - it was an opportunity to go listen to Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar in the Bay Area - live. I mean for a guy who has some amazing music composition and singing to his credit, still doing the latter at the ripe age of 80 it was something - when I say live.
He and the voice of a younger Marathi speaking generation in the form of Dr.Salil Kulkarni are touring the affluent suburbs of America the past few weeks. This was their penultimate stop before Los Angeles and final leg home to India.
Being a largely Maharashtrian gathering it was a relatively quiet affair in terms of the crowd who was their for the music and some social mingling without too much fanfare and commotion commonly associated with our brethren from North India (which was the case during a Pankaj Udhas concert few years back).
However the execution for the Punk affair was more formal than how the Marathi manoos (guy from western Indian state) does it. Pankaj sang in a formal auditorium while Mangeshkar affair was in a hall attached to a Hindu temple. No amphitheater seating instead chairs on same level for all.
Another example came in the middle of the show when senior Kulkarni interjected his 12 year old son into the agenda - not what we paid for - to sing some songs then praising his skill and talent and accomplishment in Indian market. Really?
Shit I mean should I have told him that my daughter got an award from Barack Obama last week?
Regardless the show was mostly enjoyable for the music quality of the troop including the guys on percussion and guitar. Mangeshkar between sips of hot tea and mopping the brow due to somewhat oppressive heat, (did I say it was a hall attached to a temple) managed to tease some jokes along the way, some sarcastic while some caustic, and regaled the crowds with both his own musical creations and some that his esteemed sisters Lata and Asha sang. A couple numbers from movie 'Lekin' made it in the evening and he ended with 'Dayaghana'.
He and the voice of a younger Marathi speaking generation in the form of Dr.Salil Kulkarni are touring the affluent suburbs of America the past few weeks. This was their penultimate stop before Los Angeles and final leg home to India.
Being a largely Maharashtrian gathering it was a relatively quiet affair in terms of the crowd who was their for the music and some social mingling without too much fanfare and commotion commonly associated with our brethren from North India (which was the case during a Pankaj Udhas concert few years back).
However the execution for the Punk affair was more formal than how the Marathi manoos (guy from western Indian state) does it. Pankaj sang in a formal auditorium while Mangeshkar affair was in a hall attached to a Hindu temple. No amphitheater seating instead chairs on same level for all.
Another example came in the middle of the show when senior Kulkarni interjected his 12 year old son into the agenda - not what we paid for - to sing some songs then praising his skill and talent and accomplishment in Indian market. Really?
Shit I mean should I have told him that my daughter got an award from Barack Obama last week?
Regardless the show was mostly enjoyable for the music quality of the troop including the guys on percussion and guitar. Mangeshkar between sips of hot tea and mopping the brow due to somewhat oppressive heat, (did I say it was a hall attached to a temple) managed to tease some jokes along the way, some sarcastic while some caustic, and regaled the crowds with both his own musical creations and some that his esteemed sisters Lata and Asha sang. A couple numbers from movie 'Lekin' made it in the evening and he ended with 'Dayaghana'.
Heard Manna Dey at riper age of 90 a few years ago, so I am not surprised, not even by the Marathiness of the venue and arrangements..
ReplyDeleteWell you know Manna is from heaven?
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