Thandi hawaaen warm up our hearts at Vinod’s Madhur Yaadein

 

Sweet Memories – Madhur Yaadein with ISGH members  

By  Kersi  Meher-Homji  

It was pure nostalgia as Vinod Rajput and his talented team of musicians lifted our mood skywards. Many of us seniors went back to our childhood as Vinod, Dr Reena Mehta, Pushpa Jagadish, Arun Nanda and Jagdeep Singh crooned old film numbers from  Dulari  in 1949 to  Silsila  in 1981.

Vinod set the tone with  Suhani Raat  and then Reena made us all hum  Thandi Hawaaen  with her. Of all songs I have heard at different concerts  Thandi Hawaaen  remains as the one I hum most, even days afterwards.

 

Reena Mehta and Vinod Rajput

Then it was  Baiju Bawra  time as Pushpa Jagadish lulled us to musical extravaganza with  Bachpan ki mohabbat. No wonder she is described as the Lata Mangeshkar of Australia.

 

Pushpa Jagadish and Vinod Rajput keeping Sydney enthralled

Listening to Pushpa’s repertoire of musical versatility inspired me to interview her after the concert. The interview is presented separately also on  The Indian Down Under  website.

It is not possible to enumerate all the divine songs from the golden era but like everyone present I enjoyed the duets by Pushpa and Vinod, especially  Dambhar jo idhar munh phere  from  Awaara  and  Ajaare ab mera dil pukara  from  Aah.

Then Vinod gave us a free  Taxi Driver  ride with  Jaaen to jaaen kaha  before he teamed up with Neera as the listeners clapped and tapped their toes in harmony when they sang  Ramaiya vastavaiya maine dil tujko diya  from  Shri 420.

It was duet time again as Reena joined Arun Nanda in putting us in a romantic mood by singing  Mujhe kitna pyaar hai tumse  from  Dil tera diwana.

I heard Jagdeep Singh for the first time and he looked an accomplished actor with his spectacular shirt and jaunty style. I enjoyed his Kishor Kumar style of histrionic rendering of  Mere sapnoki raani  from  Aradhana  and the  Bobby  classic  Main shayar to nahi.

Vinod concluded  Madhur Yaadein  with the catchy  Silsila  number  Ranga barasewhich brought quite a few listeners on the dance floor. The spontaneous dancing of Mr and Mrs Dave Passi as Vinod and Pushpa sang  Ek pyaar ka nagma hai  was the icing on the cake.

Rekha Rajvanshi entertained and educated us with her commentary.   Deepa Kannan on violin, Venkat Tallapragada on tabla, Vinod on harmonium and Gamini Goonetilleka on percussion kept us entertained. Mahesh Mehta was the sound engineer. Every performer and helper was presented with a shawl and a gift.

The musical evening was presented by Indian Seniors Group, Hornsby and supported by  The Indian Down Under.

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