Shreya Ghoshal Concert - 2

So here comes(Finally!) the second Shreya Ghoshal concert post! 

It was about a couple of weeks before the concert that Shreya tweeted about her concert in Bangalore, and the search for details started. Took a day to figure out the details that she is gonna be performing for the Bengaluru Ganesha Utsav at APS college grounds on 16^th September.  Having confirmed the date, venue and time, the next question was the entry. Called up the organizers to enquire and found out that the entry was free for the public and there were no passes for sale! This disappointed me a lot as I had not got a pass for her previous concert and had to stand very far from the stage for most part of the performance. So I was actually prepared to spend whatever it took to get me an assured good seating position. I even went to their office in DVG road, but heard the same story, but also a small hope when they said that passes might be available at the venue on the day of the event.

The wait for the 16^th was a long one dreaming about it and hoping it would be a great one, and hoping to meet her as well.  On 15^th, there was a performance by drummer shivamani. Although I had already seen him perform in yuva dasara Mysore, and was not too keen to go, I decided to go there just to check out the arrangements and what to expect on D-Day! That turned out to be a very good decision, as I got to know that VIP and VVIP passes were available at the venue and I grabbed some VVIP passes for me and my friends! The VVIP passes were for the first few rows in front of the stage, and I was very excited about being seated very close to the stage! Checked out specifically If I could occupy the first row, and when the answer was affirmative, I decided to come in atleast an hour in advance and occupy the first row! Also checked the surroundings and finalised the place to park my car the next day, just to avoid any last minute hassles.

The 16^th of September finally arrived and I was all excited about the concert. I could hardly work at office the whole day and was just waiting for the clock to strike 5. As soon as it did, I escaped from office, picked up my friends and headed towards the venue, 2 hours ahead of the scheduled start of the event. After about 10 minutes in the queue, we were let in, through the stage to the VVIP area, and phew, there were some unoccupied seats in the first row, which we grabbed immediately! The sound checking was going on, and the final wait started.

It was around 7:30 when Shreya arrived and went near the ganesha idol to light the lamps. Seeing a big crowd, we ran towards there and for a moment, I couldn’t believe I was within touching distance from the one and only Shreya Ghoshal! I could click a couple of pictures before she headed towards the stage. 

I almost floated back to my place in excitement! There was more to come, as I saw the popular music director, who totally changed the shape of the kannada music, Mano Murthy, come and sit right next to me.

After a short introduction, the music began and the nightingale came on the stage singing ‘Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye…’ There started what turned out to be 2 hours of unbelievable bliss.

Next came the melodious ‘wada raha…’ By then the excitement had sunk in and I had started to really enjoy the songs. She next interacted with the crowd and sang ‘Cheeni kum…’ to wake up the less excited people.

Next came the sensational ‘Jadu Hai Nasha Hai…’ the song which was so influential in her reaching such heights so early in her career. It was followed by a vote of thanks to all her fans with ‘Rab ne bana di joDi…’

One of my most favourite songs and the sensation of last year, ‘Teri Ore…’ was next. I was so happy to be listening to her from the first row, clicking loads of pictures, especially when she walked down to the front of the stage.

By then the crowd was asking for a kannada number and she obliged with her biggest kannada hit ‘AraLutiru…’ My God, the crowd response to this song was just unbelievable.  Even Mano Murthy almost gave a standing ovation. She followed it up with yet another of her top kannada songs ‘Hoovina BaaNadanthe…’ She was almost flawless singing the kannada songs live, except for a couple of minor glitches.

Then followed a couple of crowd favourite hindi tracks ‘Soniyo…’ and ‘Shukran Allah…’ Then came a not so popular track ‘Chori kiya re jiya….’ But the crowd was quickly back on their feet for ‘Pal Pal Pal…’ and ‘Yeh Ishq Hai…’ The first session was rounded off with the classical ‘Mere Dholna...’ and she went in for a break.

That was the time for me to digest all the excitement and also hope and pray that I get to meet her and get a priceless autograph and a snap. The break was occupied by a comedy performance by her troupe member, which was actually an exact repeat of the performance in her last concert here previous year. I was just waiting for her to come back. The organizers then felicitated the nightingale and Mano Murthy on stage. 

And Later the whole of the CMs family and the sponsors were felicitated by Shreya herself. 

After this slightly irritating episode, music was back in the air.

She was back in a super cool white trendy outfit and started off with the filmfare winning ‘Ninna Nodalentho…’ 

By then, it had started to drizzle, but was hardly noticed inside, thanks to the nicely arranged shelter for the whole ground. As if compliment the atmosphere, Shreya sang ‘Barso re…’ next. It was followed by the crowd favorite ‘Zoobi Doobi…’ The starting lines of the song were just too good, and she got the crowd involved too with the express singing at the end.  Then came ‘Hont Rasile…’ , ‘Tere Liye…’ and ‘Ab toh forever…’ The crowd was back to their high pitch when she started off with ‘Tumhe jo maine dekha…’ She then sang the sweet song ‘Salaam e ishq…’

When the music for ‘Om Shanti Om…’ started, I thought it was the end of the show, as that was the last song she sang in her last concert here. I was actually a bit disappointed that there were just three kannada songs. But as a pleasant surprise, she started off with the mesmerizing ‘Naa Naguva…’ and I was back floating again! Then followed ‘Ullasada HoomaLe…’, which the whole crowd thoroughly enjoyed. By that time, the volunteers were lenient enough to let people gather near the stage and click some close up snaps.

Then started ‘Dola re…’ and she walked down to the front of the stage. That happened to be the last song for the day, and she applauded the awesome audience, thanked everyone and left. I’d got more than what I expected and was absolutely thrilled to have witnessed the whole show from such a close distance.

In the midst of extreme satisfaction, creeped in the big question whether I will get to meet her. I thought of hanging on for some time till the crowd dispersed. After a while when most of them had left, a few people like me started to get near the stage trying to catch a glimpse of her and any chances of meeting her. After about half an hour or so, Shreya came back on stage and started giving away autographs to a extremely lucky few, but The volunteers were still monitoring the stage and I had to wait near the steps and request them to let me on stage. By then, my friend called me and told me that the other side of the stage was unguarded and that he was already on stage! I just ran to the other side and got on stage and saw that the volunteers were getting a group photo with her. 

After it was done, I got close to her and tried asking for an autograph, but by then, the volunteers started to force her inside. Realizing that I will not have much time, I posed next to her and Pramod clicked a priceless picture for me :-) 

She was immediately escorted towards the exit and the autograph eluded me.

Although I missed out on properly “Meeting” her and getting an autograph, I was extremely happy that I got to enjoy the show sitting right in front of her and also got a picture next to her.  There is always a next time for the autograph. Just as this time was better than the previous one, the next one is going to be even better! The whole week was so exciting and memorable!