A phenomenon called Asha Bhonsle .....

I have grown up listening to songs of Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi, Yesudas, Bhupinder, Geeta Dutt. But I never thought that I would actually listen to any of them live on a stage ... that too in a foreign country!!

Yesterday Ina and I went to attend a concert by Asha Bhonsle and Amit Kumar (S/o Kishore Kumar). Initially I wasn't inclined to go since it was a good 25 miles from where we stay, and I thought the tickets were rather expensive. But we hadn't really gone out anywhere for a while, and this was a good way to unwind.

Asha Bhonsle at 75 is simply amazing. She is so full of life and energy that it just unbelievable. She not only sang numbers like 'Piya tu, ab to aa jaa' but also danced to them. Her energy was infectious ... she had the entire audience dancing and swaying to her numbers.

Apart from the fact that her selection and rendition of the songs was flawless, we discovered that she has an amazing sense of humour. The most entertaining part of the concert was her mimicry of other singers especially Lata Mangeshkar. She had the entire auditorium in splits.

Amit Kumar's voice is like Kishore Kumars in many ways ... and yet not quite the same. We discovered yesterday that the song 'Bade Ache Lagte hain, yeh dharti, yeh sagar' is originally sung by Amit Kumar .. and not Kishore Kumar!! Amit had several anecdotes from his time with Kishore Kumar, SD Burman and RD Burman. He is quite a performer.

To summarize, Asha Bhonsle and Amit Kumar gave an excellent performance for the folks at Phoenix, and everyone present enjoyed this musical evening. For me personally, it is something I will remember for a long long time.