The Symphony of Ghazals by Pankaj Udhas

It was a privilege to witness Pankaj Udhas Live in Concert at the prestigious Sydney Opera House on 4 September 2022. Padma Shri Pankaj Udhas celebrated 40 years of his musical journey in this mega concert.

By: Rekha Rajvanshi

Ghazal Maestro, singer, composer, and musician Pankaj Udhas is considered one of India’s most prominent, revered, and recognisable artists. He has recorded over 60 albums during his lifetime. He is known to bring the traditional ghazal music to the masses. With a singing career spanning over 40 years, Pankaj Udhas continues to be a musical icon to millions of fans around the globe.

To witness this glorious moment, ghazal lovers and followers flew from all over Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. They were treated to a musical feast during his threehour concert with a break in the middle.

Pankaj Udhas opened the show with a song that was recorded for his debut movie. He continued to sing some of his most well-known melodies and amazing ghazals while sharing tales from his musical career. He also paid tribute to Lata ji as his spiritual Guru.

In addition to ghazals, Pankaj Udhas also performed nazms and semi-classical geets for the audience. The appeal of Udhas’ singing is that he constantly gives the ghazal a fresh flavour, keeping it interesting for listeners even after they have heard it a hundred times. The soulful version of

Aur aahista keejie baatein, Jiye though jiye kaise and Ai gham-e-zindagi kuch though de mashwara, Chandi Jaisi rang hai tera, kajre ki dhar, Aaj phir tum pe pyar aaya hai, Hui mahangi sharab ki todi todi piya karo, and La pila de saakhiya were on his playlist.

While singing Dukh sukh tha Ek Sabka Pankaj Udhas got very emotional. He later explained that he got overwhelmed because his daughters were sitting in front of him. Pankaj Udhas also shared an incident of how one of his fans Arun Khurana in Jalandhar used to play repeatedly his song ‘Na Kajre ki Dhar’, when neighbours requested him to stop, he responded ‘I will keep on playing this till Pankaj Udhas ji gets here and stops this record player himself. A small event was organised, and Pankaj ji was invited, who pressed the stop button to stop that song. Pankaj Udhas shared numerous such anecdotes with the audience.

I also recall how every Indian expatriate’s heart was touched when Pankaj Udhas sung Chitti aayi hai for the movie Naam in 1986. And experiencing it live and in concert from the artist himself made us all feel nostalgic.

The creative flexibility Pankaj Udhas grants to his group of musicians, is another area where Udhas excels. So, in addition to his ghazal show also featured some remarkable solo recitals on the violin, flute, tabla and synthesiser. Main Itna Zor Se Nachi Ki Ghungroo Toot Gaye provided an opportunity for the instrumentalists to show case their skills.

After each geet, ghazal, or nazm, the audience, mainly ghazal fans, applauded the singer to demonstrate their appreciation for him. Panka Udhas’s album of Mirza Ghalib’s ghazals was also launched by the Consulate General of India Sydney, Mr Manish Gupta and a CD was given to all the attendees. The event’s master of ceremony was Kartik Mohandas.

And the credit for this sold-out musical feast should go to Sydney-based Aakash and Akshay Lodhia, who organized this concert in their father’s memory, who was a great admirer of Pankaj ji’s ghazals and organized his first concert in Fiji in 1984. It was a rare occasion for the audience to listen to Pankaj ji’s timeless symphony of ghazals and the concert will always be remembered by music fans.