Chandigarh, October 11 : Ghazal aficionados of City Beautiful were treated to a mesmerizing performance by Gurgaon-based renowned Ghazal singer Pamela Singh at the Sham-e-Ghazal organized by the Pracheen Kala Kendra to pay tribute to legendary Begum Akhtar. The occasion was 180th Monthly Baithak which took place here today at its Bhaskar Rao Indoor Auditorium in Sector 35. The musical evening was well-attended and the audience greeted her rendition of a wide variety of compositions by legendary poets of repute like Shakeel Badayuni, Jigar Muradabadi, Malika Pukhraj, Momin Khan and others with rapturous applause.
Beginning her training in music under Shri Bhagwan Das Saini of Patiala Gharana, Shri Madan Bali and Professor Yashpal of Agra Gharana, the gayaki of legendary Begum Akhtar had a great influence on her singing. Her association with Begum Parveen Sultana and late Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh also paid dividend in her performing career. Her spell bound performances in India and abroad including England, France, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Dubai and Pakistan are of great importance. An approved artiste of All India Radio and Doordarshan, Pamela Singh has also acted in films like Love Aaj Kal and Band Baaja Baraat.
It is not very often that one comes across a voice like Pamela Singh’s – a voice with soul and emotion. Besides being gifted with a rich and sonorous voice, she is well groomed and it reflects in her performances. With her meticulous selection and flawless rendition, she instantly establishes a rapport with the listeners. Pamela began her recital with Shakeel Badyuni’s famous ghazal “Aye mohabbat tere anjam per rona aaya…..” followed by Jigar Moradabadi’s famous compositions “Un aankhon ka aalam gulabi gulabi” and “Koi yeh keh de gulshan gulshan”. The strength of her performance lies not only in the fact that she can render the most complex compositions with remarkably effortless ease but more because even the simplest of her renditions has the ability to touch the heart strings of the audience.
Pamila then moved on to present famous composition “Woh jo hum mein tum mein qarar tha…” penned by Momin Khan followed by Ali Jalili’s “Khushi ne mujh ko thukaraya hai ranj-o-gam ne pala hai…”. Her flawless rendition of some of the Ghazals enthralled the audiences amid wah-wah.
On the demand of the audience she doled out finest compositions of Shamim Jaipuri “Sahil pe laye aur safi ne dubo diya…”, Malika Pukhraj “Bezubani zuban na ho jaye….” and “Ishq mein ghairat-e-jazbaat ne rone na diya” by Sudarshan Fakkir. The programme concluded with all-time hit ghazal of Mallika Pukhraj “Abhi to mein jawan hoon…”
Pamela Singh was accompanied by Mehmood Khan on Tabla, Shibu on Harmonium while Kamaal Ahmed provided admirable support on Sarangi.
Kendra Registrar Smt. Shobha Koser honoured the artists.