Spice of life | Ghazal concert in the sky, courtesy Pankaj Udhas
I couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful for this unexpected gift as I looked out from the window at the wide-open starry night, as if God had descended down to our altitude, in consonance with the melody.
The news of the demise of ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas ji brought back memories of an amazing trip my wife and I took about a decade ago. We were pleasantly surprised to discover, as we settled into our seats on the flight from Seoul to Delhi via Hong Kong, that we would soon be sharing this trip from Hong Kong to Delhi with a renowned ghazal singer, who was accompanied by a Bollywood actress, returning from a concert.
Pankaj Udhas exuded a calm aura, as though he brought with him the spirit of every song he had ever sung. His ever-smiling face and long conversations replete with anecdotes set the ball rolling for an amazing evening in the sky. What amplified our awe for him was his humility, given the behavioural notoriety acquired by celebrities of today, most of who rarely acknowledge the presence of admirers. He did not refuse any requests for photographs or autographs from fans on board, taking his time to respond with patience and a smile to every compliment and remark.
He started to hum to himself as the plane took off, the inflections in his voice creating a beautiful tapestry of feelings. We asked him to perform a few verses of popular ghazals such as ‘Chandi jai sa’, ‘Aap jinke karib hote hain’, and ‘Chitti ayi hai’. As the cabin crew walked in with the beverages, we could not resist the request for a few lines of the ghazal, ‘Thodi thodi piya karo’, and he was kind enough to oblige.
He had just returned from a concert yet he didn’t turn down any of our requests. The tea table on the plane seat served as a makeshift percussion board to provide the appropriate setting for the enthralling evening at an altitude of 40,000 feet. It seemed as though the enchantment of his songs had changed the very air that surrounded us. We experienced a sense of being carried away to a world of elegance and beauty with every note, where time came to a standstill.
The moments spent with him had us completely enthralled. It was as though the world’s concerns and anxieties had disappeared in oblivion, leaving only the sheer, unmitigated delight of simply being alive and in the moment. I couldn’t help but feel incredibly grateful for this unexpected gift as I looked out from the window at the wide-open starry night, as if God had descended down to our altitude, in consonance with the melody.
As the roughly five-hour voyage came to a close, I realised that this moment would be etched in my memory, serving as a monument and milestone to both the limitless potential of the human spirit and the transformational power of music. Pankaj Udhas’s wonderful voice will be missed, but he will undoubtedly add to the musical celebrations in heaven.
rarabhandari@gmail.com
The writer is a senior Punjab-cadre IAS officer
