We got invited to an evening of music at the SRFTI Auditorium and, to be honest, the first thing that intrigued us wasn't even the music!
Having lived practically across the road from the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute for years, we had somehow never set foot inside the campus. In fact, we didn't even know that their auditoriums could be rented out by outsiders. I guess it's a rather sensible way for the institute to generate some revenue towards its upkeep. Whatever the reason, it finally gave us an excuse to cross the road and discover what had been sitting right under our noses all these years.
The evening was called Jashn-e-Masti, organised by Roof Stage — an organisation of amateur singers who, like many of us, probably grew up singing into imaginary microphones and dreaming of one day performing on a real stage.
And this was their stage.
The audience was largely made up of family, friends and acquaintances who had come together simply for the love of music and, I suspect, to cheer loudly for someone they knew on stage. There is something wonderfully infectious about amateur performers. There may not be the polish of a professional concert, but there is plenty of enthusiasm, passion and that unmistakable feeling of “I can't believe I'm actually doing this!”
The show was scheduled to begin at 6 PM.
It eventually got underway a little after 6:30.
Indian Standard Time.
Some things, apparently, remain beautifully consistent wherever you are!
Once it started, however, the wait was quickly forgotten. What followed was a three-hour extravaganza of classic Hindi music, taking us on a nostalgic journey through some of the finest voices and songs from the golden era. Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Asha Bhosle and many more found their way onto the stage.
For three hours, the auditorium was filled with songs that many of us had grown up listening to — the kind of music that doesn't really need an introduction. One song would bring back a memory, another would have people quietly singing along, and before you knew it, you were transported to another time.
Holding the whole evening together was the brilliant host, Gulshan Nadeem, who managed to keep the audience engaged throughout. His easy interaction with the crowd added plenty of energy between the performances, and he wasn't content with merely introducing the singers.
He surprised everyone by stepping onto the stage himself and performing a song!
Clearly, this was one evening where the MC wasn't going to let the singers have all the fun.
Three hours later, the show finally came to an end. By then, it was considerably past my normal dinner time and my stomach was beginning to remind me that music, however soulful, unfortunately isn't edible.
Thankfully, we didn't have to go very far.
We stepped out, walked over to Tandoor Park, which is right next to our place, and picked up a couple of Egg Chicken Rolls.
And just like that, the perfect Kolkata evening came to an end — three hours of Kishore, Lata, Manna Dey and Asha Bhosle, followed by an Egg Chicken Roll.
Music for the soul. Rolls for the stomach.
A pretty good evening, if you ask me.
