Brush with Sikh history
By Nonika Singh
HE is neither media savvy nor a copywriter’s delight. But then Chandigarh-based artist Devender Singh doesn’t require the gift of the gab to make his point. Armed with a vibrant lustrous colour palette — his studio is a riot of colours — he infuses life into his larger-than-life portraits. So much so that when the Chief Minister of Punjab presented Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee one of Devender’s paintings — Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s visage — the poetic artist in the democratic Head of our country was visibly pleased and suitably impressed.

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Budding singers show their mettle
By Devinder Bir Kaur

YEAR after year die-hard fans of Mohammed Rafi throng Tagore Theatre in Chandigarh to enjoy the evergreen songs of an era gone by when melody was king, lyrics were poetic and meaningful and voices of the singers gifts of gods. Recreating that magic was the annual function, Rafi Award-99, organised by the Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society last Saturday.

Besides paying homage to the immortal singer on his death anniversary (July 31), the society offers a platform to budding singers of the region to expose their talent through a song competition.

This year too boys and girls vying for the awards presented their vocal talent before a discerning audience and judges Ms Meera Gautam, B. M. Kalia and Atul Sharma. While the top honours could be had by only one singer each in the male and female category, the audience had its own favourites. M. Naushad deservedly won the Best Singer trophy for the poetic Aap ke haseen rukh pe aaj naya noor hai... (“Baharein Phir Bhi Aayeingi”). He did a clean sweep for the judges’ choice round by belting out the comedy song Bade miyan deewane, aise na bano... (“Shagird”) with that added lilt that made all the difference. His duet Din sara guzara tore angna... (“Junglee”) with Nikhat Ali too was beautifully rendered.

The First Runner-up in the male category, Amarjit Singh, has proved his mettle time and again. This time too he won over the audience with the romantic number Zara sun haseena-e-nazneen... (“Kaun Apna Kaun Paraya”) sung in his satin-smooth voice. For the judges’ choice he came out with Rafi’s lovable Punjabi number Pyar de bhulekhe kinne sohne sohne kha gaye... (“Bhangra”). His duet Chali chali re patang meri chali re... (“Bhabhi”) with child wonder Prachi was as zestful as the original number.

Quite close on the heels of the winners was Devendra Kaushik. He sang Chehre se apne aaj to parda uthaiye... (“Palki”), but proved his talent by showing his grasp on the classical song Akhiyan sang akhiyan laagi aaj... (“Bada Aadmi”) . He reinstated this aspect in another classical number, a duet, Jeevan mein piya tera saath rahe... (“Goonj Uthi Shehnai”) which he sang with Darshan Saini. He missed the winner’s trophy but not the audience’s appreciation.

A pleasant entrant on the singing scene was Ramesh Kumar. He belted out the melodious Deewana keh ke aaj mujhe phir pukariye... (“Mulzim”) and the patriotic Nafrat ki lathi todo, laalach ka khanjar phenko... (“Desh Premi”). However, it was his duet Dil tera diwana hai sanam... (“Dil Tera Diwana”), with another new entrant, Sana Gaffar, which was greatly appreciated.

Another singer to get a hearty response from the audience was R.S. Kala for Itni haseen itni jawan raat kya karen... (“Aaj aur Kal”). For the judges’ choice he sang the devotional Ishwar Allah tere naam, sabko sanmati de Bhagwan.... For the duet with Komal Rajdev, he got the all-time favourite Main chali main chali... (“Professor”).

R.L. Anand sang the tragic Koi sagar dil ko behlata nahin... (“Dil Diya Dard Liya”) Bringing out the pathos of its lyrics. His solo Suhani raat dhal chuki... (“Dulari”) and duet, with another regular Pushpa Saxena, Kabhi raat din hum door the, din raat ka ab saath hai... (“Aamne Samne”) were well rendered.

Ravinder Syan, Second Runner-up, too sang a sad number Mayus to hoon wade se tere... (“Barsaat ki Raat”) and a Punjabi song Ni Chambe di band kaliye.... His duet, with talented Rimmi Chopra, Sau saal pehle, mujhe tum se pyar tha... (“Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai”) was better appreciated.

The Best Singer trophy in the female category was won by Rimmi Chopra. In a flawless voice, which exhibited an easy grasp of the high pitches, she sang Nagma-o-sher ki saugat kise pesh karoon... (“Ghazal”). Perhaps, she also scored marks for her fast number the delightful Daga daga vai vai vai... (“Kali Topi Lal Rumal”). Her performance in the duet Sau saal pehle... too was just as good.

Nikhat Ali, First Runner-up, was good in the ghazal Yoon hasraton ke daag... (“Adalat”) and the devotional Allah tero naam... (“Hum Dono”). The excellent duet Din sara guzara tore angna... too obviously brought her marks.

But the surprise of the evening was Prachi, a child wonder. Without opening her mouth much and minus contorted expressions, she sang the gem Agar mujhse mohabbat hai... (“Aap ki Parchhaiyan”) with an effortless ease. For the judges’ choice too, she selected the old classic Bachpan ki mohabbat ko, dil se na juda karna... (“Baiju Bawra”). She reminded one of the young Lata of “Barsaat” days. Her duet Chali chali re patang... too was beautifully rendered. Expectedly, she was among the winners and got the Second Runner-up trophy.

Another very young entrant on the scene was Sana Gaffar who sang the old classic Mushkil hai bahut mushkil, chahat ka bhula dena... (“Mahal”). Her Punjabi pop song Likhadi haan tera naam... was peppy. But she showed her actual verve in the duet Dil tera, deewana hai sanam... which she sang with great zest.

Darshan Saini sang Mujhpe ilzam-e-bewafai hai... (“Yasmeen”) and a non-film song Saare sapne kahin kho gaye.... However, she made a commendable effort for the duet Jeevan mein piya tera saath rahe..., especially with the alaaps.

Komal Rajdev sang Hum pyar mein jalne walon ko... (“Jailor”). She was especially good in the popular Punjabi number Mera long gwacha.... Her duet Main chali, main chali... too was well rendered.

Pushpa Saxena had to her credit the lovely ghazal Jurm-e-ulfat pe hamein log saza dete hain... (“Taj Mahal”). For the song with the classical touch she rendered Koi matwala aaya mere dware... (“Love in Tokyo”) and exhibited her grasp on the medium. She also brought out her high-pitched tones in the duet Kabhi raat din hum door the....

Like always the orchestra team — Parveen Rathi, Suresh Naik, Subhash Naik, Manish, Puneet Talwar, Veval Sharma and S.P. Sharma under the baton of Raman Kant — added to the success of the programme. Raman Kant’s creation of the sound of thunder for the duet Dil tera diwana hai sanam... was marvellous and loudly applauded.

Whatever the outcome of the competition, one thing that stood out was that old film songs were still greatly appreciated. The musical programme kept everyone mesmerised for a good part of the four-hour show.

Brush with Sikh history
By Nonika Singh

HE is neither media savvy nor a copywriter’s delight. But then Chandigarh-based artist Devender Singh doesn’t require the gift of the gab to make his point. Armed with a vibrant lustrous colour palette — his studio is a riot of colours — he infuses life into his larger-than-life portraits. So much so that when the Chief Minister of Punjab presented Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee one of Devender’s paintings — Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s visage — the poetic artist in the democratic Head of our country was visibly pleased and suitably impressed.

Says the artist himself, “What is a work of art if the creator has to wax eloquent over it for half an hour to make the viewer fathom his creation. A painting must speak for itself”.

Though in his most recent series (once again in bright Vigboyr hues) based upon Guru Arjun Dev’s poetry on 12 months (to be reprinted as a calendar) the man has turned a trifle abstract (here also thoughts are crystallised in lines inscribed in Gurmukhi within the painting), yet Devender insists experimentation is not his cup of tea.

For this self-taught student whose inspiration came from none other than legendary master of colours, Shoba Singh, painting is most certainly a slice or reality. Plus with his special area of interest, his forte, so to say, being Sikh history, the facts he knows can’t be twisted around. To recreate the momentous moments in the glorious past, the epic battle scenes, he, however, often delves deep into the voluminous pages of history and at times frequents the relevant places where events had occurred hundreds of years ago.

Devender began his journey en route brushes and paints as an illustrator for the popular Amar Chitra Katha Publications. Today his paintings adorn the walls of Sikh museums all over the world.

Presently he is engrossed in encapsulating Sikh history in colours for Mangal Dhillion’s forthcoming venture on Guru Gobind Singh. Since, as per the tenets of Sikhism, Gurus can’t be portrayed in flesh ‘n’ blood, hence recourse to this visual form.

Though Devender considers painting to be an obsessive preoccuption that stems from within one’s being — “a voice of my soul” — he is not averse to accepting assignments for painting. Thus self-expression also happens to be his source of livelihood.

Nevertheless, in times when most art forms have been heavily commericialised, the artist is not afflicted by avarice. The fact that some artist’s works fetch mindboggling prices doesn’t perturb him as his own paintings remain modestly priced. He remarks, “I am not disturbed that an M.F. Husain gets paid in lakhs. If I let envy and jealousy affect my artistic sensibilities, these unhealthy emotions will reflect in my work too. Besides, I strongly believe that all of us get our due share”.

Moreover, the artist is only to well aware that Punjabis are not exactly connoisseurs of art and part with a few thousands also unhesitatingly. He rues, “Why talk of individuals alone? Even the all-powerful government brings us to a negotiating table and bargains like petty traders with scant regard to our artistic skill”.

Despite such apathy he has no regrets. Never has his work borne the ignominy of “unsold”. Not once has he gone begging. Work has come out of its own volition, thanks to the Almighty’s grace.

A close brush “both literally and metaphorically” with religion has not only strengthened his deep-abiding faith in the ways of God, his most ambitious dream project hovers around a religious subject. In future he would like to interpret Guru Nanak’s poetry, tackle the imponderables.

On a philosophical note he muses, “If we were to follow Guru Nanak’s one-line teaching —Kirt karo, naam japo, wand ke khao (work, pray and share) — life would be a utopian dream. Since for us ordinary, selfish mortals all this seems a tall, impossible order to emulate, Devender has little option but to capture the utopian paradise on his canvas.

Audioscan by ASC
In line for a hat-trick

DIL KYA KARE (Sony): When it comes to selecting film music which is surefire hit, Sony have few peers. Perhaps, this is beginner’s luck because they have released only two film albums so far: “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi”. Well, they seem to be on course for a hat-trick with this one, considering that it boasts of the same kind of music which Jatin-Lalit gave for blockbusters like “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” and “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”. Melody is the king although the exuberance that is sought to be introduced is rather synthetic. But that is one failing which has remained with the duo for long, without affecting their popularity in any way.

The eight tracks of this home production of Ajay Devgan are woven around relationships, love and family values. This time, Jatin-Lalit depend on folk a lot. The title song (Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan) has been rightly marked out as the lead track, and is being promoted in publicity capsules in a big way. The sad version of the song in which Kumar Sanu comes in place of Udit Narayan is even better.

Three other songs are impressive: Menu lagan lagi… (Jaspinder Narula, Sukhvinder Singh), Badal Bijli… (Abhijeet) and Do dilon ki… (Anuradha Paudwal, Udit Narayan). It is the B side which disappoints. While Rang lage lo… (Alka Yagnik, Abhijeet) is no better than a parody of Chhap tilak sab chhodi re mose naina milay ke…, Monday bhi ho Sunday… is too similar to Mannu bhai motor chali pam pam pam…. All that may be all right for an Anu Malik but Jatin-Lalit!

MAUSAM (Magnasound): The image of a polite, cuddly boy-next- door that Sonu Nigam has acquired through the highly popular TV programme Sa Re Ga Ma … suits him so very much. Still, when it comes to cutting private albums he likes to present himself as a worldly wise pop star. The photo on the jacket here shows the effort that he has made in this direction. However, his voice is not really suited for the pop genre.

The problems are compounded by another limitation: lyrics of Ajay Jhingran and Shahab Allahabadi are too halting and stiff for a teenybopper. So, the eight songs simply refuse to grow on you. Under the circumstances, the only number that you happen to enjoy is an instrumental one.

Only the title song is hummable, and to some extent Bijuria, which has been converted to a video also. The strange voices emanating from the throat of Sonu in Kaise main kahoon… would have been a source of mirth had they been not so scary.

SOLVA SAAL (T-Series): Whoever tried to project Sukhdev as the voice of the new millennium does have a sense of humour, because he has such boyish voice. He makes a desperate attempt to add bass to it without much success. To cap it all, he writes and composes his own songs, in the process conjuring up the image of a college annual function.

But since Punjabi songs are all the rage, this one may have a decent run, especially up North. Inanities like Punjabi kudi garam garam… are backed by heavy instrumentation and may be heard quite often on the dance floors for a month or so. After that, Sukhdev would be well advised to undergo a crash course in training himself. Lyrics are by S.S.Josh.

COOL HITS OF THE 80s (Virgin Records): Remember the early part of the past decade, the years of the “New Romantics”, when there was a revival of the pop after the short-lived punk sounds? This cassette takes you back to that era.

The album kicks off with Karma Chameleon”..., the No. 1 smash hit from 1983. Sexcrime... is the Eurythmics song from the soundtrack of “1984”. Julian Lennon’s Too late for goodbyes... was #5 in 1985. In all, there are 16 songs here.