However, the ETC network made up for this lapse by coming up with a sizzling Baisakhi Blast compered by Kulraj Randhawa and Deepal Shah. Perhaps the Bollywood factor made all the difference, but the show – telecast live from Mumbai on ETC Music, ETC Punjabi and Zee Punjabi simultaneously – was slick and dazzling all the way. There were Mahendra Kapoor, Shiamak Davar, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee adding glamour to the proceedings; in fact Rani and Abhishek released the music album of their latest movie Bunty Aur Babli during the show. Mahendra Singh Shera’s bhangra troupe took the viewers into Baisakhi mood, but what roused the crowd was Daler Mehndi’s comeback to showbiz after six years. He belted out several pulsating numbers like Shara-ra-ra and Dardi Rab Rab Kardi. My favourite was Chor Uchakkay Chowdhary.

Music is something that seems to predominate all else on the small screen. If Surinder Chinda talked about his evolution as a singer-actor in Merian Gallan Mere Geet, in Music Buzz we had Shampy Singh describing his initiation into the profession that’s apparently not-so-esoteric anymore. In fact there’re now so many singers coming up with music cassettes and discs that it has become imperative to separate the grain from chaff. But as long as channels like Balle Balle and MH1 keep on saying You Are Welcomeji to high-decibel horrors, quality has little chance to prevail.