BATA & ChimataMusic's Dec 4th RD Burman Concert in CA

[schimata2]

Yeh Sham Mastani -- Concert Ho To Aisa!!
-- Ramana Idury (Silicon Valley)


When ChimataMusic.com conducted the nostalgic music concert in the honor of living legend Maestro Ilaiyaraja back in June 2010, it was widely felt that its founder Srinivas "Srini" Chimata has set a very high bar on the quality of a concert that he himself may not overcome in future. But what happens when such a dedicated and passionate person joins hands with another equally dedicated and passionate organization like BATA (Bay Area Telugu Association)?


You will then get a "Concert Ho To Aisa" (translation: this is how a concert should be)! Indeed, on the evening of Saturday, December 4, 2010, the Hindu Temple Auditorium in Sunnyvale, California, the audience of more than 800 people kept wondering whether they were in some state of trance! The extremely talented team of singers and instrumentalists indeed took them to another transcendental plane.


The concert Yeh Sham Mastani (translation: a seductive evening), a musical tribute in the memory of the legendary music director of yesteryears, R. D. Burman, also known affectionately as "Pancham Da", has set several standards for future concerts. Apart from being one of the highest caliber shows that have ever been held in the Bay Area, the concert will certainly be remembered for several highlights such as:


* It was done completely with 100% local talent from within California. In fact, apart from the Hollywood renowned saxophonist Ramesh Maraj, everyone else is from the Bay area itself!

* Perhaps for the first time here, two organizations primarily dedicated to Telugu culture and music joined forces to organize a Hindi musical concert!

* All singers and musicians have their regular full-time jobs and responsibilities. It is a testament to their talent, passion, and dedication that they are able to perform at such a high level on par (or even better) with the Indian film industry music bands.


The program was sponsored by Peacock Indian Restaurant, Sirisha Homes, MaxReal, Safari Kid, Madras Cafe, Ravi Taxes, Scopus Consulting group and Dental Solutions (all are based in the Bay Area itself). The high-end quality audio system was setup and managed by Veeru Vuppala and Sindhu Iyer. The HD Video was shot by Stunning Captures (Phani and Sanjeev). The Still-Photography was handled by the BATA secretary, Srinivas Mangipudi. A lot of BATA and ChimataMusic volunteers helped the organizers (Srini Chimata, Veeru Vuppala, Vijaya aasuri, Prasad Mangina, Suresh Mantrala, Srilu Veligeti and Mastan Rao Chimata) from the start to the end. Prior to the concert, a singing competition event on RD Burman's popular songs was organized by Prasad Mangina and his team consisting of Srilu Veligeti, Sridevi Pasupuleti and Sunitha Gubbala, between 1: 30 - 5: 00 PM. The Judging panel had distinguished Bay Area artists like Mahesh Kale, Dhananjay Kulkarni, Yamini Potti, and Shonali Srivatsava. While Vijaya Aasuri and Kalyan Kattamuri (both BATA executives) were the concert event's MC's, Archana Panda was the MC for the singing contest event.

Singers:
There were three male lead singers: Sachin "Kishore" Srivastava, who brought the memories of Kishore Kumar with his manly and powerful voice; Mandeep "Rafi" Singh Sidhu, whose soft and sweet voice echoed that of Mohammed Rafi's; and the versatile Narayanan Raju, who is equally at ease singing for Kishore Kumar or for R. D. Burman. Prasad Mangina, a long time supporter of ChimataMusic concerts and a capable singer himself, provided chorus for some of the songs.


And there were three female lead singers: Kaumudee "Asha" Torsekar, whose voice and energetic singing style has drawn parallels with the great Asha Bhonsle; the melodious singer Vidya Venkat, who can sing a classical song as effortlessly as she can a peppy number; and the sweet voiced Sudha "Lata" Sastry, who has a unique distinction of being the only singer to have performed for all four ChimataMusic concerts so far. Pratyusha Gubbala, an upcoming talented singer, has provided chorus for some of the songs.


Orchestra:
Out of the nine musicians, eight have been the regular performers in the ChimataMusic band. Krishnamurthy "Kishmu" Kalvai (keyboard) and Arun "Caddy" Narasimhan (pads/drums) are the lead musicians for the melody and rhythm groups respectively. Joining Kishmu on keyboards is Nagaraj Varadarajan and together they form one of the best desi keyboard duo in the country. It is amazing to see as to how many different musical instruments they bring effectively together into just two keyboards. The melody group also features two awesome guitarists: Farhan Mohamed (Bass) and Rahul Nim (Lead/Rhythm). Farhan has performed in the past concerts but Rahul has joined this group for the first time in this concert. Ashwin Krishnakumar (Flute) and Ramesh Maraj (Saxophone) complete the six member melody group. It was Farhan's idea to bring some cool appearance to the stage by putting the color lights, laser beam lights and a smoke machine.


Joining Caddy on the percussion side are Balaji Mahadevan, who can flawlessly play all kinds of traditional percussion instruments like Dholak/Tabla/Mridangam/Tavil and so on and Rajagopalan "Raj" Iyer (Congos) who is a regular performer at many Hindi concerts here. Balaji, for the first time, played a hand-sonic as well. In comparison to his previous Ilaya Raja show, Raj had more scope to display his awesome talent this time. It was amazing to see how many percussion sounds he produced out of that smal hand-sonic instrument. Another talented Tabla player Satya's absence (as he was tied up with Asha Marathon on the same day, he could not make it to the show) was visible to those music lovers who saw him performing in all earlier ChimataMusic shows.


The program started with an introductory note by the host and anchor Vijaya Aasuri, the cultural chair of BATA. She invited the chief guest of honor Mr. Venkata Sudhakar Simhadri, president and CEO at TimeToMarket Inc. to come to the stage and perform the lighting of lamp (Jyothi Prajwalana). Mr. Simhadri thanked BATA and ChimataMusic.com for giving him the opportunity to be the chief guest and felt that it is an honor to be associated with the artists and musicians.


Vijaya introduced the man behind the show, Srini Chimata, to the audience. She said that she has known him for more than a decade and they both share the same passion for music which brought them together for hosting these concerts. Srini, in his address to the audience, mentioned that he has been running his web site (ChimataMusic.com) for the past several years dedicated to the melodious music of Telugu/Hindi 60's, 70's and 80's. It is his burning passion for honoring the music directors of that era, according to him, that he has been hosting these musical concerts. This is the fourth one in that series (first one in Hindi), the previous three conducted in the honor of the Telugu music directors Sathyam, K.V. Mahadevan, and Ilaiyaraja.


Vijaya invited all orchestra members to take the stage. She then gave a special introduction to the saxophonist Ramesh Maraj who has performed in Hollywood for directors such as Night Shyamalan and recently shared stage with Amitabh Bachan and Ram Gopal Varma. She requested him to start the show which he honored by playing a small bit of the song "Hai Duniya Usikee Jamana Usika" from Kashmir Ki Kali.


The program started with the first song Jaanejaan..Dhoondhta from Jawani Diwani, played on the saxophone by Ramesh Maraj. This is another highlight of the show that two full songs were played on saxophone and other instruments with no vocals!


For the next song of the show, Vijaya introduced Sachin Srivastava as an ardent fan of Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi and that he is from Varanasi and got trained in Hindustani music. Sachin sang the romantic O Mere Dil Ke Chain from Mere Jeevan Saathi to a wide applause from audience.


For the third song, a soft melodious duet, Vijaya introduced Vidya Venkat and Narayanan Raju. Vidya is a classically trained singer from Delhi. Narayanan has also performed in the Ilaiyaraja concert earlier and also has a playback song to his credit in a recent Telugu movie Prasthanam. Together, the pair rendered a very soothing Naam Gum Jayega from Kinara.


Sachin came back for the seductive Roop Tera Mastana from Aaradhana. It was noted that even though the song was credited to his father S. D. Burman (who was a legend in his own right), it was indeed R. D. Burman who composed this song and another (Mere Sapnon ki Rani) in this movie.


OK, after a few soothing melodies, how about some pep? Who else can do it better than Kaumudee, who seems to have the ability to galvanize everyone around her! She and the humble and unassuming Mandeep, sang Aaja Aaja from Teesri Manzil to a thundering applause from audience. Also every member of the orchestra (in particular, keyboards, drums, saxo and guitars) had a significant piece to play in this song


After Vidya finished a peppy one Bangle Ke Peechhe from Samadhi, Srini took the stage to introduce the members of the orchestra. He complimented them for giving an awesome performance and said it had taken the whole crew weeks of planning and several days of rigorous practice to play the music so close to the original soundtracks.


After Narayanan’s smooth melody Rimjhim Gire Sawan from Manzil brought the images of Amitabh Bachan’s emotions, Sachin’s peppy rendering of Bachna Ae Haseeno from Hum Kisi se Kum Nahin brought the images of Rishi Kapoor’s dancing steps to the stage! Prasad, Narayanan, and Kaumudee supported Sachin with chorus while Ramesh’s saxophone reverberated in the interludes.


Not to be outdone, Kaumudee came with a peppy one of her own Jaanejan..O...Jaanejaan from Sanam Teri Kasam. Narayanan supported her on the song while other female singers (Vidya and Pratyusha) provided the chorus.


We have seen two fast songs which were based on contemporary instruments. How about a catchy one with traditional percussion instruments? Mandeep and Vidya came up with Chadti Jawani from Caravan, where Balaji’s Dholak and Ashwin’s Flute played a big role.


The next song introduced the last singer to the stage. It is none other Sudha Sastry, who has been with the ChimataMusic band for all previous shows. Known for melodious songs, she joined Narayanan for the Sanjeev Kumar classic Tere Bina Zindagi Me Koi from Aandhi.


After Mandeep and Vidya came back for the romantic duet Chura Liya Hai from Yadon Ki Barat, the anchors Vijaya and Kalyan took a short break to challenge and entertain the audience with a few quiz questions on songs and films composed by R. D. Burman.


Sachin and Kaumudee then paired up for the joyful Khullam Khulla Pyar Karenge from Khel Khel Mein. This song has several teasing and playful interludes and the keyboard duo of Kishmu and Nagaraj, and the guitar duo of Farhan and Rahul did a wonderful job of reproducing the originals.


For the last song before the intermission, Sachin sang the theme song of the concert Yeh Sham Mastani from Kati Patang. Apart from singing, he also did an excellent job of yodeling and whistling in the song and received applause from the audience.


After the intermission, Ramesh Maraj came up with the other saxophone piece of the concert. While playing Mere Sapnon ki Rani from Aaradhana, he also entertained the audience, especially children, by doing a train act with himself as the engine and many children as the cars (bogeys)!


Sudha and Narayanan paired up for the melody Rimjim Rimjim Rumjum Rumjum from 1942, A Love Story. This is also one of the few melodies in the concert based more on the traditional instruments (in particular, Ashwin's Flute and Balaji's Tabla were striking). Sachin followed up with the solo Aanewala Pal Jaanewala Hai from Golmaal.


Next comes yet another cult cabaret classic, the Piya Tu Ab To Aaja from Caravan. Apparently this is one of Kaumudee’s personal favorites and one could see why! Narayanan supported her with vocals while Caddy provided the fast drum beats. Speaking about Caddy, it must be noted that he is the heartbeat (literally and figuratively) behind almost all songs in this show.


Sachin and Vidya paired up for their only duet of the show Gum Hai Kise Ke from Rampur Ka Laxman. They both sang with perfect modulation and emotion.


When introducing Narayanan, Vijaya jokingly mentioned that his small frame hides the energy he brings. One would soon realize that she was not joking! When he paired up with Kaumudee for Duniya Mein Logon Ko from Apna Desh, they both brought so much energy that the audience gave a standing ovation and cheered "Once More" several times (their request was later honored). Especially amazing was his imitation of R. D. Burman’s voice in the original song. Kaumudee once again proved that only she could sing such energetic and high-pitched songs with her terrific stage presence.


The movie Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin had two heroes and two hit songs, one for each. While Sachin earlier took care of one hero with the commanding Bachna Ae Haseeno, Mandeep took care of another one with his haunting melody Kya Hua Tera Waada. After listening to this song, one would appreciate why he is called the Rafi of the Bay area. Once again, the keyboard duo of Kishmu and Nagaraj and the guitar duo of Farhan and Rahul showed their mettle with this song. Vidya supported Mandeep in this song with a short piece.


Suresh Mantrala, a longtime friend of Srini Chimata and a key organizer of the event, came to the stage to (re)introduce Vijaya Aasuri. Vijaya has been the cultural chair of BATA for nearly two decades and also the cultural chair of FIA (Federation of India Associations). Her presence in cultural, social, and charitable events in the area is well known and Srini wanted to give her a surprise felicitation on the stage for all the support she has been providing to the Indian Community him over a decade. The prominent local entrepreneur, TC Ashok honored her with a shawl.


Srini then presented mementos to all organizers, singers, and musicians of the event. He particularly mentioned the tremendous amount of voluntary work of Veeru Vuppala, Ramana Idury, Suresh Mantrala, Prasad Mangina and Mastan Rao Chimata and emotionally acknowledged that without these five gentlemen's help, the show would have been impossible. Prasad Mangina of BATA also announced the winners of singing competition, conducted earlier in the afternoon on the songs of R. D. Burman. Winners in various categories were also given prizes on the stage. Vijaya Aasuri, Veeru Vuppala, Prasad Mangina, Srilu Veligeti (current president of BATA) and other BATA executives (Srinivas Kolli, Ramesh Konda, Kamesh Malla, Kalyan Kattamuri, Srinivas Mangipudi and Yashwant Kudaravalli), in return, felicitated Srini Chimata for his contributions to the old music.


Audience was now eagerly awaiting the next song! Sachin and Kaumudee then took the stage for another fastbeat melody Jeevan ke Har Mod Pe from Jhoota Kahin Ka. Vidya then came up a peppy solo of her own with yet another cult classic of yesteryears, Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna. She used a husky voice to perfectly match the mood of this song while the guitar duo of Farhan and Rahul played a very key role in the final outcome.


Not ready to "lose" the "Once More" battle to Narayanan and Vidya, Sachin came up a very energetic performance for his last solo Dekhana Hai Re Sochana from Bombay To Goa. With able support from Balaji’s Dholak and Nag/Kishmu's Keyboards, Sachin received a standing ovation and "Once More" applause from audience.


For the grand finale song of the show, Sachin and Sudha came for yet another racy hit Jai Jai Shiv Shankar from Aap Ki Kasam. Audience did feel the "Nasha" and danced during the song and chanted the Once More mantra! Sudha surprised every one with her energetic performance and dispelled the audience's assumption that she would only sing the melodies.


Even the show was over and the musicians and singers were obviously very tired (in particular, the keyboard duo and the drummer who had to play a vital role in each of the 25 songs), they graciously agreed to replay two songs Duniya Mein Logon Ko and Dekha Na Hai Re Socha Na. At the request of Vijaya, Ramesh Maraj and the musicians concluded the show by repeating the first song of the show Jaanejaan....Dhoondta.

The organizers, Srini Chimata and Prasad Mangina thanked each and every volunteer of BATA and ChimataMusic teams and had a group picture of the whole crew (musicians, singers, anchors, organizers and volunteers).


What can one say after such a concert of lifetime! It is very tempting to say that Srini has set another higher bar that he himself cannot cross but the same thing was said after the last concert on Ilaiyaraja’s songs so it is safe not to say such thing this time! You never know what Srini can come up with in the near future.


The concert left many awestruck. To summarize them in Srini’s own words:


Kaumudee.. what a stage presence and throw (in your voice) you have!! Kudos to you for not missing even a minute thing in any song, while performing on the stage.

Vidya and Sudha.. what melodious voices you have!! Superb!!! You both are the melody queens.

Arey Sachin Bhai.. kya kamaal kiyaa yaar aapne!! What a manly voice, dude!!! The whole auditorium was echoing with your voice, when you sang all those josh-bharee songs.

Mandeep.. what a sweet voice you have!! What a humble and quiet person you are!!!

Narayanan.. what a variation you have shown in all songs.. the audiences were not in belief that the energetic RDB voice was coming from such a petite person!!

Ramesh ji's Saxo pieces, Balaji's Dholak beats, Nag/Kishmu's magical fingers running all over the keyboards, Caddy's energetic drum beats, Raj's congo beats, the striking guitar string sounds by Farhan and Rahul, and Ashwin's timely flute pieces..all these were just reverberating in my ears the whole night.....


Winners of the RD Burman Songs Singing Competition Contest:

Kids:
1) Mihir Mirchandani
2) Amrutha Turlapati
3) Ashna Agarwal & Ramya Nambala

Juniors:
1) Soukhya Inamdar
2) Palva Kattamuri
3) Yuthika & Riya Simha

Teens:
1) Pratyusha Gubbala
2) Neil Kulkarni
3) Himaja Movva & Nitya Kasturi.

Adults:
1) Sandeep Mirchandani
2) Krishna Rayasam
3) Darshan Purohit & Vijay Kotian.

[Surya]

[agent116]

way to go chimatamusic...

[NANDAKISHOR K]

Great job srini..

We sincerely wish for more and more such events.

Thank you ramana garu for a wonderful writeup.



We too are very very eagerly waiting for next concert as we would be humming "Eenaati Ee Reyi Kalakaadoi Nijamoyi" for a very very long time. Endukante it will by done by indian artistes in india in front of India`s Singing Legend.. Emantaru suryagaru...Am I right....


Nandu

PS: ... Roop tera mastana is a tune composed by none other than Kishore kumar(ante Idea ichcindi. The original tune was supposed to sung in typical SDBurman style, then kishore kumar suddenly came up with a bengali folk song tune and rest is history. As far as composition of RDB goes Mere sapnon ki rani and Kora kagaz were his(infact Pallavi was composed by SDB and he fell ill and then RDB had to take over. Even Chanda hai tu mere sooraj is also said to be that of RDB.