KK Provides Mumbai With A Memorable Evening.

Perfect! That’s one word to sum up KK’s performance on 16^th June, 2012 at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai. Well, almost perfect. The only thing not perfect about the evening was when the audience would song ;)

My company was organizing an event at the venue the next day. So I was fortunate to go backstage before this Fever 104.8 FM organized event began. There I got a 1^st glimpse of him; a figure of calm energy who spoke quietly to an organizer before quickly retreated to his dressing room. As expected, I was delighted, but didn’t know the evening would only get better.

KK  the Legend - Need I say more?

KK took centre stage to a standing ovation by around 7:30. Dressed in well fitting black trousers, shirt and blazer, he looked at ease right from the word GO. He explained to us what an Unplugged Concert is – no electronics. The instruments to compliment him were an acoustic guitar, an acoustic bass, drums, percussions, grand piano and harmonium. He immediately broke into a sensational unplugged version of Tu Aashiqui Hai from the movie Jhankar Beats. WOW! It evoked a thunderous applause and gave us Goosebumps. He said he didn’t have good PR, and that was evident from the fact that we didn’t know how many good songs were sing by him. Many times, we’d ask each other “Oh! He’s sung this too?” Songs he sang included Oh Meri Jaan (Life In A Metro), Aashayein (Iqbal), Zara Si Dil Mein (Jannat), Oh Mehki Hawa (from his debut album Aap Ki Dua), Yaaron (Aap Ki Dua), Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai (Gangster), Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe (Dil Chahta Hai), Awarapan Banjarapan (Jism), Khuda Jaane (Bachna Aye Haseeno), Ek Nazar Mein Bhi (Taxi No. 9211), Zindagi Do Pal Ki (Kites) and more. The ones that drove us nuts the most were Tadap Tadap (HDDCS), Alvida (Life In A Metro) and Pal (he ended the show with this one).

KK’s full name is Krishnakumar Kunnath. He is India’s best singer and unfortunately, also the most under rated. The strength in his voice and his ability to sustain high notes seem out of this world. He effortlessly reaches crazy octaves which mere mortals like us can’t reach even if we scream! Born in Delhi, the secret to his magical voice is merely self practice; he hasn’t learnt music/singing formally from anyone. I’m sure this can be attributed to the 10,000 hour concept – he must have practiced solo for above 10,000 hours to reach this legendary level. He rightly stated (although humorously) “I’ve made a pact with God. He’ll give me good songs to sing, but I must be quiet about it.” He doesn’t blow his trumpet, believes in letting his songs to the talking. Although he’s a very reserved person, he gets into his element very quickly on stage, cheering and jogging from one side to another, breaking into impromptu jigs and getting the audience to clap. Each of the musicians enjoyed themselves as much as he did.

My office friend had told me KK is very punctual and leaves every venue within minutes of the show getting over. He also had shown me where KK would exit from. I went there and waited alone, quietly. As predicted, KK stepped out to leave in his Audi Q7 within 20 minutes. He vigorously shook my hand when requested and almost bear hugged me. As I walked away from his car, I kept trying to digest the fact that my idol had hugged me. Hell, I still can’t come to terms with it! A person with easily the best voice in the country, some of the best songs sung and no airs. Barely any PR, barely hogging any limelight... I’m just ranting. I don’t know what to say. I’m still mesmerized by yesterday.

I’ll leave you with a cameo of that evening’s performance. If you like it, do share. KK deserves much more credit than he gets.

The Best Thing In Life Is...

FREE! Yes, the best thing in life is FREE! Your family! The family that brings you into this world, nurtures and nourishes you, teaches you values which steer your life, stands you up on your feet and then supports you for the rest of your life. This family includes your parents, grandparents, wife and maybe children.

But there is a price we pay for sustaining this family and maintaining its strength; the price of sacrifice, hard work, time, thought and effort. It’s a price we all gladly pay. Every individual has to do her/his bit to ensure the family functions smoothly (I know ‘functions’ sounds a little crude word, but you get the idea, right?). True, there are bad times, but as we have to remember what William Shakespeare says – “This, too, shall pass!”

Today’s manic world demands a lot of our time. So much time that we spend a lot more time with friends, colleagues, work buddies, etc. than with our families. I had talked here about how we youngsters have started focussing more on materialistic things. Technology, elite goods, fast food, movies, trash TV programmes, etc. now take up a lot of our time which we otherwise could have spent with family. More time spent with work colleagues than with a significant other is one reason for the spurt in extra marital affairs. We’re gradually being pulled away from our roots and being plunged into the culture followed in the West, something we prided on avoiding earlier.

File photo of my family some 2 decades ago