BY KAVITA CHHIBBER

I first met Bankim Pathak way back in 1992 when Mustafa Ajmeri brought him to town and said to me-if you close your eyes, you will think it’s the legendary Mohammed Rafi on stage. Pathak who lost his legs to polio and performs on crutches, had an amazing personality-full of positivism, courage and humility. He has frequently given proceeds from his show to the handicapped being aware of the difficulties most disabled people face in India.

Born in a Gujarati family, he said to me that his music is a gift from his father. His father always had a soft corner for him and encouraged him to pursue music in an India where parents prefer focusing on academics. Pathak was mesmerized by Rafi and decided he was going to mold his voice to sound like the maestro’s. It was a daunting task but Pathak didn’t give up trying. He said that while he sang through the years, through college days as well, it was only after Rafi’s death that he decided to carry his voice to the people.

When he came on stage after we spoke and started with the haunting number “Aaja..tujh ko pukare mera pyar” every one in the audience had goose bumps and I was just mesmerized. His voice is so hauntingly reminiscent of Rafi it’s really an eerie feeling to hear it emanating from another man’s lips. 

More than a decade later Bankim Pathak was hosted by Mark Premji at a sold out concert on 1st October. In spite of putting extra chairs many people had to be turned away.

The show itself was proof enough why I had said in my preview in September that if I have to thank Mark for bringing one show to town this is the one. For over 4 hours Bankim Pathak and and his troupe of five other exceptionally talented singers accompanied by an equally good orchestra regaled a deeply appreciative audience. 

Bankim as I had mentioned has taken over where Rafi left. His voice is a spitting replica of the late maestro’s and he has honed every nuance of Rafi to perfection. Add to that his charismatic stage presence that never fails to get instant audience participation and you have a hit show on your hands. But then also add Mukesh. Lata, Asha, Kishore, Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum, Noor Jehan and Surinder to it-who wouldn’t give their dollars to see songs of these stalwarts of music together on stage. 

Seven of the legends are no longer amidst us but their spirit, and those of the living legends, was captured live that night, echoing through vocal chords of Bankim Pathak, Dr Kamlesh Awasthi, Anila and Daksha Gohil, Bhushan Awasthi and Sangeeta Lala. 

In fact the troupe went to Los Angeles three times to a sold out show each time during their last visit along with some other cities. They even did a special on Dev Anand in Chicago with songs from his films on his birthday on 26th September.

Dr Kamlesh Awasthi has kept Mukesh alive through his voice. After Mukesh’s death, Dr Awasthi released an album in tribute to the legendary singer. The lyrics were penned by Raj Kapoor’s close friend and lyricist par excellence Hasrat Jaipuri. One of the songs talked of how the singer has left the world but his voice remained behind. Raj Kapoor came for the performance and on hearing Dr Awasthi said Mukesh was reborn in him.
The two sisters Anila and Daksha Gohil cover the voices of Lata, Asha, Shamshad Begum, and Noorjehan. 

That night at Earthlink Live Daksha, began her segment with a melodious rendition of ‘Lag ja gale’ by Lata and then went on to sing some numbers by Asha with such perfection it brought the house down. She sang ‘Zara haule haule chalo more sajna’, ‘Dam maro dam’, ‘Piya tu ab to aaa ja', 'Aage bhi jaane na tu’ but her rendition of ‘Aaiye meherban’, the sultry Asha Bhonsle number as well as her alaap in the song ‘Aa ab laut chalen’ brough the house down-her pitch was perfect her voice crystal clear and the heights to which she can make it soar is unbelievable.

The older sister Anila resplendent in a gorgeous light blue and silver sari, went even a step further. She began her segment with the rather difficult number ‘Rasik balma’ by Lata Mangeshkar. The song has tremendous variations and a pitch that is exceedingly high. A lesser artist could not have tackled it but Anila sailed through the song with ease. She then went on to sing ‘Jawan hai mohabbat’ sung by Shamshad Begum-in Shamshad Begum’s voice. Not just that she went on to sing ‘Awaaz de kahan hai’ with Bankim Pathak in Noor jehan’s voice and the icing on the cake was when she sang the Lata Shamshad begum duet-‘Bachpan ke din bhula na dena’-switching from one voice to the other effortlessly as every one watched dumbstruck. Anila says she didn’t realize she had the ability to sing in so many different voices. She had a very keen ability to pick up singing and vocal styles of other singers and just had a lot of fun with it, until it dawned on her that she could entertain by doing different vocals. “ It requires tremendous concentration and a keen ear and hard work, but I enjoy it.”

Dr Kamlesh Awasthi went on to revive memories of Mukesh by rendering some wonderful numbers like ‘Jaane kahan gaye who din’, ‘Dil tadap tadap ke keh raha hai’, ‘Aaja re ab mera dil pukara’, ‘Sawan ka mahina’, ‘Dost dost na raha’,’Duniya banana wale kya tere man mein samayi’, ‘Kya khoob lagti ho’ from “Dharmatama”, ‘Sajan re jhoot mat bolo’, ‘Duniya banana wale’, ‘Taro mein sajke’ and, ‘Yeh mera deewana pan hai’, a personal favorite of his. The National Commemorative Memorial award in honor of Mukesh’s memory was given to Dr Awasthi, as he was honored as the singer of the millennium keeping Mukesh’s memory alive. The judges were legendary musician Khayyam, stalwart singers Anup Jalota and Anuradha Paudwal.

Bankim Pathak had brought the house down along with other vintage Rafi numbers- solos and duets –‘Sau sal pehle mujhe tum se pyaar tha’,’Jjo wada kiya’, ‘Aaja aaja’ and a medley-‘Yyeh duniya yeh mehfil’, ‘Chaudvin ka chand ho’, ‘Badan pe sitaare’, ‘Madhuban mein radhika nache’, ‘O door ke musafir’, ‘Chal udh ja re panchi’. Anila and Daksha sang the beautiful duet ‘Hasta hua noorani chehra’. Their musicians were outstanding, especially the drummer Surinder Kumar, the tabla player Prakash Wadekar and Sharad Khandekar on key board.

It was almost close to 2 a.m. when they wound up even though the audience didn’t want the night to end. Every song was welcomed with a roar. The artists said in spite touring all over the world, they find the audiences in America to be the most appreciative and sentimental. “A lady in Connecticut came up to me after the show and held my hand and said you sang very well but you also brought memories of India back and she broke down,” said Bhushan. Bankim Pathak Anila and Daksha Gohil added that it was just because of such a response that they have never felt the need to get into playback singing. Dr Awasthi added that people in USA seem to have retained their cultural roots even more intensely than people in India.

“The love and instant response we received in all cities especially in places like Los Angeles where we are returning for the third time in this tour, and Atlanta where the audience was so receptive is all that we really need.” When Bankim teased Mark Premji who he had invited on stage and asked what he thought of the show as compared to the big Shahrukh Khan shows he did, Premji who loves good music was clearly deeply moved said just four words’ “ You are the best.”

The troupe was invited back in several cities and I had received a massive number of phone calls and emails for an encore performance. Bankim Pathak agreed to return after Diwali and Mark was one of the first promoters to sign them up for an encore performance which is happening again at Earthlink live on 20th Nov at 9 p.m. Bankim Pathak called me from New York last month before leaving for India and said he will be singing new songs, as will his troupe along with some popular numbers and requests.
Even for those who have seen this show earlier, an encore performance is one they shouldn’t miss. I know I will be there!