May 21st, 2009 Jagjit Singh Concert

I just came back from a Jagjit Singh Concert. When we were buying tickets, I felt it would be nice to share this experience with my mom, and I should go even if I know very little about Jagjit Singh. After all, I’ve gone to concerts with friends in which I knew nothing about the artist, and Jagjit Singh at least has the deep voice that I already knew I liked.
Jagjit Singh is known for his ghazals. I had expected to find this evening to be quite boring, and full of sad overemotional sad music. Somehow, I was pleasantly surprised. I realized what a difference it is to watch concerts, and listen to music collectively. There are genres of music that you simply do not want to listen to alone, and others still that are understood best in solitude. My new discovery about ghazals comes with a deep appreciation for the ability of ghazals to be heard comfortably at home, and also nostalgically with friends.
In any case, I realized today how poetic ghazals truly are, what “older people” like about them, and why people are fanatics about ghazals! I see why my dad liked them so much! There is a level of maturity to the lyrics and a certain finesse about the music. I loved the lyrics right away, and the music was so traditionally Indian that it definitely strung the right cords for me. Still, the most endearing part of the concert was the collective emotion.
I can only begin to describe the beauty of it. To see and hear people around us beginning to clap excitedly when they hear a song they know, and to hear them then sing along, despite not being great singers, is simply an adorable scene to witness. And it just makes you smile. You hear these people get nostalgic, you hear their hearts jump at different parts of the song, and you wonder what brought this song so close to their heart, and specifically why they sang this particular line with such intensity. No one knows each other, but there is a connection. No one is an exceptional singer in the audience, but you want them to continue singing. The fact of the matter is, we are all here, in this auditorium, reminiscing about our past, perhaps thinking of our future, or just plain enjoying the music. One person sings, and the other joins. Despite our distinct thoughts, different experiences, and the varied range of emotions, there is a common ecstasy. I believe the root of any such concert experience lies in being able to share your sheer pleasure and sentiments from the song with so many others in the room.