Before the Gala · 27 June 2010
Lamhe — Live by Legends
The last of three concerts that brought touring artists from India to Dayton, in support of the Butterfly Playground at the Washington Township Recreation Center.
The Foundation and the India Club of Greater Dayton brought together Bollywood playback veterans Kavita Krishnamurty and Suresh Wadkar at the Performing Arts Center at Centerville High School, with youngsters Sanchita Bhattacharya, winner of the Saregamapa Lil Champs contest, and Aavez Darbar of Fame Gurukul — backed by Saregamapa musicians including Girish Vishwa on the dholak.
In photos
The evening
More than 800 fans, and an evening of golden-era favorites
The concert took its name to heart: Lamhe, meaning nostalgic moments, was built around reviving a golden era of Bollywood music for a crowd that remembered it firsthand.
Krishnamurty and Wadkar are the two classically trained singers behind that era’s soundtrack, and recognizable to younger audiences today as familiar judges on India’s televised singing competitions.
More than 800 Bollywood fans who remembered the glory days of Suresh Wadkar and Kavita Krishnamurty came out for the concert. It got going with Wadkar’s first hit, ‘Main Hoon Prem Rogi’, followed by ‘Surmai Shyam’ from Lekin, ‘Aur Is Dil Mein’ from Imandaar and ‘Aye Zindagi Gale Laga Le’ from Sadma. Wadkar and Aavez Darbar brought the crowd’s energy up together with ‘Chappa Chappa Charkha Chale’ from Maachis.
Kavita Krishnamurty opened her set with an invocation from Bhairavi, ran through fun numbers like ‘Hawa Hawai’, and followed with ‘Pyar Hua Chupke Se’ from 1942: A Love Story. She and Wadkar also traded verses on evergreen duets ‘Sawan Ka Mahina’ from Milan and ‘Jo Wada Kiya’ from Taj Mahal, and Krishnamurty — a recipient of the Padma Shri — closed out her set with a spirited ‘Dola Re Dola’ from Devdas.
It was the last of the visiting-artist concerts; the first Bollywood Gala with local performers had taken place two months earlier, on 1 May 2010.
Snippets from Lamhe Live Concert
Suresh Wadkar performing.
Kavita Krishnamurty performing.