Mein Na Bhoolunga !!

Sandeep Garg | 27th Jan 2024

“Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”

~ Steve Jobs 

I doff my hat to Sandeep Garg who kept his presentation so simple that he certainly moved the hearts of everyone who attended the 4th Premium Member Presentation PMP). In any presentation, there's a thin line dividing "wanting to express" and "wanting to impress" and it equally true for our Member Presentations (MP) and PMP's. Sandeep, to his credit clearly stayed on the "wanting to express" side and delivered a smashing PMP

Key observations on his PMP

• He stuck to his allotted time. In fact, he ended a few minutes earlier thereby implying that he was crisp and concise.
• His song introductions were sharp and didn't wander around aimlessly. I was embarrassed that my intro was longer that most of his song intro :) 
• Straddling across decades, he chose to touch various singers and composers making it an enthralling presentation. 
• The songs chosen were lyrically rich and Sandeep chose to focus on this aspect of the song.

The songs themselves

• Lata Mangeshkar featured in 7 out of 10 songs - 4 solos and 3 duets, though I am sure Sandeep didn't intend it that way.
  • ​Started with "Ruke Ruke Se Kadam" from the film "Mausam" and ended with "Mein Na Bhoolunga" from the film "Roti Kapada Aur Makan". The former is a soulful self-introspective song, while the latter is introspective song of a romance gone sour.
  • Three solos were - "Mera Anthar Ek Mandir" from the film "Tere Mere Sapne", "Ajnabee Kaun Ho Tum" from the film "Sweekar Kiya Maine" and "Jaane Kya Baat Hai" from the film "Sunny". The first is a minimalistic SD Burman composition that's caramelized chocolates dipped in honey. The second is a lilting romantic solo composed by Usha Khanna in Khayyam style. Sandeep connected this song to "I am falling in love with a stranger" song from the film "Deewar" more from a lyrical touch. The third, a RD Burman composition is a soft number from the time when most composers, including RD Burman got more into the Disco and fast rhythm compositions.
  • Two Lata duets also found a place in the presentation. "Zindagi Bhar Nahi Bhoolegi" from the film "Barsaat Ki Raat" and "Ek Baat Dil Mein Aayi Hai" from the film "Rahi Badal Gaye".
•  Kishore and Mohd. Rafi had one solo each. "Aisi Haseen Chandni" from the film "Dard" and "Is Rang Badalti Duniya Mein" from the film "Rajkumar". These songs, sung in different eras had the common thread of the hero singing paeans of the beauty of the heroine.
• One song of Chitra Singh "Hai Ikhtiar Mein Tere" from the Non-film album "Passions" was possibly the highlight of the PMP. 

In summary, Sandeep aced the show with his choice of songs, the lyrical strength of them and an incisive introduction to each of the songs thus holding the audience in rapt attention and craving for more.