This year Bipin R Pandit’s Khumaar returned after a gap of two years. It had generated lot of interest amongst the music lovers and the staunch Khumaar fans and followers. It came as no surprise that the St. Andrew’s Auditorium with a capacity of 850 was packed to capacity. Khumaar has always enjoyed a houseful status.
The show has presence of seniors as well as the young brigade hence, the songs chosen were a fine blend of old and new hit numbers. There was attendance at the event from places like Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Pune, Nasik and Canada. There was an inclusion of three new singers from Pune, Hyderabad and Malegaon.
Bipin R Pandit, the Founder of Khumaar mentions that Khumaar has truly established itself as a Pan India Brand. “It is a professional show, and the musicians and singers do their bit for a living. Singers like Mona Prabhugaonkar, Sarvesh Mishra, Rajeshwar Karmakonda, Raagini Kavathekar & Chandrashekhar Mahamuni are Khumaar regulars and professionals who have made a name for themselves. Two things have given me immense satisfaction, one is honoring Covid Heroes who did outstanding job during Covid on stage that included Doctors, Nurses, Police Inspector, Police Head Constable & Constable, BMC employees and a Ward boy. Secondly, there were three new singers launched under my popular segment Khumaar ki Khoj – Satyendra Tripathi -Voice of Udit Narayan, Zeeshan Shaikh - Voice of Rafisaab and Sonu Nigam and Sushil Mungekar - Voice of S P Balasubrahmanyam. At the moment I am evaluating doing shows at Kolhapur and Pune”.
Some of the highlights include Rajeshwar Karmakonda singing in the voice of Kishoreda was amazing. Truly a gifted singer, his uptempo Qawali track too garnered praise, with a few in the audience waving their handkerchiefs in the air to his effortless singing style.
While the singers packed a punch with some slow and peppy melodies of evergreen Bollywood films, it was three new singers that also left a mark. Mention must be made of one of them namely, Zeeshan Shaikh from Nashik, who sang in the voice of Rafisaab and Sonu Nigam. His powerful voice was incredible to say the least, which got him a standing ovation. Definitely, the star of the evening.
In a very generous gesture, Bipin honoured 10 lay people for their efforts during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Prior to the start of the show, Bipin mingled with the crowd in the foyer, taking photos and selfies with friends and well wishers. Bipin Pandit is also author of 'Khumaar' (released in 2013), a coffee table book where Bipin invited industry stalwarts to write articles about their favorite singer, music composer and musicians.
Bipin Pandit went all out of his way to make sure the audience had a night to remember and what a night it was. His tact with interesting real life anecdotes, shayaris and selective tadka of Mimicry was topline.
An enjoyable evening of over 4 hours of continues music, an evening one that will never be forgotten in a long time.
Bipin’s tagline was so true with the crowd chanting Khumaar Nahi Dekha Toh Phir Kyaa Dekha.
A big thank you is due to Presenting Sponsor - Colors, Powered By Sponsor - Nett Value Media, Co-Powered By Sponsor - Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Associate Sponsor - Kingfisher. Media Partners - Mediabrief, Adgully, Medianews4U and The Free Press Journal. Also, thanks to Gift Partners-Zodiac and Mondelez International.
By Verus Ferreira