Melodies of ‘Queen’ Lata Mangeshkar in Auckland

Ratna Venkat – 

Auckland has hosted a number of quality concerts paying tribute to some of Indian cinema’s timeless singers, lyricists and music directors such as Mohammed Rafi, OP Nayyar and Shankar-Jaikishan, bringing to the fore the beauty of Indian classical music through Cinema.

Auckland-based Hindustani classical musician, singer and Managing Director of ‘Aarohi Academy of Music’ Vidya Teke is set to ‘raise the bar’ next month by presenting her third tribute concert to Lata Mangeshkar (known as Lata Ji), considered to be an evergreen singer of Indian cinema.

The Sound of Silence

Titled ‘Khamoshiyaan Gun Gunane Lagi,’ (meaning ‘Silence begins to Hum’), the concert is scheduled to be held at 630 pm on Saturday, September 24 at Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls’ Grammar School.

While Aucklanders like to organise and stage live concerts, Ms Teke realised upon migration to New Zealand with her family in 2007, that there was none solely devoted to Lata Ji, the ‘Queen of Melody’ of Indian films.

“Aarohi Academy of Music utilised this opportunity to produce and embark on this project when we presented our first tribute concert three years ago,” Ms Teke told Indian Newslink during an interview.

While she is the producer and director of ‘Khamoshiyaan Gun Gunane Lagi’, her husband Shekhar Babanrao Teke is the Event Manager.

An IT professional, his experience in event management and passion for drama led him to writing and directing numerous plays, many of them in Marathi.

The Programme

Fans of Lata Mangeshkar can expect solo as well as duet renditions of the legendary singer, which would include not only old gems but also modern classics.

Given the large quantity of Lata Ji’s repertoire comprising songs of varying emotions, Aarohi Academy’s mission is to plan and present live concerts annually, promoting Lata Ji’s dedication to music as well as providing a platform for local talent.

The Singers

Besides Ms Teke, other singers performing at the concert are Aarif Zia, Arun Khotkar, Guncha Singh, Hemant Shirsat, Joseph Jose and Shweta Divekar-Shirsat, joined by the students of the Academy.

They are Aishani Kotak, Chinmay Teke, Nishita Ganatra, Nitya Ravi Kumar, Rhea Maheshwari, Shreejav Choksi, Shreya Bhargav, Shubham Bokil, Simran Shah and debutantes Meena Basrur, Neha Meher and Rekha Maheshwari.

They will be supported by a live orchestra with Hemant Thaker (Keyboard), Joscel Alexander (Acoustic Drums), Joseph Alexander (Octopad), Monitosh Thaker (Guitar), Navneel Prasad (Tabla), Rezwan Ashraf (Guitar) and Shivam Padayachi (Bass Guitar).

More details about Vidya Teke, her musical journey and her Mt Roskill-based Academy will appear in our next issue.

Photo:

1. Lata Mangeshkar: Enriching Indian Cinema
2. Vidya Teke: Teacher, Performer and Presenter (Picture by Meghna Muralimohan)
3. Vidya Teke and her group at Concert 2015 (Picture by Meghna Muralimohan)

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