Raja Hasan a Ghazal singer

Today, it was a Raja Hasan we knew. And yet a Raja Hasan we didn't know. We all knew he could justice to almost any composition. Yet we hadn't heared a ghazal from him in the competition.

But Ghazals were always his forte, in his genes. He already has sung a ghazal for Khosla Ka Ghosla, which never got teleased. He has been belting out Ghazals every night for a living in a resort in the outskirts of Mumbai. Yet today for perhaps the most important ghazal in his life. In the presence of stalwarts like Jagjit Singh and Pandit Jasraj, when Raja Hasan, playing the harmonium, sang Ghulam Ali's "ye dil ye pagal dil mera kyon bujh gaya aawargi", it was almost like time stood still.

Every note mesmerised, every raag touched your heart. It was one of those performances, that I could hear again and again. And yet again.

Pandit Jasraj, usually a man of few words, was all praise - he did point out that Raja sang Ghulam Ali's song with his own variations. Jagjit Singh found it difficult to contain his praise - he told Raja to keep singing "ONLY" ghazals from now on. So much for people who said Raja couldn't sing softer numbers.

Himesh, was all praise, but added in lousy terms like mindblowing and outstanding, which looked totally out of place. Ismail appreciated the fact that Raja didn't show any nerves singing in front of such stalwarts.

For me, I wish the competition was over. I don't think we'll see a better performance this season.

Source : http://www.RajaHasan.com