SRGMP tour of Oakland, CA - A Report

India Post News Service

FREMONT, CA: Reality shows are fast catching on in India, and considering that music, especially Bollywood music, is such an integral part of life for most Indians, it's not surprising that Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, a talent search for Indian singers is the hottest desi program being watched by millions. Not only has SRGMP endeared itself to people back home, Indians all over the world eagerly turn on their television sets to witness amazing voices,Not only from all over India, but from across the border and the US too.

It was apparent that the SRGMP fever had caught onto the Bay Area too: the final participants of SRGMP 2007 performed to an ecstatic audience on December 8th at Oakland's Oracle Arena. Harpreet Deol from Ludhiana, Junaid Sheikh, Mussarat Abbas both from Pakistan, Mauli Dave from Houston, Texas, Sumedha Karmahe from Chhatisgarh, Aneek Dhar from Kolkata, Raja Hassan from Bikaner, Rajasthan and first runner up SRGMP Lil Champs 2006 Diwaker Sharma from Delhi, all wowed the spectators with their incredible energy and singing power.

Diwaker Sharma, the visually challenged 13 year old from New Delhi endeared himself to the audience when he told them, ' I consider myself the world's richest person because Lataji has kissed me on one cheek and Ashaji on the other' His 'Subhaan Allah' displayed the strength, and range of his strong and powerful voice.Sumedha Karmahe, the 18 year old who is popularly known as 'Chhatisgarh ki Barbie Doll' floored the audience with her popular rendition of 'Bidi Jala Lai'. Life has changed forever for Sumedha since she was elected to the show and this pretty young girl will soon be seen on the big screen in Mahesh Bhatt's 'Jannat' and impressive Mauli Dave had a strong stage presence.

The 20 year old graphic communications student from Houston gave the people what they were screaming for: 'Mayya Mayya' from the film Guru and the song 'No Entry' from the film of the same name. Aneek Dhar, 18, a force to reckon with, belted out numbers with his usual confidence and lan. He gave us songs from the latest Bollywood blockbusters 'Om Shanti Om' and 'Jab We Met'.It was clear that Raja Hassan's popularity remains unquestioned.

Moments before he appeared on stage, there was a collective chant of 'Raja, Raja' doing the rounds, and received quite an ovation when he took the stage, graceful and poised in his long beige sherwani and red stole. The 26 year old began with 'Hoga Tumse Pyara Kaun' from the 1981 film 'Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai' replacing the words 'Hey Kanchan' with 'Hey San Francisco'It was a treat to see all these budding artistes live and the grand finale saw the whole group performing together, stepping in to audience where they were immediately enveloped by eager fans.

The show, a part of a world tour, was put together by Deepak Mehta of Mehta Entertainment. Mehta Entertainment has more music and live performances scheduled in the near future, from Gurdas Mann and Jagjit Singh so the Bay Area has more to look forward to.