Alka Yagnik started to the show off by singing “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” from backstage before she actually made her appearance on stage. After a few lines into the song, theBollywood playback singer made her grand appearance to load roars, claps and screams.
Decked in a beautiful yellow and burgundy coloured shalwar with her hair loose, she set the stage and the hearts of her audience on fire. After performing her first song on these local shores, she interacted with her fans, expressing her amusement of the fact that Guyana is primarily an English- speaking country, but yet section of the population love Hindi music.
From there on, the melody queen erupted like a volcano as she performed several other hits, form some of the most popular Indian movies which she thought were most liked in this part of the hemisphere.
Some of her tunes included “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” from the movie “Tere Naam”; “Ek do Teen” from “Tezaab”; “Baazigar o Baazigar” form the movie “Baazigar”; “Pardesi Pardesi” from “Raja Hindustani” and the title song “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” among others. She was accompanied by members of the Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh, who performed gracefully.
After performing close to 90 minutes, the award winning singer exited the stage, but before doing so, she promised that she would be back for another segment. After every performance, the crowd applauded in appreciation and satisfaction.
Enter Udit Narayan
Within minutes after leaving the stage, the king of filmi music was introduced. Following the approach of Yagnik, he as well started to sing the title song of the movie “Teri Naam” from backstage. His manly and melodious voice sent the crowd into a silent mode, but they erupted when he appeared on stage.
After dishing out the first tune, he took time out to congratulate Guyana on its 175th anniversary of East Indian arrival in Guyana. He also acknowledged the presence of President Donald Ramotar.
From then on, he preformed tunes after tunes which were not enough for the audience. His tunes were taken from some of his movies such as “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge”; “Kaho Na Pyar Hai”, “Dil Chahta Hai”; “Raja Hindustani”; “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham” and others. He was also accompanied by the dancers of the Sabha’s Dharmic Nritya Sangh during his more than 90 minutes performance.
Second appearance
Soon after Narayan left the stage, Derek Alexander and his band took over, but only sang one song before the queen of melody made her second stage appearance. This time in a black and gold sari with her hair done in a stylish fashion, she created a whirlwind all over again.
This time, she chose to mix her selection with some fast ones that had the audience clapping and dancing in their seats. Those who were standing were definitely having a grand time, especially the member of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabah, who is well known for their dance moves.
After a while, Yagnik was joined by Narayan and the duo had the audience rocking. During this segment, she received a note from one of her fans who requested a particular song. It was an old song, but Narayan assisted her and while she did not perform the entire song, she apologised and told her fans that that was all she could remember.
They then went on to perform a popular song from “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” and tunes from other popular films including “Duplication”; “Kaho Na Pyar Hai” and “Lagaan” among others. The magnificent night came to an end with Udit Narayan singing “Radha On The Dance Floor”, the hit number from the movie “Student of the Year”.
They thanked their fans for coming out in their numbers to be part of the occasion; one that will leave an embedded mark on their minds for a long time. In attendance were former President Bharat Jagdeo, government ministers, other senior government officials and members of the diplomatic corp.