Wah! Ustaads, wah!

Grammy award winning percussionist Zakir Hussain and santoor maestro Shiv Kumar Sharma left an everlasting experience for Jaipurites as they performed in the city recently
We all know that Jaipur is very fond of cultural events. But what we witnessed at this do was a different kind of madness as music maestros Ustaad Zakir Hussain and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma performed at the Central Park for a SPIC MACAY event recently.It seemed that almost the whole of Jaipur had turned up to witness the performance of the duo.
Thousands of people turned up to catch the magical performance of the two geniuses and to listen to their soul stirring music. Although the Central Park witnessed one of the highest audiences ever, there was pin drop silence as the notes of the santoor and the beats of the tabla echoed in the air. Tawa Katchi Hari, a Japanese student of Sharma accompanied the two on tanpura. People filled all the chairs, sat on the grass, climbed trees and bordered the stage to see the two-hour-long performance.
Said the national secretary of SPIC MACAY Rajiv Tatiwala, ���We had expected a huge turnout for this event but the kind of response we got was extraordinary.��� And the people enjoyed every moment of the performance as the two artistes rolled out one raga after another some on their own and some at the audience���s request. But it was not just music that held the audience. Both Hussain and Sharma kept on interacting with the crowd in between the performance. Said Sharma once while he was tuning his strings, ���We have been told to end the performance at 8:30 pm sharp because you all have to go to parties and marriages.��� As soon as he finished the sentence, the audience cried in unison, ���We don���t want to go anywhere. We just want to keep on listening to you.��� Sharma laughed and replied, ���As you say, but your relatives will get upset if you don���t go,��� and continued playing the santoor.
Not only Jaipurites but many foreigners who attended the event agreed that it was one of the best events they have ever seen. ���This is the first time I have ever heard someone playing the santoor and tabla. Hussain and Sharma are indeed great musicians. I must say the music that they doled out was soul stirring. I will remember it for the rest of my life,��� said Sarah, a German who happened to come to the event just by coincidence.
Even after listening to the geniuses for two long hours, the crowd did not seem to get enough of them as they surrounded the green room to get autographs and present tokens of appreciation to the two of them. This created a little commotion and the two had to be escorted to the car which took them back to the hotel. But in spite of a little disorder that took place, Jaipurites would agree that it was an evening that they would remember for the rest of their lives.