Last year, September 11th to be exact, my husband and I attended a concert called 'Dil Ko Jeetenge'. My main reason for wanting to go was to see Euphoria live in concert. (Euphoria is an Indian music group featuring a mix of rock and Indian music). It had been one of my 'must-see' things and I was thrilled that I was getting an opportunity to have this wish fulfilled! Anyway, I came to know of the concert in a very offhand way. It wasn't advertised all over the place which surprised me a little since someone had obviously worked hard to bring together groups from India and Pakistan. Anyway, I didn't concern myself too much with that aspect, I just dragged my husband along to go and see them with me. I couldn't wait! The concert took place at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. It was a huge venue, but it was disappointing to see the amount of people who had actually turned up for this event. That made me a little angry with whoever was behind the advertising part of this concert, but once the show started I didn't think of anything else but waiting to hear Euphoria. Unfortunately, I had to learn to be patient since we first had to hear a couple of opening acts.
The first one up were a Toronto based group called 'Kazak.' Honestly, they were painful to listen to. Hubby and I tried to hide our groans and disappointment. Thankfully, they left the stage at a decent time and up next were the Montreal based group called 'Josh.' These guys rocked the house! They got everyone to come towards the front of the stage and dance. But, the security people had other ideas for us fans and herded us out the way (on account of it being a fire hazard, yeah right!). Still, we stood by our seats and danced and cheered on Josh. After they were done, they introduced Euphoriaaaaa and I was already jumping up and down on my seat. Now, most of the audience present there were Pakistanis as the group 'Strings' had been invited to participate in this concert as well. But I didn't care if I was the only Indian madcap there enjoying myself. (Obviously, I wasn't the only Indian there.) Anyway, Euphoria came on and sang a wonderful version of a Ganesh bhajan followed by an amazing Vande Mataram *Hurray for India* They then sang all the songs I was waiting to hear and I sang along with them. Erm, ofcourse they had no idea of that! *grin* But since most of the crowd present were Pakistanis, Euphoria weren't as well received as Strings. But that didn't deter the boys of 'Euphoria' from singing their hearts out. My wish was completely fulfilled and I couldn't have been happier at that moment. After that they introduced 'Strings' and the band members came and opened up with the song Duur and we all went completely mad. Duur is a beautiful melodious song and it has so much meaning behind it. Give it a listen at: Strings Online Look for their songs under the Video heading. Anyway, they sang many other songs that had people completely ignoring the Security folk and making their way towards the front of the stage and dancing. It was so much fun. The evening ended on a very high note (no pun intended) even though it began with a very painful 'Kazak.'
The entire purpose of this concert was to promote India-Pakistan peace and unity. I think they managed it for the evening. :)
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