Mohit Chauhan’s soulful ode to friendship fills Games village

NEW DELHI - A fusion of percussion comprising dholaks, tabla and drums and strains of the flute with guitar, the keyboard and harmonica filled the air as popular Indian singer Mohit Chauhan belted his hit numbers at the Commonwealth Games Village here, celebrating friendship and love between the participating nations.

The singer sang his soulful renditions and yoodles here Friday evening in the 500-seating capacity open air amphitheatre, which was for once jam-packed with both volunteers and sportspersons alike.

Everyone is working so hard and the Games and our city are looking so beautiful. And the guest hospitality is just amazing - this is our hand of friendship and love to all the participating nations here, Chauhan said before breaking into the number Yaro yahi dosti hai, an ode to friendship.

Close to 7,000 athletes from 71 teams are participating in the ongoing Commonwealth Games here.

Multiple jigs between the concert like break dances and free soft drinks being passed on and shared made for a unified effort in the musical night under the moonlit sky.

The spirit of Delhi came alive when the singer crooned his hit number Masakalli from the film Delhi-6 and Tum se hi from Jab We Met. The mood immediately calmed down when Chauhan paid tribute to legendary Pakistani singer Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan by belting out his hit Tere bin nahin lagda in his own signature style.

The echoes of once more, once more filled the air with strong demands that didnt allow the show to wrap up on time. The singer crooned a number of his hits like Pehli baar mohabbat ki hai, Sabse peeche hum khade, Khoon chala and Pee loon.

Sakarai Labalaba from Fiji, who is training the Indian rugby team, was also present at the event with his mates and looked pleased after the gig.

I understand Hindi only a bit but I really liked the singer. We were sitting right there chatting and listening to him. He is too soulful, Labalaba told IANS.

Atueta Balekana, the secretary general of Solomon Islands, said: I loved the show. It was very good. And it was very relaxing especially for the volunteers as they have been constantly looking after us. We couldnt get the lyrics but enjoyed the music.

Indian athlete Sombir, however, didnt seem so content.

Here the country is crying for medals and the volunteers are busy having fun, he rued.

The daily performances in the Village are a part of ‘Delhi Celebrates’ planned out by both the states and central governments to showcase the diversity of India’s music during the Games.

It includes gigs from bands like Parikrama, Half Step Down, East India Company, Them Clones, Soulmate, Euphoria, Indian Ocean and popular singers like Daler Mehendi and Hariharan-Sivamani-Louis Banks and will continue till Oct 13.