Summer of 69 - LIVE @ BKC, Mumbai 12 Feb 2011

In January 1994 when Bryan Adams came to India and performed at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai I was indisposed due to being 7 months pregnant with Roshni and although it was emotionally the most satisfying time of my life it was also the toughest! So I just could not go for the concert. This year on 12 Feb 2011 he performed in Mumbai at the MMRDA grounds and it was Roshni that made it possible for me to share the euphoria of the 20000 odd people that attended.

The tickets were prohibitive. The cheapest ones were priced at INR 2000 and I knew that they would be no fun at all. The INR 4000 and INR 10000 were the other options. Farrukh was not too keen to go and was humming and hawing about going. Eventually he suggested that I go with Roshni and that we could buy the INR 2000 tickets ... ah well I thought ... at least I would get to see the man LIVE!!! So Roshni took the initiative and called Varun who said he would help with booking the tickets for us considering it was a day before the concert. A short while later Roshni came to me gushing, 'Guess what Mom! We are getting 3 VVIP tickets i.e. 3 tickets @ INR 10000 a pop for FREE' ...
'What ... I cant believe this!???'
'Its true Mom, we will need to pick up the tickets from Varun' place tomorrow.'
YIPPPPPPEEEEE!!!! ... is all I could say and the countdown began for the moment of euphoria that would unfold the following evening!

The next evening came and we set off at 5.30 along with Ankita ... and of course Mumbai' Traffic decided to be at its worst! We picked up the tickets and reached the venue and were zapped by the chaotic arrangements! Although we had VVIP tickets there was NO PARKING available anywhere!!! Both the girls mobiles were virtually on the blink and so I could not even send them in alone so I prayed ... 'Oh God please please please ... since you have brought us this far please just spare us one parking spot' and VOILA ... there was a spot just a car length away!! We quickly parked and ran inside as we saw Jackie Shroff giving a BYTE on Bryan Adams to the hungry press. Next we spotted Shiamak ... who hugged Roshni and Ankita with a pat on their heads when I said these are your students, 'SO sweet ... God Bless!' Amongst the stars we also spotted Aditi Gowitrikar, Raju Hirani and Preity Zinta who looked very pleased to be there!

The VVIP area was on a PODIUM and yes it was stylish with seating and sexy round tables with drinks etc. It also supposedly had a clear view but by the time we reached it was jam packed and standing there was just pointless. So we pushed our way into the INR 4000 crowd that was thronging the area in front of the stage. Roshni pushed n pushed with Ankita and me close behind till we reached the front ... we were not bang centre but towards the side ... but it felt great to be part of the madness.

We had arrived late and hence the crowd was already in a frenzy as Bryan dressed in black was crooning away ... he looked great and didnt at all look his age of 51 ... he had so much energy and sang virtually non-stop all the way to 9.30 making us go crazy with all the old favorites Summer of 69, Everything I Do, 18 Till I Die, Straight From The Heart, You’ve Been A Friend To Me, Heaven, Here I Am, Let’s Make It A Night To Remember, Please Forgive Me, The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me Is You, All For Love, etc. When he started singing Summer of 69 the crowd went ecstatic and Bryan sang it with the same feeling and emotion as he has always done ... oh it was awesome!!!



He then asked someone from the crowd to accompany him on stage to sing 'Baby When You’re Gone' along with him ... there was chaos as the crowd desperately tried to draw his attention and hoped to be picked up! The lucky one was a young girl called Gauri who actually sang the whole song and danced along with BRYAN. She did a pretty good job and looked great and even got a huge hug and T-shirts for her friends :) It was a cute moment and I am sure an unforgettable one for her! Before singing 'Everything I do I do it for you', he asked all of us to turn on our mobile screen lights and hold our phones up in our hands in the air! When I turned to look at the crowd it felt like the stars had descended on the ground!!!

His latest album, Bare Bones, which is a compilation of his greatest songs has been given a gold certificate in India and it was from here that he was singing most of his songs ... The experience was truly exhilarating and of course the crowds refused to let him go ... he did 2 solos specially for us even after the rest of his band said Adieu and sang while playing his harmonica along with the guitar ... unbelievable and simply spectacular! WHAT A NIGHT ... thank you my Lil Roshposh and thank you God for making this happen!