The packed Chowdiah Memorial Hall that listened to O P Nayyar songs, one after the other (there were 27 in a row), went into raptures during a unique musical extravaganza  Gaata Rahe Mera Dil presented by Divine Mother Society, to raise funds for its service projects.

A legendary music director, whose grip over Hindi cinema lasted well beyond his times, O P Nayyar’s songs set both the young and old hearts on fire. From Babuji Dheere Chalna to Tarif Karu Kya Uski Jisne Tumhe Banaya , it was Nayyar all the way.

Even as the anchor interspersed the musical show with glimpses of the life and works of Nayyar setting the right mood for each song, singers Anil Bajpai, Jaya Rajgopal, Anita, Surojit and Nayan Shah took the audience through hits from Bahare Phir Bhi Ayenge, Ham Saaya, CID, Mere Sanam, Naya Daur, Do Ustaad, Raagini, Mr And Mrs 55, Kismet, Naya Andaaz, Tum Sa Nahi Dekha, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Howrah Bridge and Phir Wahi Dil Laaya Hoon. 

Cries of encore rent the air many times, especially for Anil Bajpai whose rendering of Mohamad Rafi songs transformed the audience to a world of lyric and rhythm. A few Rafi fans even went on to the dais to ask for a repeat of the all time hit Phir miloge kabhi is baat ka waada karlo and Anil obliged. The whole hall reverberated with the mood of this song and time seemed to stand still. Another hit with the audience was the all time favourite Kajra mohabatwalla number from Kismet sung by Jaya Rajgopal who switched voices of Asha Bhonsle and Shamshad Begum with ease. 

The programme also brought out the little known human side of Nayyar’s personality. He would always insist that musicians were paid immediately after the recording. Nayyar also stood by his convictions. When he was conferred the Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Nayyar politely refused the award not out of disrespect for Lata, but he felt that an award must be instituted in the name of a dead and not a living person. He also said that a composer must never be given an award instituted in the name of a singer. Nayyar was a serious practitioner of homeopathy and a voracious reader of astrology. Music-Medicine-Astrology, a rare combination in which one healed the soul, the other the body and the third the mind

The clock had sounded 10 in the night, but the audience was in no mood to stop for the day. Such was the impact of this musical journey.