Courtesy of Karan Ghoda Pictures
Some of the best plans come together without any planning. I was in Goa, a day before our panel discussion at IIMW, when I met Alaap Gosher—the driving force behind TM Ventures and Arijit Singh’s manager. We bonded almost instantly. Within minutes, we were deep in conversation about our shared love for food, trading notes on the best restaurants across the country, and debating which dishes were worth traveling for.
Somewhere between comparing thalis and debating if Delhi or Mumbai had better North Indian food, Arijit Singh’s name came up. It turned out he was set to perform in Indore—my hometown—just a few weeks later. Alaap, being the kind and generous person he is, immediately offered: “Come for the show. Bring your family too.” I didn’t think twice.
When the day came, everything was thoughtfully arranged. Alaap and the team made sure my entire family had proper invites, lounge access, and a comfortable space to enjoy the show. His team on the ground was warm, patient, and welcoming—no fuss, no confusion, just genuinely good people making sure everything ran smoothly.
Singh stepped on stage right at 7:30 PM. No dramatic lead-in, no delay—just him, showing up on time and getting straight to the music. And once he began, he didn’t stop. It was one of those physically intense and emotionally generous performances. His voice never wavered, and his energy didn’t dip even once.
He wore a white jacket with a small sticker of the Indian flag on it—barely noticeable to some, but powerful to those who caught it. There was a quiet patriotism in it. And despite the scale of the show, he made it feel incredibly intimate. At one point, he got so into interacting with fans that he almost lay down on the stage, arms outstretched like he was reaching into the crowd, soaking in every bit of their energy. It was funny, sweet, a little chaotic—and completely sincere. He cracked jokes, pulled faces, teased his crew, and made the giant venue feel like a living room full of friends.
His band was unreal, bringing a whole spectrum of sound with them. Violins, tablas, sitars, dhols, electric guitars, acoustic layers, soaring percussions, it formed this cinematic, textured sound that made even the most familiar songs feel new. The guitarists, especially, were on fire. Their solos? Flawless. Sure, the wind threw the audio off here and there, and the heat didn’t help, but the music powered through. The stage setup was grand without being overwhelming—giant LED panels, crisp visuals, and seamless transitions that kept the crowd in it, every second of the way.
The setlist was a journey in itself. He moved from early classics like “Phir Le Aaya Dil,” “Raabta,” and “Tum Hi Ho,” to newer anthems like “O Bedardeya,” “Deva,” “Kesariya,” and “Jhoome Jo Pathaan.” During “Deva,” fireworks erupted above the stage right on the beat drop—it was perfectly timed, like the sky itself was part of the arrangement.
What I didn’t expect were the playful detours—he broke into impromptu bhangra mid-set, tossing his hands in the air and laughing as his dance crew matched his steps. The crew had multiple outfit changes through the show, adding just the right splash of drama and movement, without pulling attention away from the music. Singh himself paused to sign posters, wished ‘happy birthday’ to fans, even called someone up to strum along on the guitar.
Watching him live gave me a whole new understanding of why Arijit Singh isn’t just beloved in India—he’s a global phenomenon. In 2023, he became the third most-streamed artist in the world on Spotify, above Taylor Swift, with over 15 billion streams. And yet, numbers don’t even begin to explain it. What explains it is how, that night, everyone—from kids to grandparents, from front-row superfans to the people hanging back in the stands—knew every word.