By Isaac Mites
The credit for introducing Mika Singh for the first time in Uganda goes to the Indian Association of Uganda. It was one of the finest vocal concerts heard by a cultural artiste from India held at the Lugogo Cricket Oval on the 6th of September 2013.
As Mika Singh stepped on stage to an enchanting crowd, some fans left the food stalls and chairs to reach out to the stage. Pure traditional style, perfect diction and aesthetics sense marked Singh’s concert as Ugandans celebrated the 67th Indian Independence day.
Dressed in an all-black attire with his a scarf around his neck, the self-proclaimed king of Bollywood announced his presence by uttering out local language words of Mugyebale (how are you doing) and Mbagala nyo (I love you all). This sent his fans into ululation.
Anyone could testify it was an impression that their Indian speaking star could muster words in Luganda.
As he stepped onto the well set stage, the lights on stage, courtesy of silk events, were turned off. Singh fired off his performance with a song which (from a translator) was in praise of the Lord for having guided him to the top of his game. Then he walked the crowd down memory lane with songs from his 1998 album: Saawan Mein Lag Gayi Aag to recent songs including Mauji hi Mauji.
No doubt, his music cuts across the globe. To prove this, Singh sung Chinta Ta Chita, one of his top hits. It was amazing seeing Ugandans who are believed to hardly know the message in the songs, getting onto their feet to shake their bones.
The icing on the cake was various activities and these included the cultural performances by the different Indian associations, such as Karnataka-sanjham, Tamil-sanjham, and Northern Indian Association. Each group was showcasing dance from a particular part of India.
Awards were given out to different companies and personalities in recognition of their effort. Airtel, Lohana Academy and Andra Cultural Associaton were some of the award recipients.
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