Throughout the show, police beat back pass-holders from the single gate leading into the VIP and press enclosures. One police official was heard threatening to "break the camera" of a press photographer if he dared to click pictures of the lathi-weilding cops in action.

Inside the grounds, seating was provided only to VIP pass-holders (some 2,000 persons) while the rest approximately 15,000 persons -- were expected to either stand or sit on ground. Many in the audience sat on vehicle roofs and bonnets to watch the action. On the credit side, the programme started on time. "Warm-up" artistes held the stage for about 90 minutes and Hans himself made his entry by 8:40 p.m., choosing an emotion-packed Batalvi qalaam, "Suneo veh qalma-waleon ..." to create the mood of the evening, followed by a similar number, "Suneo veh hunra-waleon ...".

But before long, the tempo picked up. Aaja nach lai set the audience hopping to the bhangra-beat, and then came "Ik taara vajda", "Veh mundiya, veh mundiya" and "Apa dono rus baithe te manaon kaun veh". The singer demonstrated his ample abilities as a crowd-swayer. Those who remember Hans from his early Jalandhar Doordarshan performances in black Sufi chogas were amused to note that the singer has modernised his wardrobe to jeans and T-shirt but stuck to black set off by a phulkari jacket. Lighting was well done but nothing unusual the standard strobe-light routine. Two large screens set up on both sides of the stage projected the action to the back-benchers. The sound system was also good.

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't allow these shows to be held," commented a harried SP B.S. Randhawa, as the crowd surged around the gates. The programme was one of seven shows sponsored by Coke, Spice and Eicher Tractors. Hans appeared in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Phagwara over the past ten days and will perform in Patiala, Bathinda and Abohar later this month.