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BY VEENA RAO
Hariharan, the master of musical range and versatility, held sway over a very receptive audience at the Robert Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech on August 20. The kick-off concert was part of his month long tour of US cities.
The concerts are being promoted by Arjoe Entertainment in association with Harmony Ventures. The Atlanta concert was sponsored by Bharat Cultural Association.
For over three hours, Hariharan kept the audience spellbound with his soulful, romantic ghazals, the jazzy feel of Urdu Blues, and his popular Hindi and Tamil film songs.
Often, he paused to translate Urdu couplets to English, and to lighten the mood with his witty remarks.
Beginning with the lyrically rich “Aaj bhi mere kadmo ke nishaan aawaara” from his album Dil Nasheen, the master crooner proceeded to an equally meaningful “Jiya jiya na jiya” from the album Hazir. Another ghazal, the soulful “Kab tak yunhee rulaayengee tanhaaiyaan” from the album Reflections followed. The philosophical “Maikade Bandh Kare” had an Urdu Blues feel to it, as did many of his ghazals. Urdu Blues is a new trend in fusion that blends Urdu poetry with Afro-American rhythms.” Mujhe phir wahee yaad aane lagi hai” from his album Gulfam made way to a classical Thumri based raag.
Hariharan also sang his popular songs from Hindi and Tamil films, often mixing both versions, much to the delight of the crowds that applauded him all the way. He started off essaying the pain of parting with “Roja jaaneman” from the film Roja. The melodious “Yeh lamhe yeh pal hum” from the film Lamhe and “Baahon ke darmiyaan” from the film Khamoshi followed, before he changed the mood with a faster “Chai chappa chai” from Hu Tu Tu. An improvised “Tu Hi Re” from the film Bombay followed.
Tamil film lovers had a treat when the master singer belted out some popular songs in his native tongue. From Tamil he moved straight to the heart of Urdu poetry with the lyrics of Ghalib, before remarking. “From Tamil… straight to Ghalib. This is India…diversified people, but one soul.”
The soul of Hariharan the singer was most visible when he infused the classical element to the evening with the Raag Maand based
"Kesariya."
After three hours of enchanting melody, Hariharan ended his Atlanta concert with
"Krishna Nee Begane Baaro" from his hit album with Leslie Lewis, Colonial Cousins.
The singer was ably supported by Chintu Wasir on the guitar, Liyakat Ali Khan on the sarangi, Pradeep Pandit on the harmonium, Steefan Devassy on the keyboard and Rajeev Kathak on the tabla. Lalitya Munsha provided vocal support. Very often, the accompanying artistes were cheered as much as the main singer, by a very discerning audience.
The rhythm flowed, with umpteen requests by the crowds that led Hariharan to jocularly remark, “Chai..chai! This sounds like a railway platform, so I might as well sell chai!”
The emcee for the evening was San Fransisco based Bengali actress Gautami Bhattacharjee.
Part of the proceeds of the Atlanta show will go to the Tamil Nadu School Fire Victim Children's Fund, said Dr Paddy Sharma of Bharat Cultural Association. Atlanta promoter Mustafa Ajmeri was instrumental in making the concert happen.
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