Success is as much about staying at the top as about making it there. For Hariharan, widely acknowledged as a musician’s musician, staying power is a given, a fact confirmed by the near full house turnout at the ghazal virtuoso’s concert at the Navothsavam fest, The Music Academy, under the auspices of SS International Live.
As the strains of the Ragesri-based ‘Uzr Aane' backed by a lively interplay with harmonium chords filtered through receptive minds, the melody swelled, leading to the number ‘Yuhi Be Safar.’
Here, the myriad facets sculpted from the opening line, wonderfully highlighted by the sarangi, reflected a poignancy carried forward into succeeding verses. ‘Phool Hai Chand Hai’ found instant favour, earning applause at the very start, the skilful interplay of the two madhyams and an intricate, tenderness- infused swara interlude adding points of interest. The mood changed with the next composition that breezed in with a brief alaap and waltzed the listener into the lyrical dynamics of ‘jiya’, ‘siya’ ‘liya’ and ‘diya’ in consecutive verses.
So too, the meditative sway of the phrase ‘Soch Tha Hi Nahin’ carried one on an emotive tide.
How does one define the undercurrent of melancholy inherent in raag Nat Bhairav (Sarasangi) in words? The play on the madhyam and dhaivath and the passages eschewing the shadja and pancham testified to artistry of a very high order, with the lightning-quick ability to translate even the subtle nuances from thought to articulation.
Post a short interval, a barrage of listeners’ requests yielded numbers that included the evergreen ‘Patha Patha’, ‘Kab Tak’, ‘Yaad Piya’, ‘Uyire’ and ‘Nila Kaaigiradhu.’
From this point on, the concept of formal performance gave way to a musical dialogue wherein the artist-audience divide blurred and completely dissolved. Hariharan settled into an easy, relaxed conversation with his rasikas, coaxing the more adventurous among them to sing along.
Accompanists Akhlak Hussain Varsi (harmonium), Dilshad Khan (sarangi), Sanjay Das (guitar) and Shadaab Roshan Bhartiya (tabla) who were attuned to the vocalist, complemented Hariharan’s creative flights in their exchanges and instrumental interludes. Hariharan’s music was an affirmation that art is greater than the artist. Always.
And that is why it will be remembered as a byword for excellence by not just this generation but the next as well.
