It was a masterclass in ghazal gayaki . Every element was used to perfection: the poetry, delivery, enunciation, classical nuances, instrumental accompaniment and interaction with the audience. Clearly, Hariharan was in supreme form on Sunday.
The evening marked the concluding part of the three-day ‘Mumbai for Chennai’ series, organised by The Hindu Group to support flood relief efforts in the Tamil Nadu capital. The event, held at G5A in Mahalaxmi, was presented by Yes Bank and powered by Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. Hariharan began with ‘Bekhayali Mein Chalan’ and ‘Woh Nahin Mera Magar’.
Each song was adorned by charming instrumentation by Akhlaq Hussain Varsi on harmonium, Dilshad Khan on sarangi, Jasper Matthew on keyboards and Shadab Roshan Bharti on tabla. The set list contained ghazals from Hariharan’s earlier albums, besides a couple of popular film songs.
Among the ghazals, ‘Kaash Aisa Koi Manzar Hota’ and the Tahir Faraz-penned ‘Aks Chehre Pe’ impressed with their simplicity. In the latter, he sang the beautiful line, “ Tu ne achcha kiya ke dil toda, yeh zamaana hi inquilaab ka hai ’. The next two songs had some outstanding poetry too. On ‘Usne Jab Mujhse Kiya Ahede Wafa’, he sang, ‘ Teer bhi hai meri kismet toh bujha de aankhen, Chhodna hai toh mujhe chhod ke ja aahista .’ Then, on Bashir Badr’s ‘Yunhi Besabab Na Phira Karo’, he shone on the words, ‘ Mujhe ishtehaar si lagti hain yeh mohabbaton ki kahaaniyaan, Jo kaha nahin woh suna karo, jo suna nahin woh kaha karo .’
On request, Hariharan sang Nasir Kazmi’s marvellous ‘Begaana Vaar Unsay’ from the album ‘Lahore Ke Rang Hari Ke Sang’. Then, he rendered a sarangi-backed introductory portion of the famous ‘Krishna Nee Begane Baro’, before venturing into Sufiana mode on Amir Khusro’s ‘Mohe apne hi rang mein rang de’, with everyone clapping along. More ‘ farmaaish ’ came from the audience. Hariharan obliged with ‘Kab tak yunhi rulaaenge’, which had the pathos-driven matla (opening couplet) ‘ Kab tak yunhi rulaaenge tanhaiyaan hamein, na milegi kya kabhi teri parchaiyaan hamein ’. Next on the list was ‘Dard Ke Rishte’ from ‘Hazir’, Hariharan’s 1992 collaboration with tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. The programme concluded with two AR Rahman film songs: ‘Nila Kaikiradhu’ from the Tamil ‘Indira’ and ‘Tu hi re’ from Bombay. Both received overwhelming response and acted as a perfect ending to a wonderful evening of ghazals.
The author is a freelance music writer