It was a concert that was nothing short of a miracle. It was also a prime example of how when the cause is worthy and people move forward with faith and sincerity, doors open to make things happen.
The Ma Amritanandmayi organization (headed by Ma Amritanandmayi after whom it is named and who is popularly known as Amma to all), has a very small group of volunteers in Atlanta. So when they were told to host a concert by stellar musician Hariharan within four weeks, to raise funds for the still suffering Tsunami victims in India, there was panic everywhere.
“We had never done a concert of this caliber and had no clue where to begin,’ said Bindu Balakrishnan one of the six volunteers who worked tirelessly day and night once they made the commitment to go ahead and host it. She began by calling everyone she knew and didn’t know asking for sponsorship, and any kind of help they could give. There were no auditoriums available at such a short notice until Zahid Choudhry of Ashiaana restaurant stepped forward and offered his banquet hall. Even though the hall is not adequately suited for sound, Sandeep Savla who is well known in the Atlanta area as an ace musician and expert in sound, worked for almost 8 hours to make everything suitable for the artists.
Bindu adds: “What was unique about the sponsors with respect to this fundraiser was that a number of them went out of their way to not only support the fundraiser by providing monetary support, but they also provided support through giving additional contacts, making calls themselves to spread the word to get more people to the concert and through giving references to additional sponsors.”
I have been a huge fan of singer Hariharan for a long time. Not only is he one of those rare artists who is trained both in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, he is multilingual and sings in different genres with equal facility-be it light classical, pop, heavy classical, ghazals or English numbers, or fusion music through his popular band Colonial Cousins. Personally I think he is one of the best singers to emerge from India in recent times.
The range of his voice is amazing-he really challenges his duet partners to match his virtuosity, and he continues to mesmerize his audience with not just his prodigious talent, but his very charming personality. He is one of the most hassle free men that I have had the pleasure of meeting. Each time I mention his name to other musicians they rave about his goodness. I just met Zakir Hussain who has worked with Hariji and he was very effusive in his praise of the man as well as the musician. So it is no surprise that the entire tour that Hari ji is on comprises mostly of charity concert raising funds for one good cause or another.
His show in Atlanta was sold out with people driving from Tampa Florida, and neighboring states and flying in from Las Vegas, Michigan, London and many other faraway cities.
Hariharan thanked the people for coming to the show to support a worthy cause and began the concert with his mega hit Kaash aisa koi manzar hota from his block buster album Kaash which remains a favorite so many years after its release. In it Hariharan also introduced what he called the Urdu blues giving his ghazal composition a touch of jazz, evident in his yeh aainey se akele mein guftagu kya hai. He went on to sing many other soulful numbers both ghazals and film songs from Bheeni Bheeni khushboo hai, to yeh lamhe from Lamhe, nagmein hain shikwe hain from Yaadein, to a beautiful rendition of a romantic Tamil song Nilla about a shy dissolving moon, no body there to see this timeless, beautiful moment where the lover’s face is more beautiful than the moon. His ghazal, main khayal hoon kisi aur ka, songs from the late Naushad’s Tajmahal, and the beautiful number piya tora kaisa abhimaan from Raincoat were greatly appreciated.
Hariharan then sang a few notes from the original version of ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan’s patta patta boota boota, and then his own interpretation of the ghazal, both equally beautifully.
Hariharan was accompanied by Chandrayee Bhattacharya, an upcoming Ghazal and light classical music singer who has won accolades in inter-school festivals and music contests. She has a beautiful, very melodious voice and has had the privilege of performing with Ghazal maestro Ustad Ghulam Ali. She is also training under Hariharan. Having not heard her earlier, I asked the organizers what she sounded like. I was told she sings like the nightingale.
It was absolutely true. Chandrayee has a melodious, incredibly rich voice that can render anything very flawlessly. The unique thing about her is clarity and how she sings every word with feeling, changing the nuances of each line to suit each word, each phrase. This is a singer who will hopefully get the right breaks, because sky is truly the limit for her.
Chandrayee sang some lovely duets but the show stopper was the hit Ai Hairathey Ashiqui from “Guru”. Chandrayee added certain nuances to her segment adding depth to the original rendition by Alka Yagnik. She also did a great job with Baahon ke darmiyaan and Chappa chappa chayi, and a duet I heard her sing in the Detroit concert on the 13th, kuch door to mere saath chalo and Chanda re Kabhi to zameen par aa.
A must have album is Hariharan’s latest Lahore Ke Rang Hari Ke Sang which was created with Pakistani musicians. He sang Mujhe apne hi rang me rang le based on the ever popular rag Yaman, but went a step ahead in the live rendition where he added extensive classical touches to the song. He also sang the beautiful beganavar unse based on raag darbari. Another show stealer was Kesariya in Maand coming out in his new album For You, to be released in June. For those who are die hard fans of Colonial Cousins the fusion band created by Hariharan and Leslie Lewis the music maestro sang the still adored Krishna which carries a message of desire for brotherhood and universal peace.
The musicians were equally stellar; a hallmark of Hariharan’s. He makes it a point to bring the best with him. So there was Ustad Liyakat Ali Khan on Sarangi, Shahdaab Bhartiya on Tabla and Percussion, Akhlak Hussain on Harmonium, Steefan Devassy on Keyboard and Sanjoy Das on Guitar. The warmth and camaraderie between them is to be seen to be believed.
It was a memorable evening to be cherished until Hariharan comes back for an encore.
The organizers especially want to thank the following.
American United Bank – PI Joy – Sponsored the event, provided tremendous support, presented shawls to Hariharan and Chandrayee, presented gifts to all the musicians, gave Hariharan a special token of appreciation to acknowledge his contribution to help raise funds for Tsunami victims and honored the Emcee with a shawl.2
Paul Khanna – Sponsored, provided support, hosted Hariharan and his musicians, helped with organizing the fundraiser.
Mandap World – Vasu & Nita Govan – Provided free, amazing stage decoration for the event.
Bella Fiesta, Inc. – Jacky Guzman – Provided free chair decoration
Photocat – Somesh Karanjee – sponsored photography.
Armaan – Salman Ajani – Sponsored Hariharan and his team’s dinner.
Paddy Sharma – Sponsored and supported the event.
Other sponsors:
Haven Trust Bank – Mike Patel
AV Concepts Inc.
Diabetes & Hypertension Center
Flair Med Spa
Infashion Menswear Outlet
Kid’s Creek
Law Offices of Smith, White, Sharma and Halpern
Madras Saravana Bhavan
Mumtaz Fashion
Nritya Natya Kala Bharti
New Delhi Imports
Photocat
Poona Restaurant
Quasar Realty Group
Raja Foods
Western Union
Vendors:
Zahid Choudhry – Ashiana
Sandeep Savla – Sound and Lighting