Best offerings at San Jose concert
SAN JOSE, CA: Pegged as a musical experience accentuated with state-of-the art technology, the gala event on October 6 at the Center for the Performing Arts, San Jose, had Padmashri Hariharan enthralling the audience with his best offerings from Guru, Taal, Bombay, Roja, Colonial Cousins, to name a few. Packed in a three-hour format, an ensemble of 14 performers from Soul India delivered Hariharan’s hits in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Urdu. Hosted by Althu Faltu of Mahima Creations and Desi 1170 AM, the show involved a 10-piece band, two male backing singers and two of his female students namely Lavanya and Chandrayee.
The show was organized by Rasika, Portland and co-promoted by Bay Area’s Instant Karma. Rasika, a dynamic nonprofit, was founded with a mission of promoting and educating Indian arts and culture in the state of Oregon. Instant Karma is a premier Bay Area desi party and event company. They have brought among others, Sridevi, Mika Singh and Mallika Sherawat to the Bay area. The organizers had arranged for an exclusive press meet on October 2 at the Desi 1170 studios. Hariharan explained, “Whatever I sing it boils down to sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa. But these notes have the navarasas, which give it the soul. And that soul is in every Indian, so, Soul India.”
Hariharan had appeared on stage with Mere Dushman from Border for which he won the National award for Best playback singer in 1998. This was followed by a medley of ghazals and Roja Janeman. He is one of India’s foremost ghazal singers, with a string of best-selling albums including the double platinum selling Gulfam and Aabshar-e-Ghazal, a collaboration with Asha Bhosle.
Hariharan instigated feelings of nostalgia to all those in the audience, taking us all back to the nineties with songs such as Jeev Dangla Gungla Rangla from Jogva, Krishna Nee Begane from Colonial cousins, Chanda re from Sapnay, Tuhe re from Bombay, Kuruku chiritavale from Mudhalvan and the list was endless. The consummate entertainer enchanted the audience by asking them to sing with him a few snatches of swaras. He mesmerized the audience with his newly found love “Urdu Blues” genre. It has got Urdu but the style is blue. Indeed, a mellifluous fusion of the old world of Urdu poetry, Indian gayaki and contemporary music, says Hariharan.
The musicians accompanying Hariharan were all highly talented, and the tabla player and drummer in particular stood out with his solo during “Krishna Nee Begane”. Bay Area kids tutored by Mahesh Kale and Neeraj Gokhale sang with Hariharan, the unmatched Krishna nee begane. He concluded the evening with evocative vocals for the song “Tuhi re” from “Bombay” and by embellishing it with his own improvisations, he augmented this already beautiful melody to a whole new level.
Overall, “Soul India” was an incredible and spellbinding evening that left the audience desperate for more. A huge thank you should go to Amitabh Bhargava and Bhavini Joshi, Instant Karma and Rasika for organizing this concert, and of course to Hariharan and the rest of the performers for a truly wonderful evening of incredible music.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
