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Versatility was to the fore as renowned Indian singer Hariharan took a packed house on a journey through India's diverse musical landscape during his Soul of India concert in Muscat.
Over 3,000 fans enjoyed Hariharan's three-hour performance, in which he sang classical, semi-classical and film songs in four languages.
"This concert is a complete package of different genres of Indian music, therefore I call it Soul of India,"said the 53-year-old singer told tabloid! after the marathon show.
Mastery
The ponytailed singer started with mand, the contribution of Rajasthani folklore to Indian classical music. Hariharan's rendition of mand had the audience in a trance as he set the tempo for an exciting and fun-filled evening.
Hariharan's mastery of ghazals, thumris and khayals was also evident as he performed one classical number after another. Maikade Bandh, his popular ghazal from the album Kaash set the tone as he effortlessly moved from one ghazal to the next.
Then there was a request from Pakistan Consul General, Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Sipra, which Hariharan accepted and sang a ghazal from his album Lahore ke Rang, Hari ke Sang, giving the show an emotional touch.
Hariharan told the audience that he spent two months in Lahore to complete the album with renowned Pakistani ghazal composers. The album has won rave reviews in India and abroad.
Popular
Hariharan, who made his playback singing debut in Tamil cinema, also had a number of requests for Tamil songs from the audience. And he brought the house down when he rendered a track from the popular Rajnikanth film, Sivaji.
Interacting with the audience with his down-to-earth approach on stage, Hariharan mixed Hindi and Tamil lyrics in a single rendition of songs that are recorded in both languages.
Hariharan took the Indian musical scene by storm in 1996 with his phenomenally successful Colonial Cousins album, a collaborative effort with Leslie Lewis. The audience danced and clapped when he sang popular numbers from the album that earned him dozens of awards, including the MTV Asia award.
As children danced on stage, Hariharan performed fast-paced film songs. The curtain finally came down after the popular number Tuhi Re from the Mani Ratnam film, Bombay.
"This was Hariharan's fourth visit to Muscat, but it was totally different and refreshing, truly justified the name, Soul of India,"said organiser Dr Sathish Nambiar of Eventful.
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