Singer Hariharan is understood for giving voice to a number of the hottest fashionable classics in Hindi and Tamil music, however the artiste who’s now probably the most famend names in Indian music didn’t have a straightforward begin. Hariharan bought his first huge break in 1978 as he sang Jaidev’s Ajeeb Saneha Mujhpar Guzar Gaya, and was fairly successful because it fetched him varied state awards. Hariharan was one of many forces, together with Jagjit Singh, who made ghazals mainstream in India.
But earlier than he bought his huge break, the younger singer was eager on assembly with the famend ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan, very like the remainder of the world. The Pakistani singer was visiting India for the primary time within the Nineteen Seventies and Hariharan wished to have an viewers with him however he couldn’t simply stroll as much as probably the most widespread singers on this planet and introduce himself. So Hariharan considered an harmless lie.
The Tu Hi Re singer, who was a school pupil on the time, pretended to be a reporter and went to the Mumbai lodge the place Mehdi Hassan was staying and instructed the entrance desk that he was a reporter from The Indian Express. “When the entrance desk referred to as upstairs, his son picked up the telephone. He should have thought that there’s an appointment so I used to be referred to as up,” Hariharan instructed News 18 Urdu.
“What could I have done? I had to meet him,” he laughingly recalled. Once contained in the suite, Hariharan was nervous. “I used to be nervous, what if he will get indignant. After a couple of minutes, he got here. I bought up and did namaskar by laying down at his toes. He requested me to rise up. I instructed him my title and that I’m not a reporter from Indian Express, I’m only a huge fan. I instructed him I’m a pupil of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. He immediately requested how my guru was, and I used to be relieved, bach gaya,” he said. “Then he asked me for tea and I said ‘Yeh toh kamaal ho gaya’,” he recalled.
Hariharan didn’t get an opportunity to current his singing to Mehdi Hassan throughout this journey however whereas on a visit in Canada, certainly one of Hariharan’s mates requested the ghazal singer to take heed to Hariharan’s tape and he was mighty impressed along with his singing expertise. He finally took Hariharan below his wing and the 2 would usually meet and the Pakistani singer would information the famed Indian singer.
Mehdi Hassan, who continues to be considered probably the most widespread Ghazal singers on this planet, finally ended up changing into Hariharan’s mentor.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
