In the company of musical greats

Two renowned musicians performed in the City over the weekend

Idea Jalsa, one of the country’s most popular music concerts, recently came back to the City, bringing with it two of the finest musicians of the country — singer Hariharan and mandolin maestro U Shrinivas.

Held in the lakeside amphitheatre of Orion Mall, Jalsa — Music for the soul saw over 2,000 people attending, with both the old and young appreciating the musicians. The ambiance was lovely, with the open-air vibe, perfect weather and mattresses placed for the audience.

U Shrinivas performed first, rendering a variety of classical melodious instrumentals. “Bangalore is one of the finest places to play in. It’s an honour to be here,” he said, after which he started playing Maha Ganapathy, set to raga nat narayan. He played effortlessly, constantly smiling at the mridangam, ghatam and violin players accompanying him. In his hour-long performance, he played many renditions of Sri Thyagaraja’s compositions, set to raga abheri and nasikabhushani, among others. The music seemed to transport the listener to a different place altogether. An interesting sight was watching the residents of the building, which overlooks the amphitheatre, setting up chairs and tables and enjoying the concert from their balconies.

Hariharan was up next, wearing a black kurta and his long hair let loose. The audience could not stop cheering him on as he performed his popular songs Krishna Nee Begane, Pattu Paaduvaan and Bhaarat Humko Jaan Se Bhi Pyaara Hai among others. There was an interesting balance of Hindi and Tamil songs as well as a few ghazals in his performance. But the moment the crowd was waiting for was the collaboration between the two artistes. It finally took place at the end of the concert with Hariharan singing Tu Hi Re from the film ‘Bombay’, while Shrinivas played the mandolin and sang a few lines too.

It was a wonderful evening for the attendees, not only because of the the music but also the overall experience. “I was very excited to see Idea Jalsa live! It’s been a wonderful evening for my family and me because it’s not everyday that one is exposed to such great musicians. They really know the language of music,” said Savitri, who attended the show.