The summer of 2002 was a special boon for two key industries in North America. Yes, with Hariharan fans madly criss-crossing the country to attend concerts here and there, the airline industry received a mild boost as did the gasoline pumps. Fans, we heard, journeyed from Seattle to San Francisco, Detroit to Maryland, Pittsburgh to Virginia, DC to Indianapolis, New York to Virginia. Indeed, even Phoenix to DC. OK, we concede. This last, exceptionally long and arduous pilgrimage from the Arizonan desert to the nation's capital was made by our very own Lavanya Vasudevan in order that the webmasters could have their first ever get-together as well as pay homage to their idol as a threesome :-)

Hariharan undertook a long-overdue ghazal concert tour of North America in July/August 2002, regaling audiences for five weeks in Boston, St Louis, New Orleans, New York, Houston, Calgary, Toronto (Mississauga), New Jersey, Tampa, Washington, DC (Maryland), Indianapolis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and Virginia. And, it was well worth the long wait and back-breaking journeys. For Hariharan gave mind-blowing performances from coast to coast and floored his audiences.

Sitting barefoot behind a harmonium, the singer who is well known for his pelvic-thrusting presentations of filmi numbers and Colonial Cousins fusion pieces cut a starkly different picture for many unfamiliar with his ghazal roots. For more than three hours, Hariharan held connoisseurs of music in thrall with his ability to tug at the heartstrings without sacrificing the essence of classical music. Beginning with meditative alaaps, melting into soulful shers, and working his way up to fast-paced sargams, he also traversed effortlessly through three octaves and drove his audiences to ecstatic heights when he hit the low "sa"s in his deep baritones. Especially mesmerising among his renditions of ghazals from his albums were the title piece from "Kaash", reinterpreted for a more classical flavour, "Ranj ki jab guftgu" from the newly released "Swar Utsav", "Husn ko chand" (Sukoon), "Kuch door hamare" (Abshaar-e-Ghazal), "Sharab la sharab de" (Dil Nasheen), "Asar us ko" (Visaal), "Usne jab mujhse kiya ahde vafa" (Gulfam) and "Jhoom le" (Kaash). Also captivating was a Colonial Cousins-style reinterpretation of the "Adhi raat guzar gayee" ghazal from "Kaash", which had fans rocking in their seats. Fans also gamely sang along with Hari in the lively ghazal "Kuch nahin".

Although it was primarily a ghazal concert, the versatile singer did a handful of filmi and Colonial Cousins numbers to keep his fans happy. Accompanied by a small acoustic orchestra, with Rajiv Mahavir on tabla, Chintu Singh on acoustic guitar, Pradeep Pandit on harmonium, and Narendra Salaskar on a sitar-sounding electric guitar, Hariharan sang interesting, "unplugged" improvisations of "Yadein", "Roja", "Dheemee dheemee" (Earth), "Nahin samne" (Taal), "Tu hi re" (Bombay), "Chappa chappa" (Maachis), "Jhonka hava ka" (Hum dil de chuke sanam), "Konja naal poru thalaiva" (Asai), "Nila kaygiradhu" (Indra), and Bharathi's "Suttum vizhi" from the movie "Kandukondein kandukondein". Friends reported seeing many in tears as Hariharan crooned the patriotic number, "Bharat humko" from "Roja". Hariharan also veered from ghazals to provide small treats for classical music aficionados who had waited long years for the Carnatic and Hindustani music trained singer to perform full-fledged classical pieces. He did a stirring virtham-style rendition of the entire "Krishna ne begane baro" kirtan before belting out the English lyrics for Colonial Cousins fans. And, at the concert in Virginia, he performed a dadra-style Hindustani bandish, "Joban mora beetha jaye", in Raag Mishra Khamaj, leaving many to yearn for a Hariharan classical concert.

Hariharan occasionally broke with song to interpret a stanza or two or crack a joke and established a firm bond with his audience. At every concert that your friendly webmasters attended, audiences bombarded the singer with requests for their favourite Tamil and Hindi film songs, spouted out "wahs wahs" at his alaaps, gave standing applauses and cried out for encores even when concerts ended well past midnight. Mind you, it was not just the womenfolk who were swayed by Hariharan's melting voice. A male fan wrote in our fan register that he "was moved to tears" by Hariharan's rendition of "Krishna nee begane baro". "I got my money's worth with just the first song; what a singer!" the husband of a friend gushed. "Now I understand why my wife is so fanatical about Hariharan's singing," another in the audience sheepishly conceded. A man at the Indianapolis concert religiously punctuated every song with the acclaim that Hariharan was "the best".

So great was audience enthusiasm that even before Hariharan had left the country Debu Ghosh, Chairman and CEO of Kala, Music & Play, Inc (KMP), of Santa Clara, California, the company that put together this North America tour, was already making mental plans for the next concert with Hariharan. Beaming contentedly next to him was the ever jovial Jolly Mukherjee, KMP's chief operations man in Bombay who did the heavylifting to promote, manage and put the North America concert on the road. Fans of Hariharan will know Jolly's other avatar better -- he's the man who has done the musical arrangements for many of Hariharan's ghazal albums.

At the concert in DC, which was in aid of a charity, Hariharan surprised the organisers by graciously announcing a donation. This generous gesture as well as the singer's compassionate nature and social consciousness later prompted a lively debate among some folks who attended the organisers' post-concert private party. As Hariharan argued against being fatalistic about the state of Indian politics and the future of the Indian people, those present drifted into two opposing camps. One camp contended that Hariharan was a natural people's man and would be the saviour of the Indian masses. They vigorously urged the singer to enter politics. The other camp counter-argued, with equal vehemence, that Hariharan's entry into politics would be the greatest disservice to the world of music.

On a final, personal note, the DC concert on August 11 was very special for us, your friendly webmaster trio. Five years ago, three absolute strangers were brought together on the net through Hariharan's music. We harnessed our enthusiasm and our skills to put together a fan website, which gradually metamorphosed into Hariharan's official website. Since then, each of us had had the chance to meet with Hariharan but two of the trio had yet to meet. The DC concert provided the opportunity for our first ever get-together. And, the chance to crown our idol as the "Singer of the Millennium"! The pyjama soiree on the eve of the concert, sitting rapt in attention as Hariharan's sonorous voice filled the concert hall, partying till the wee hours after the concert, bantering as we moderated the Hariharan net chat … these were memorable moments that will be long cherished. Thank you, Hariji, for having helped forge this special bond of friendship.