Hariharan enchants at Games Village

Hariharan,Sivamani and Louis Banks churned out soulful music the CWG Village.

New Delhi: It was an evening of musical contrasts as Hariharan, Sivamani and Louis Banks churned out soulful ghazals, Sufi numbers, jazz and booming drum beats for residents of the Commonwealth Games Village.

The crowds broke into appreciative applause of “wah wah" for Hariharan`s varying notes and "wah ustad" for Sivamani`s synchronised skills on the drums Tuesday evening. It was one of the daily gigs in the Village as part of `Delhi Celebrates`, a fortnight long activity by both the central and Delhi governments to spread light about India`s music during the Games. Hariharan belted out some of his best hits like ‘Tu hi re’, ‘Nahin saamne’, ‘Chappa chappa’ along with others like ‘Roja janeman’, ghazals and Sufi number ‘Mohe apne hi rang me rang de’. He filled the air with patriotic songs ‘Bharat humko’ giving goose bumps to people. The stage was then left to Sivamani and Louis Banks. The duo presented a jazz act with drama in plenty and echoes that didn`t seem to go down well with some of the aged spectators. The celebrated drummer, however, made up for the loss and immediately won hearts with his thumps of percussion that created a ripple effect. While Banks pressed the chords on the keyboard, Sivamani, at his best, played with acoustics and created music from almost everything like a steel sheet and spoons, an empty suitcase to an empty plastic jar. Douglas Beckford, team official (Squash) from Jamaica, called it a jaw-dropping performance. "I just came along hearing this guy play. I wanted to see him. He is excellent. There is percussion back home too but no solo act," Beckford told reporters. Various bands like Parikrama, Half Step Down, East India Company, Soulmate, Themclones, Pentagram, Euphoria and others like Daler Mehendi and Mohit Chauhan have been playing at the Village. The performances go on till Wednesday. IANS