Renowned playback singer Hariharan was conferred with the Naushad Samman at a special event held at the Mahomed Bagh Club, commemorating the legendary music composer.
The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Command, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, presented the awards in the presence of Chief of Staff, Central Command Lt Gen Naveen Sachdeva, General Officer Commanding, Madhya Uttar Pradesh Sub Area (MUPSA), Maj Gen Maneesh Kukrety and the organiser, Zafar Nabi.
Responding to the audience’s enthusiastic requests, Hariharan delivered a soulful performance, singing Koi Sagar Dil Ko Behlata Nahi, Har Ek Zakhm Dil Ka Bhar Gaya Yaron, and Roza Janeman, which drew thunderous applause from the attendees.
Reflecting on the honour, he told HT City, “It was a fast-forward moment for me. I had the opportunity to work with him in two films – Teri Payal Mere Geet (1993) and Akbar Khan’s director Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). He was an embodiment of perfection; I still remember the way he used to narrate and teach me the song. I also did an album Athwan Sur: The other side of Naushad with Preeti Uttam which was based on ghazals on his compositions.”
Singers Apeksha Srivastava, Alina Bharti, and Snehi Gundev were also given Shaan-e-Awadh award. They also performed at the event.
{{/usCountry}}Singers Apeksha Srivastava, Alina Bharti, and Snehi Gundev were also given Shaan-e-Awadh award. They also performed at the event.
{{/usCountry}}He added, “It was a pleasure to do musical sittings with him. It was an amazing mentorship that I had from him. He used to focus a lot on sur and start-end of every phrase. It was a very nostalgic feeling for me to get this award in his city. In fact, my first-ever award that I received was also in Lucknow in 1977 after I recorded my first film song for Muzaffar Ali’s film Gaman.”
Organiser Zafar Nabi said, “Since the last 17 years, we have been organising this award ceremony in the memory of our beloved music legend Naushad saheb who hailed from Lucknow.”