Kaash (2000), and to some extent, Halka Nasha (2002, music by Utpal Biswas) were a new direction for the prolific singer, who’s ghazals I’ve come to completely adore, more specifically for his sonorous vocals – if you count out Colonial Cousins, since it was a joint effort with Leslie Lewis. Kaash gained significantly from Hariharan’s diverse music sense, while Halka Nasha floundered since Hariharan was not the composer. Waqt par bolna, however, is sung, composed and produced by Hariharan himself. The thoroughly enjoyable ghazal format is intact in tracks like Jab bhi miltey ho, Mere dil ki raakh, Woh sarphiri hawa and Maine teri aankhon mein, with a mildly tweaked mod sound, that blends elegantly with poignant wordings by Shakil Azmi, Bashir Badr and Amir Ghazalbash. Where the albums scores is in the experimental tracks like the very innovatively tuned title song and Dhoop kitni tej ho, and blue’sy tracks like Mujhko chhuke and Galat hai. Kesaria balamva gets yet another ho-hum rendition and Yun to haste is the only track that fails to make an impact. Waqt par bolna is another polished attempt at Urdu blues by Hariharan, where his ingenious composing skills and singing make all the difference.
Keywords: Urdu Blues, Hariharan
Note: 200 deserving words!
