Hari Om Sharan
Encyclopedia
Early life
Hari Om Sharan was born in LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, on 26 September 1932. His family migrated to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, after the Partition of India
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
in 1947.
Recording career
He became a professional singer in 1973, singing his first album for HMV. During a trip to GuyanaGuyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, he met Nandini, whom he later married, and settled down in India.
His bhajans are sung across Northern India. Even in Kashmir and Jammu valley his bhajans are sung and the local singer may not always know or come across his name. He became a legend in his lifetime. Rare are the days when All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
Vividh Bharathi does not relay a bhajan sung by him in his morning programme from 6 to 6.30 AM. He is well respected in Indian communities in West Indies, Trinidad, and Guyana.
He was inspired to sing previously unheard compositions of Kabir
Kabir
Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
, Kamal, Raidas, etc. Those who have heard him in his pristine days can never forget his very melodious voice and the impact it created on them. He does sing with simplicity and understatement and does nothing to exaggerate. That is the beauty of his bhajans. His pronunciation and enunciation is crystal clear and his feel is unmistakable. His pronunciation of Sanskrit verses is excellent and the phonetics are distinct.
He appeared briefly in an English film, Holy Smoke!
Holy Smoke!
Holy Smoke! is a 1999 Australian drama film directed by Jane Campion, who co-wrote the screenplay with her sister Anna. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and was shown at the New York Film Festival and the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival before being released theatrically.-Plot...
(1999), as a singer.
He is said to have ventured (very briefly) into ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
singing, though without much success.
Singers pay tribute
In 2004, an album of Hari Om's bhajans, sung by the front runners of India's music industry, titled Hari Om - A Life in Prayer, was released. The contributors to this album, a tribute to the lifetime contribution by Hari Om Sharan, were the who's who of the Indian music industry: Pt. Jasraj, Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Sonu NigamSonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam is an Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured in numerous Hindi movies, as well as films in Assamese, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada language. He has also released numerous Indi-pop albums and acted in a few Hindi feature films...
, Hariharan
Hariharan (singer)
Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity...
, Anup Jalota
Anup Jalota
Anup Jalota is an Indian singer/musician, best known for his performances in the Indian musical form, the bhajan and the Urdu form of poetry: ghazal.He is popularly known as the Bhajan Samraat .-Early life:...
, Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
, Richa Sharma, Sadhana Sargam, Shaan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, and Sunidhi Chauhan. World famous percussionist Sivamani provides the backdrop upon which this amazing tribute is painted.
Kavita Krishnamurthy, winner of four Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
, in speaking about Hari Om said, "What struck me most about him, is the simplicity with which he sings. It is almost like the person singing is a 'saint' or 'fakir'."
Shankar Mahadevan puts it best when he said, "This CD is our offering to the god of Bhajans, Hari Om Sharan ji!"
Hari Om Sharan was honoured by the Trinidad government for his contribution in October 2005. The Indian religious song legend was felicitated by culture Minister Joan Yuille Williams.
Yuille Williams told the thousands gathered at the Chaguanas venue that it was indeed fitting to pay tribute to the bhajan singer, who had given his life to an art form that has become him.
Yuille Williams said of Sharan: “His invaluable contribution spans decades of performances across the globe and stands as evidence of the magnitude of this great and pious man.” She said a closer look at Sharan reveals that he may very well be the only person who writes, composes, and performs songs to such a degree of excellence, even when one considers all of the other Indian music forms which exist today.
Legacy
He remains one of the most popular bhajan singers in India. Millions of Indians start their day with his bhajans. He is credited with a very popular "Hanuman Chalisa". Listening to Shri Hari Om Sharan is a spiritually humbling experience. He devoted his life to service of RamaRama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
and Hanuman
Hanuman
Hanuman , is a Hindu deity, who is an ardent devotee of Rama, a central character in the Indian epic Ramayana and one of the dearest devotees of lord Rama. A general among the vanaras, an ape-like race of forest-dwellers, Hanuman is an incarnation of the divine and a disciple of Lord Rama in the...
.
Sharan never tried to decorate his bhajans with ornate twists of complicated gayaki. Sharan’s songs are straight from the heart, sung without any exaggeration and simplicity that unfailingly touches chords of one's heart in a most charming manner.
Apart from being a musician of immense charm and humility, Hari Om Sharan was a writer and a painter, too. There are more than 20 cassettes/CDs from this genius, and he has sung over 2,500 bhajans that are a treasure for generations to come.
Memorable Bhajans
| Bhajan | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Aisa pyar baha de maiyya | - | |
| Govind jai jai Gopal jai jai | - | |
| Hanuman Chalisa | Hanuman Chalisa | |
| Maili Chadar Odhake | Premanjali | |
| Aarti Kunj Bihari ki | - | |
| Pawansut vinati barambar | - | |
| Prabhu hum pe kripa karna | - | |
| Rakh laaj meri Ganpati | - | |
| Shyam Kaho Sai Kaho | - | |
| Bhaj govinda jai gopala | Sumiran | 1980 |
| Durgati harini Durga | Sumiran | 1980 |
| Jai bhola bhandari shivhar | Sumiran | 1980 |
| Ram rahim ram | Sumiran | 1980 |
| Tere naam ka sumiran karke | Sumiran | 1980 |
| Vinay meri sun lijiye | - | |
| Na ye tera na ye mera | - | |
| Sweekaro Mere Parnaam | Premanjali | |
| Sai Teri Yaad Maha | Premanjali | |
| Prabhu Ham Pre Kripa Karna | Premanjali | |
| Ram Sumier Ke Rahem | Premanjali |
Discography
- Daata Ek Raam
- Bhakti Vandan
- Sri Hanuman Chalisa
- Premanjali
- Pushpanjali
- Aarti Archan
- Bhajan Uphaar
- Kabir Vani
- Chalo Man Vrindavan Ki Oor
- Bhajan Deepanjali
- Kahat Kabhir Suno Bhai Sadho
- Govind Ke Gun Ga Ley (1984)
- Sai Kripa (1984)
- Sri Krishna Charit Maanas (Musical Drama - 1979)
- Gunn Gaan (1994)
- Shiv Mahima (1994)
- Ram Bhakt Hanuman (1996)
- Sampoorna Sundara Kaand (1994)
Some rare songs worth special mention are "Koi Samjhe Bhakt" (Album:Gungaan); "Masjid kardi Dwarika","Vipda Mithanewale" (Album:Sai Kripa) and "Ab na bani to phir na banegi" (Album: Govind ke gun ga ley).