AN EVENING WITH COUSINS

Music has always been an influencing factor in people's life. Music is not just for entertainment but people turn to music for enthusiasm and encouragement.

Having been confined  in  hospital bed since my return from Norway i was weak and disoriented. But when someone told me that the Colonial Cousins would be performing at Shilpa Kala Vedika- that too to raise fund for SPARSH- a hospice for terminally ill patients, a sense of deja vu coupled with  .My mind raced back to my Gauhati University days eleven years back, humming some of their populars songs like Its gonna be alright, from their first album and Guiding Star, I" love you girl" for Divya When I'm Gone, When am no more etc etc. After taking permission from doctors and nurses we headed to Shilparaman for the concert.

pic courtesy:Google
The Auditorium was packed with music lovers clapping to their beats in unison and the orchestration is complimenting in creating a mood to match the slow swing of the tunes by the Colonial Cousins. The music of Colonial Cousins is a blend of many genres like blues, rock, folk and techno-beats with classical music. Leslie Lewis mastering the western music and Hari Haran donning the classical mantle make for a perfect balance for fusion music.  After the release of their eponymous album in 1996, the Cousins went on to make two more, The Way We Do It(1998) and AATMA(2001) before going into a lull.

One particular moment at the concert, that stood out from the rest of the concert was when Hari Haran dedicated the famous Tu Hi Re from the movie Bombay to a cancer patient Daisy on stage so much to the delight of the audience who were in tears by the end of the song. Following this was an electric Sa Ni Dha Pa that soon followed it to an encore. Leslie Lewis was in his element with his soaring vocals and breezy unplugged guitars.

Accompanying the duo were Paras on flute, Shadab on percussion, Keith on bass guitars, Chris on electric guitars, Kassy on drums and Darell on the keys. Sharon, Divya and Nisha accompanied the band with backing vocals.


Hari Haran's  vocals, influenced by his years of dabbing through carnatic, ghazal, sufi, film and world music set the mood for the night. His energetic and unpredictable persona onstage and his many quips with the audience ensured that the people stuck to their seats and asked for more. Together with Leslie, the performance broke barriers in time and language addressing love, prophecies of rain, people and social unity.