I had the pleasure to attend living legend Hauriprasad Chaurasia‘s concert at Islington Assembly Hall on 17th June 2018.
It was an electric evening, with Kefaya Trio (a more classical-oriented incarnation than Kefaya band) opening for the main act with some really nice fusion (guitar, piano, tabla).
It was both humbling and beautiful to see Hariji gradually overcome shaking hands (caused by Parkinson’s) by willpower and absorption in his music, and to witness the sound literally open up.. His tone is incredibly rich and pure. It was also a pleasure to hear Jean-Christophe Bonnafous playing accompaniment. Yogesh Samsi was a strong, peaceful spiritual presence on stage as always.
There was a lot of love and devotion present from everyone there!
I had the chance to meet Hariji and tell him of my plan to come and join the gurukul in Orissa for a couple of months this winter. He is very affable and friendly, and said, “Yes, please come!”, so now I have the official blessing to study 🙂