Free Verse Singer Harpreet | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
, Yes sir, I sell songs. opening lines of Geet Farosh (song seller) , The little-known poem by Hindi litterateur Bhavani Prasad Mishra captures the dilemma of every artist who is forced to sell his craft in the market through small sarcasms. It comes as a surprise when a young singer-composer makes it a part of his bouquet of songs at concerts which inevitably woos market forces. But then there’s Harpeet, the artist who wants to stay free (free) within the net of the system.
, i’m just drifting (I am simply drifting between genres, languages and dialects to create a musical experience),” says the singer who has an impressive stage presence, winning over purists and young crowds alike with a voice that lifts the soul. appeals. He sings the subversive song of Avtar Singh Sandhu Paash, “ I am grass, I will come forward on everything you do (I’m the grass; I’ll grow on all that you’ve done)” in a tune that rips the ground under the seat.
“Ignorance is bliss for me”, he says, because he does not follow a set musical pattern and does not limit himself to scales. He says that even material takes on new meaning according to context and setting. “’Ghass’ sounds anti-establishment, but when I sang it for acid survivors in Agra, it took on a different but equally powerful meaning. I live with the verses for months and then the tune emerges. Every song has a beautiful journey,” says Harpreet. Use this moment, forget the use that is tomorrow”, which he wrote.
Free Verse Singer Harpreet | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
His voice reaches even the last row of the auditorium with its depth and melody. “I grew up in a village where we used to call each other while living three-four farms apart. This, perhaps, opened up my vocal cords. Harpreet’s journey began in Sherpur village near Nilokhedi town in Haryana, where he grew up listening to Bollywood songs from his farmer father. “My cousin had a keyboard and took guitar lessons. I didn’t know why most boys played guitar in their teens,” he laughs. “I had a way with the keyboard and my fingers moved freely across the guitar strings. I didn’t know, and sometimes, still don’t know if I was in tone or not But it works.
Harpreet honed his voice at Gandharva Mahavidyalaya in New Delhi, where he used to spend hours on the tanpura to get the basics right. He says that from the beginning he had a clear idea that he had to make music his profession. “I left my diploma in civil engineering to join music school. I used to travel three hours from Kurukshetra to Delhi just to attend an hour’s class. As teachers like Samarjit Roy and the support staff paid attention to me, I was allowed to stay longer. I didn’t clear the exam, but still I was allowed to work on my voice.
Free Verse Singer Harpreet | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Principal of Harpreet Mahavidyalaya fondly remembers the discipline of Pandit Madhup Mudgal, the father of Hindustani classical music. “During my stay at the institute, I admired their craft and discipline from afar.
During a recent performance at the India Habitat Center in Delhi, both the audience and Harpreet got emotional when he sang the song from his upcoming album which is part of. Bloody Baisakhi Project that marks poignant memories of 1919 Jallianwala massacre. “One of the survivors of the terrible massacre was the young writer Nanak Singh. Soon after, he wrote a long poem titled Khooni Vaisakhi, which captured the events of that day. On the one hand, it is protest literature that was banned by the colonial government, but on the other, it reflects the secular ethos of the independence movement. ,
In the past, Harpreet has contributed to the scores of some critically acclaimed films such as infatuation money and bombardment And now waiting for Munjeer Naqvi’s response to his creations Early morning, “The film which is doing the rounds of the festival circuit is about Urdu and how a language is not a religion.”