Hari Bolo Hari (Bhajan)

Hari Bolo Hari is one of the most-sung devotional bhajans in the Nepali repertoire. The melody and the chord progression are firmly in the public domain — bhajans are devotional songs, meant to be sung by anyone, with no concept of copyright in their tradition.

About the bhajan tradition

Bhajans are call-and-response devotional songs. A lead singer (the kirtaniya) sings a line; the congregation responds with the same line. Over thirty or forty repetitions the energy builds slowly — the song that started at a whisper ends at a full-voiced chant. The guitar holds the chord cycle steady through the whole arc.

The job of the guitar in a bhajan is the same as in dohori: stay out of the singer's way. The instrument provides ground; the voice provides motion.

How to play it

Key of C, no capo, 76 BPM, all-downstrokes strumming. The slow tempo and even strumming give the song its meditative character. If you strum it like a folk pop song with upstrokes and dynamic variation, you'll lose the meditative feel that's the whole point.

C-F-G-Am — same chord family as Aalu Khaune Ali Ali. The F is still the only chord that might give you trouble; Fmaj7 substitute works fine.

What this song teaches

Dynamic restraint and rhythmic steadiness. If you can play this song through forty consecutive times without speeding up, you've earned the right to play any pop song with conviction.