A. Hariharan (* 1955) is a leading ghazal singer and composer as well as playback singer in several languages and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. In 2004, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Hariharan's first guru was his mother Amamelu, a renowned Carnatic vocalist. In his teens, inspired by the songs of Mehdi Hassan and Jagjit Singh, Hariharan developed a passion for ghazals and started training in Hindustani music from Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.