Players of Baroda Performing in Ahmedabad

Here are the video recordings of some songs played by players from Baroda at a function held in Ahmedabad. Baroda has a fantastic pool of talent, as will become evident from these videos.

This is Camaraderie

The Harmonica Club of Gujarat has become an extended family for all its members. After performing in a public park, individual members have been inviting the rest to their homes.

The first to invite us was Prof. Piyush Pandya. We had a gala time at his place, playing mouth organ and being treated to tea, coffee and snacks. It was decided at this get together to go for formalizing the club into a trust and a registered society. Yogesh Bhatt, the principal judge of Industrial Courts, had already done the necessary ground work by preparing the draft of the proposed public trust.

The general body of the club unanimously elected Nachiketa Desai as the managing trustee and Tapan Bhatt as the secretary. The following were elected as the trustees:
1. Nachiketa Desai
2. Tapan Bhatt
3. Rohini A Jhala
4. Piyush Pandya
5. Manohar Vaidya
6. Paresh Bhatia
7. Bansi Gajjar

Registering a trust is a big hassle. For ordinary citizens it takes months. In Ahmedabad, on an average 5000 public trusts are registered every month. But not in our case, thanks to one of our members, who is a senior member of the judiciary. Yogesh Bhatt took the trouble of doing all the paper work and we could complete the process in just two days.

Yogesh Bhatt is so passionate about harmonica that he invited Nachiketa Desai and Manohar Vaidya to his home on a Saturday to practice with them. It was a day of marathon mouth organ playing - from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For Yogesh Bhatt playing on a chromatic instrument was a new experience. However, he is a fast learner, mainly because he has musical ears.

The very next day was a Sunday, the day the club members perform in a public park. This time it was at the Vastrapur Lake. After the performance, Purnendu Dave invited all of us to his home, which is walking distance from the lake, for a round of tea. We were not only treated to several rounds of tea there but we also played there for the benefit of the club's repository of video records. We will be putting up these videos on the blog soon.

Our next performance is going to be at a cancer hospital. The date is yet to be finalized.

Kiran Shah

A computer engineer. Studied and worked in U S for 17 years. Has been playing for many years. Also proficient in Acupressure and holistic healing. Collects first day covers by hobby.

Ichak Dana Bichak Dana

Dr.Naresh Khandwala

An orthopedic surgeon by profession, runs his hospital for almost 30 years. Snatches time from a hectic schedule to entertain self and others. Has been performing from his school days.

Aye Gul Badan, Phoolon Ki Mahak Kaanto Ki Chubhan, Tujhe Dekh Ke Kehta Hai Mera Man

Budding Star - Manthan Grover

A schoolboy, in his 10^th Standard, Manthan has been training under Paresh Bhatia for last three years. He also plays the keyboard.

Jane Kahan Gaye Voh Din

Mr. Chauhan playing Raj Kapoor classic Mera Naam Joker's melancholic song:

Talent Galore

Every town has its share of talented harmonica players. We will now be showcasing here the performance of some of the mouth organ players from Vadodara who were invited by the players from Ahmedabad to give a joint performance at the opening of an events management company.

We will try to present on this blog the sample of music played on mouth organ by each and every member of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat. Please have some patience as the task of uploading video files takes up quite a lot of time.

We present here Apoorva Bhatt and Amjad Khan Pathan:

Network Expands

Thanks to the live talk show on Radio Mirchi, many new members joined the Harmonica Club of Gujarat this Sunday morning at the Vastrapur Lake garden. It was heartening to note that among the new members were young boys and girls in their teens. While a couple of them played fairly well, some of them had come with the desire to learn from the senior players.

A few of the senior members played some very popular numbers from Hindi films of the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately, in the absence of club coordinator Tapan Bhatt, who usually records the event on his mobile phone, we could not capture the video and audio of today's rendition.

After everyone dispersed, Prof. Piyush Pandya, invited Manohar Vaidya and me to his home. The Pandya's are a musical family. Both his wife and mother are very good singers. After a sumptuous breakfast comprising of upama and tea, we requested Manohar Vaidya to play some old numbers. While the professor's seventy-year-old mother nodded her head in appreciation, his wife hummed along.

Interestingly, it was their common interest in music that brought the professor and his wife together before their marriage.

Indeed, music binds the souls.

A Boost

The Harmonica Club of Gujarat received a boost from the live talk show on the Radio Mirchi last Monday. There have been queries from more than a dozen mouth organ players from the city showing interest in the activities of the club. Coordinator, Tapan Bhatt, has received requests from various social organizations to arrange for a public performance of the club members.

The Gujarat initiative seems to have inspired mouth organ players from cities outside the state to start similar activities. While searching for bloggers who have listed harmonica as their hobby, I came across over 500 people who play this cute little musical instrument.

I have been talking to some of the club members about the need to share our experiences on the blog. One can understand that not all members feel comfortable putting down their thoughts in writing. Let them tell their stories to those who can then write them down for the blog.

NACHIKETA DESAI

Melody of Harmony

Most of them are so busy pursuing their respective profession and business that they have hardly any time to spend with their family.

There are three entrepreneurs whose manufacturing units, away from the city, require them to commute at least 100 km every day.

There is an orthopedic surgeon whose patients have to wait in queue to get his appointment. There is an honorable judge of the session court, a professor of microbiology and a teacher of physics and a couple of journalists. There are also a few who are leading a retired life.

All of them, however, have time for one common activity – to play harmonica every evening at a shopping mall in Ahmedabad. These amateur music aficionados are trying to revive interest among the younger generation in harmonica.

This handy, pocket-sized musical instrument, called harmonica or mouth organ, once ruled the hearts of millions of youth during the 1950s, 60s and even till the late 70s, with legendary Hindi film music directors such as S D Burman, his son R D Burman, O P Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan making use of it to compose ever-green melodies.

“Unfortunately, like many musical instruments, mouth organ too is getting out of circulation due to the widespread use of electronic synthesizers which are capable of producing sound resembling almost any musical instrument. However, what these electronic gadgets cannot imitate is the human touch that is required to produce melodies on any of the wind or string instruments such as flute, saxophone, mouth organ, violin, guitar and sitar,” says Manohar Vaidya, who has been playing mouth organ for over 50 years, taking out time from his busy schedule as an official of an insurance company.

“Mouth organ was so popular those days that we used to have regular classes every Tuesday in our school in Mumbai where Mr. Firoze Damri used to teach us the instrument. This was in 1956-57 when I was studying at Queen Mary’s High School. There were 40 girls in our mouth organ class. Mr. Damri used to teach mouth organ in both boys and girls school in Mumbai, Pune and Panchgani,” recalls Mrs. Rohini Jhala nee Ruby Narotam.

“Today, many boys don’t even know how a harmonica looks like. The present craze is for electronic gadgets which can be operated with a keyboard producing sound of both percussion instrument and other melodious instruments. I always carry a harmonica in my purse and play it whenever I feel like playing. One day, I hope to teach my grandchildren how to play harmonica, which does not require any accompaniment to produce melodious numbers,” she says.

“I was lucky to have an encouraging father and a supportive husband who liked me playing mouth organ at social gatherings. During my school days, we used to take part in youth festivals and perform for the special youth programme of the All India Radio. After marriage, I used to play at the parties of the officers’ mess of the Indian Air Force in which my husband Wing Commander Ajitsinh Jhala was a fighter pilot,” she says with a glint in her eyes.

It was his desire to perform at his alma mater’s reunion function that made 44-year-old entrepreneur Tapan Bhatt, who undertakes major post construction projects across Gujarat, take up learning harmonica last year. So determined was he to realize his dream that Tapan attended classes in Ahmedabad and Vadodara and learned how to play harmonica in six months, just in time to perform at his college reunion in Puttaparti, Andhra Pradesh.

An engineer, Tapan was aided in his endeavour by Information Technology which he put to good use by downloading all necessary information about harmonica from the Internet. “It was through a discussion forum on a search engine and a social networking website that I came in contact with other harmonica players in Ahmedabad and we decided to meet,” recalls Tapan.

It was decided to meet on a Sunday at Parimal Garden, in the heart of the city, which is a popular public garden among morning walkers and joggers. Shedding all inhibitions, about a dozen amateur harmonica players performed at the garden, drawing big round of applause from the onlookers. Encouraged by the public response, the harmonica enthusiasts decided to perform at different public gardens of the city every Sunday morning.

These amateur players from diverse background have formed the Harmonica Club of Gujarat, with Tapan Bhatt as its coordinator. “The Harmonica Club of Gujarat is a not-for-profit organization with the objective of promoting this once-popular musical instrument. We plan to do charity shows for hospitals and orphanages. We have already received invitation from several social groups to perform at their gatherings,” says Tapan.

“I was glad to have come in contact with the Harmonica Club, about which I came to know from local newspapers. The Club has given me the opportunity to play my favourite musical instrument which I had picked up when I was a small kid,” says Devraj Hansdah, a 29-year-old petroleum engineer working with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. “I wish many more young people start playing this instrument which produces great melodious music,” he adds.

NACHIKETA DESAI

Down the memory lane

I was fascinated by harmonica since I was a little boy. My mother's uncles, P K Sen and K P Sen were great musicians who played piano, flute, guitar and harmonica. Their children - Patu Mama, Ishu Mama, Sumanta and Sumitra Mamas too played harmonica. However, none of them allowed me to touch their harmonicas then. I can now understand why they kept me away from their mouth organs. I would have spoiled the reeds of this delicate musical instrument by blowing recklessly.

So when my father went abroad for the first time, the only thing I asked him to bring for me was a mouth organ. My first harmonica was a 'Comet' from M HOHNER, Germany. I freaked out on the instrument, blowing and inhaling as I liked, at random. My parents said I made nice melodious sound. And, I believed them.

We didnt have a radio or a gramaphone those days. The only music I heard was when during family reunion all my uncles, aunts, cousins would break into Rabindra Sangeet, which never seemed to end. My maternal grandma too was a musician. She played Veena and was featured on the cover of 'The Illustrated Weekly of India'.

Unlike the present generation kids, who get over exposed to 'sound bytes' from TV, IPods, and a plethora of gadgets, I had the peace and tranquility to try out my own music. I dont remember which was the first song that I played on the harmonica. In all likelihood, it must have been a song composed by the great Poet Laureate Tagore.

We got our first radio - a gramophone-cum-radio - sometime around 1965-66. It was a small portable gadget from Grundig, Germany. Father was an ardent fan of K L Sehgal, Punkaj Mullick, Juthika Ray and the likes. Being a peace activist, he was a friend Paul Robson, Pete Seager and Joan Baez too. He would bring back long playing records of these spiritual singers. He also brought some records of the Beatles and the Ventures.

The radio brought Vividh Bharati and Radio Ceylone into our home. For the first time, I got exposed to popular Hindi film songs. In the meantime, I had learned by trial and error how to play mouth organ to bring out the desired notes. My friends would tell me to try play a particular Hindi film song and I would make a serious attempt. Today, I can say that I could not play these songs anywhere near their original tune.

It was in 1968 that Patu Mama visited us and he taught me vamping (using the tongue to produce a rhythmic sound). He also taught me how to play a few Hindi songs. I was so thrilled that I would spend hours playing the harmonica. Then came my cousin, Kabir, who was keen on playing guitar. I had a banjo which was converted into a guitar for him to practice.

Both of us would practice playing several popular Hindi film songs. And, the elders encouraged us. Soon, both started playing about a dozen songs fairly well. Kabir, elder to me by four years, was a student of the Banaras Engineering College of the Banaras Hindu University. The BHU and the BENCO had some good players of guitar, mouth organ, piano accordion and bongos. Because of Kabir, I was allowed to practice with the members of the BENCO band.

Since then, I have been learning and improving.

However, my marriage and taking up a career as a journalist did not give me much time to pursue my hobby. It was only in 2006, after a gap of more than 30 years, that I again picked up harmonica. My job had taken me to Bangalore where I lived alone and did not have any social circle. So, I began playing harmonica once again.

The forming of Harmonica Club of Gujarat has given me the reason and scope to take up harmonica on a more serious note. The excitement is similar to the one I had felt when I had got my first harmonica in 1958.

(All harmonica players are requested to share on this blog their personal tryst with this melodious instrument .)

Nachiketa Desai

Akbar Qureshi

A highly active member of the club. An enthusiastic music lover who also plays Banjo, Apart from the harmonica. Also performs magic tricks. A painter who specializes in landscapes.Teaches Physics at a local higher secondary school.

Ek Pyaar Ka Nagma Hai

Piyush Pandya

Played harmonica, mandolin, flute as well as accordion and performed on stage both as an amateur and as professional. Left harmonica playing about 30 years ago and has picked up only last month.Teaches Microbiology at Gujarat College, one of the oldest colleges(125 years) in the country.

Piyush Pandya playing Piyu Bole, Piya Bole from the film Parineeta.

Live on Radio Mirchi

tum mile rah mein mera jeena ganwara hua

Nachiketa Desai

Phoolon Ke Rang Se

Nachiketa Desai

piya piya piya mora jiya pukaare

manohar vaidya playing piya piya piya mora jiya pukaare

Nazar Na Lag Jaaye

Amzad Khan Pathan

Mouth Organ Video

Yogesh Bhatt

Popular Mouth Organ Videos

Here are some video recording of popular Hindi film numbers played by the members of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat:

Live on Radio Mirchi

Five members of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat were on a live talk show on the Radio Mirchi today, June 16 2008. The talk show began at 8 in the morning and continued till 11.

The most popular Radio Jockey, Dhvanit hosted the show. An amazing guy, handling at least three tasks single-handedly without losing his sense of humour.

All of us - Nachiketa Desai, Tapan Bhatt, Rohini Jhala, Paresh Bhatia and Manohar Vaidya - talked and played mouth organ.

Radio Mirchi studio was flooded with phone calls from listeners. We hope to get many more new members to the harmonica club when we meet next coming Sunday.

We will be posting the recording of the talk show on the blog as soon as we get the CD from Radio Mirchi.

In the meantime, enjoy the video recording of the songs done by our members during our first public performance.

Tapan Bhatt

One of the founder members of the club. Thought of the harmonica for the first time in his life while on his business tour and picked up one on 5^th January 2008.

In a very short duration, has picked up enough to perform before the public (to be appreciated)! Has a collection of a number of harmonicas and the shopping spree has not stopped!

Plays, apart from Hindi film songs, Gujarati songs as well. Works as a post construction consultant. A very spiritual human being, works a lot for social causes.

He is the coordinator of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat.

Tapan's performance at the Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad:

Manohar Vaidya

Undoubtedly, the most melodious player of the group. Plays the finest notes to the perfection. A true lover and exponent of music, also plays key boards and violin with equal proficiency. Has learnt classical music at very tender age. A retired employee of an insurance company.

Nachiketa Desai

Has been playing from the early boyhood, when he was gifted with a harmonica from his maternal uncle.Performed regularly at various functions during college days. However, discontinued from 1974 and has picked up only from last January. Plays Hindi film songs as well as western notes. A senior journalist by profession, currently works as special correspondent for Gujarat for Business India.

Live Performance at Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad

Photo Gallery

Here are some photographs of the performance at a public garden in Ahmedabad by the members of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat:

Ahmedabad Mirror covered the launch of Harmonica Club of Gujarat

Yogesh Bhatt: A very highly placed Govt.employee. Has been playing for many years. Also an enthusiastic painter who does sketching when finds time.


Playing at the Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad, on June 8, 2008 (Sunday)

Rohini Jhala (Nee Ruby Narotam)
The only lady(known so far) to play the instrument. A senior citizen, picked up the instrument at a very tender age and has been playing and performing for more than 50 years now. An alumnus of Queen Mary’s, Mumbai, learnt initial lessons of harmonica playing from legendary Firoze Damri. Married Ajitsinh Jhala who served IAF and has retired as Wing Commander.Plays Hindi film songs as well as western notes. "I owe my mouthorgan skills to Mr Damri, who used to teach harmonica to school children in Mumbai till he was well past 90 years," recalls Mrs. Jhala.



Mrs. Jhala performed at the Vastrapur Lake, Ahmedabad,on June 8, 2008 (Sunday)

Harmony of Symphony

Most of us have been playing the harmonica, also called mouth organ, since we were little boys and girls. We had got our first harmonica as our birthday present. We were unaware of the techniques required to play the instrument properly. None the less, the passion of playing the harmonica grew with time. Some of us learned the instrument on our own, some were lucky to have a teacher.

With the passage of time, as we grew older, got married, took up jobs and followed our respective careers, we found hardly any time to play music. However, the love for harmonica remained, though we couldn't display it overtly.

Every city and town has a sizeable number of people who are in love with mouth organ. However, except for the smaller town where everyone knows everyone, very few harmonica players knew each other.

Then came the Internet. And, the world shrunk. The globe became a big village and it was possible for like-minded people to get in touch with one another.

Thanks to social networking websites and discussion forums, some of the harmonica players of Gujarat came together. The love for the instrument got rekindled. The Harmonica Club of Gujarat was born. With over 50 members scattered all across this western Indian state, the Harmonica Club is rocking, and how.

First, the club members decided to perform at a public garden in Ahmedabad every Sunday morning. The idea was to spread awareness among the people who frequented the garden for their morning walk and jog.

The first day brought curious onlookers. The event found coverage in the local media. The next Sunday saw many new members participating.



Today, the love for harmonica has brought together people from various walks of life. They include jurists, businessmen, academics, journalists, doctors,lawyers and engineers.

We will be posting here the harmony created by this motley group of amateur artistes.