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