Prabhakar Bhatt is one of the finest players of Harmonica in Baroda. He was invited by the Harmonica Club of Gujarat to perform at a function in Ahmedabad recently. Here is the rendition of the song Aao Huzoor Tumko Sitaro Mein Le Chalu, composed by OP Nayyar and sung by Asha Bhonsle:
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Aa chal ke tujhe mein le ke chalu
Arvind Kumar works for the Indian Postal Service as a senior executive. But, that's his job. His passion is mouth organ. He is so passionate about this handy musical instrument that he plays it every day. He is also an excellent comperer, sprinkling his speech with Urdu couplets. I am sure you would have listened to his welcome speech given in the previous post. Now, listen to his mouth organ:
Monday, July 7, 2008
Meeting of Hearts: Baroda Photo Gallery
Harmonica players of Baroda and Ahmedabad joined hands to spread melody of harmony on the evening of July 6,2008, Sunday, at Baroda's Kamati Baug's bandstand. Some vignettes:
Rock, Rock, Rock, Mr. TD Joshi
At 69, Mr. TD Joshi still rocks with his harmonica. He has been playing mouth organ for more than 50 years now.
Baroda Players Extend Warm Welcome, Join Club
Players of Baroda invited the members from Ahmedabad to play with them at the Kamati Baug Bandstand on Sunday to spread the message of harmony and unity. The video is of the welcoming speech by Arvind Kumar
Pyaar Ki Aag Mein Jalte Rahe
I chanced to come across this piece played by the Adler Trio when I realized the same tune was copied by a Hindi film music director in the song Pyaar Ki Aag Mein Jalte Rahe:
We walk hand in hand
The harmonica players of Baroda, a highly talented and enthusiastic lot, invited members of the Harmonica Club of Gujarat, to play with them at the Kamati Baug Bandstand, a centrally located place of this cultural capital of Gujarat, on Sunday evening.
The public garden was full of Sunday crowd - men, women and children. The weather was pleasant as it was a clouded sky. The Baroda players gave us a warm welcome and soon we started to play, all sitting in a circle. It was a novel sight for the Sunday merry makers who formed a circle around us. Each one of us played a couple of songs to a thunderous applause from the spectators.
We will be soon uploading the video recording of the Baroda evening on this blog.
The Baroda players unanimously elected Apurva Bhatt to represent them in the Harmonica Club of Gujarat, as a Trustee. Apurva Bhatt has trained over a dozen harmonica players of the city, many of them have now become trainers to teach playing this musical instrument to young boys and girls.
The public garden was full of Sunday crowd - men, women and children. The weather was pleasant as it was a clouded sky. The Baroda players gave us a warm welcome and soon we started to play, all sitting in a circle. It was a novel sight for the Sunday merry makers who formed a circle around us. Each one of us played a couple of songs to a thunderous applause from the spectators.
We will be soon uploading the video recording of the Baroda evening on this blog.
The Baroda players unanimously elected Apurva Bhatt to represent them in the Harmonica Club of Gujarat, as a Trustee. Apurva Bhatt has trained over a dozen harmonica players of the city, many of them have now become trainers to teach playing this musical instrument to young boys and girls.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Abe Thomas: Music Lover
Bangalore based Abe Thomas is the moderator of the Harmonica India group on Yahoo. He plays on Suzuki harmonicas and follows the blues style of playing. Listen to Abe and marvel at his skills:
Friday, July 4, 2008
Harmonica Club of Gujarat in News
Times of India, Ahmedabad, Saturday July 5, 2008
Some work, some play-ing harmonica! Sukrat Desai | TNN
Ahmedabad: His life is all about boring courtroom protocols and formidable piles of files. But, one additional sessions court judge takes a break from this monotony by playing old Hindi film numbers on a harmonica.
“My mouth organ has become a perfect means to fill the void in an insipid life and turn it into a symphony 24X7,” waxes the judge eloquently.
Ditto for orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Naresh Khandwala, who finds playing harmonica a convenient stress-buster. “The instrument is small, you can carry it in your pocket, and play it anywhere without battery cells or electricity. And, most importantly, it is good for health as it improves the respiratory system,” says the doc.
Welcome to Harmonica Club of Gujarat, a recentlyformed group of mouth organ enthusiasts from backgrounds as diverse as law, medicine, teaching and journalism, as also retired people who can devote plenty of time to music.
“This pocket-sized instrument once ruled the hearts of millions of youth during the 50s, 60s and even late 70s, with legendary Hindi film music directors such as SD Burman, RD Burman, OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan making use of it to compose evergreen melodies,” says club coordinator, Tapan Bhatt.
It was his desire to perform at a college reunion, that drove the 44-year-old entrepreneur to attend classes in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Bhatt learnt how to play harmonica in six months.
“It was through a discussion forum on a search engine and a social networking site that I came into contact with other harmonica players in Ahmedabad and we decided to meet,” he narrates.
The group first decided to meet every Sunday at Parimal Garden and then at Vastrapur lake. Shedding all inhibitions, about a dozen amateur harmonica players performed at both places, drawing a huge round of applause from onlookers.
The club, a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote use of the musical instrument, plans to have charity shows at hospitals and orphanages.
Some work, some play-ing harmonica! Sukrat Desai | TNN
Ahmedabad: His life is all about boring courtroom protocols and formidable piles of files. But, one additional sessions court judge takes a break from this monotony by playing old Hindi film numbers on a harmonica.
“My mouth organ has become a perfect means to fill the void in an insipid life and turn it into a symphony 24X7,” waxes the judge eloquently.
Ditto for orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Naresh Khandwala, who finds playing harmonica a convenient stress-buster. “The instrument is small, you can carry it in your pocket, and play it anywhere without battery cells or electricity. And, most importantly, it is good for health as it improves the respiratory system,” says the doc.
Welcome to Harmonica Club of Gujarat, a recentlyformed group of mouth organ enthusiasts from backgrounds as diverse as law, medicine, teaching and journalism, as also retired people who can devote plenty of time to music.
“This pocket-sized instrument once ruled the hearts of millions of youth during the 50s, 60s and even late 70s, with legendary Hindi film music directors such as SD Burman, RD Burman, OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan making use of it to compose evergreen melodies,” says club coordinator, Tapan Bhatt.
It was his desire to perform at a college reunion, that drove the 44-year-old entrepreneur to attend classes in Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Bhatt learnt how to play harmonica in six months.
“It was through a discussion forum on a search engine and a social networking site that I came into contact with other harmonica players in Ahmedabad and we decided to meet,” he narrates.
The group first decided to meet every Sunday at Parimal Garden and then at Vastrapur lake. Shedding all inhibitions, about a dozen amateur harmonica players performed at both places, drawing a huge round of applause from onlookers.
The club, a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote use of the musical instrument, plans to have charity shows at hospitals and orphanages.
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