He graced the HCG

It was an exciting moment for me when the plane touched the ground of SVP International air port at 12 noon on the 24th of May 2010. In fact my effforts were so many before, to meet all the members of H C G but due to some reason or other it was getting postponed. But this time I was so happy to note from Tapan Bhai that HCG is releasing a set of two audio CDs exclusively on Harmonica played by its members. Out of shear excitement I offered my participation which was accepted by all the HCG members with due fondness. I made up my mind that this time I should not miss this golden opportunity of participating in a gala event.

it was Mr Ramana of HalloH also with me from hyderabad. I was very warmly received at the Ahmedabad airport by both the founders of HCG, Mr Nachita desai & Mr Tapan Bhat. Our stay was arranged in the Gujarat Vidyapeeth guest house A/C room After finishing the nice Gujarati lunch we were taken to the recording theatre. After a rehearsal two songs of me & two songs of Ramana were recorded. In the evening had the delicious Moghlai dinner hosted by Nachiketa Jee. The next day the host was Paresh Bhai. My third song was recorded. Had Panjabi meals with Paresh bhai & his son. Evening we had visited the famous Sabarmati Ashram of the father of our nation.

Now comes the real BANG & BLAST. In the evening we were taken to the residence of Mr Bansi gujjar very popularly & affectionately addressed as Bansi kaka. It was 8.30 PM of 25th may the commencement of BAITHAK . Slowly members started pouring in. At the commencement of the session the hall was the thrill of consisting all the harmonica players Nachiketa Ji, Tapan Bhai, maestro Paresh Bhatia, Dronacharya Manohar Vaidya sahab, Younis Bhai, Mr & Mrs Munir chalis hazaar with their two sons, Amaresh Bhai, Kumar Pal shah jee, the two twinkling stars ayushman Devansh & Ayushman Aditya. Finally the host was our dear Bansi kaka. Songs went on rolling one after the other to the excitement of all the people there. I found myself so free & informal as if I know each person from years even though I met them for the first time there. THIS IS THE POWER OF MUSIC WHICH BINDS US & MAKES FEEL THAT THERE IS NO CASTE, CREED OR RELIGION IN ITS WAY. Tapan Bhai was making us more thrilling by showing his bending techniques while playing the song Yaad Kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum being accompanied by Devansh & Aditya. Manohar ji was absolutely perfect in giving the interlude by his harmonica to the songs rendered by Devansh, Aditya & Paresh Bhai. Our dear Bansi kaka got totally sank in this musical atmosphere that he went on giving his whistling accompaniment to each & every song & that too with perfect timing. I was totally emotional & speechless due to the love & confidence that all the HCG members showed on me. At the end of this musical session We had to move for our dinner at 12MN.

At the dinner table it was altogether a different experience. After the food was ordered Bansi kaka has started his second session of singing being accompanied by all of us. It was again a renewed thrill & excitement. I pulled out my harmonica & played a few numbers. There was loud applause & Wah Wah. What an enjoyment it was indeed ! ! ! It took me back to my engineering college days the days of 1970 to 1974. This session was closed at 1.45 AM & we were back to our room by around 2. 15 AM. I had to part from all my HCG friends to retire for the night & get ready to catch the next morning flight.

The next morning ( 26th may ) the flight was at 10 AM. While the wheels were leaving the ground my eyes were not listening to me & I had to wipe them off several times . These rolling tears give a cool whisper in my ears , telling that I too am a member of the HARMONICA CLUB OF GUJARAT.

THE LOVE, AFFECTION & AMOUNT OF GOOD WILL I HAD RECEIVED FROM H C G IS AN INVALUABLE TREASURE FOR ME WHICH MONEY CAN NEVER BUY.

SABNAVEES

Friends we received this mail from our senior member shri Ramkrishna Sabnaveesji from Hyderabad. The mail is copied word to word without any change. It was a wonderful occassion to have him with us.

Two living legends Manohar Vaidya and Sabnaveesji met for the first time at Bansikaka's residence, where both of them shared a lot of music with everyone present.

We thank him for being part of the project and Harmonica Club of Gujarat...Thank you so much from all of us.................

Yogesh Tamta

Yogesh has been in touch with Apoorva Bhatt since quite a long time. During his visit to Ahmedabad, he visited the Harmonica Corner in Parimal Garden and played a few songs on his CX12.
He accompanied us to studio where Apoorva Bhatt was supposed to record his songs.
Yogeshji, welcome to HCG....
'sar mera chakaraye'

Apoorva Bhatt

First round of recording is coming to an end. We have recorded almost 20 songs. We will start the second round of recording very soon.
Apoorva Bhatt gave us a surprise on last Sunday by bringing Yogesh Tamta from Lucknow. Yogesh plays harmonica since his childhood. He has been in touch with Apoorva Bhatt for quite a long time, and showed his interest of meeting the members of HCG. Yogesh is basically an R & D man and has designed harmonicas with his knowledge in meteorology. He showed us his diatonic harmonica, which he had tuned to play many songs with chromatic notes. He has also prepared the documentations as to how the reeds made from different materials sound differently from each other.
He became the member of HCG there and then only............
Immediately after the Harmonica Satsang in Parimal we went to the recording studio, where Apoorva Bhatt recorded two lovely songs.
This is Just a small clip taken with mobile phone....

Veteran from Hyderabad comes calling

The Harmonica Club of Gujarat had the privilege of playing host to veteran mouth organ player from Hyderabad, Ramakrishna Sabnavees recently. Sabnavees has been in contact with several of the club members ever since the formation of the HCG more than two years ago. A self-taught man, Sabnavees is a great fan of Mohammed Rafi whose many lilting songs he plays on the harmonica.

When we informed Sabnavees about HCG's latest initiative of coming out with an audio CD of songs played by the members, he was thrilled and expressed his desire to visit us while we recorded the songs in a studio. "Sabnavees sahab, would you mind playing a few songs for the CD of HCG?" asked club secretary Tapan Bhatt. "Of course not, in fact, I shall be more than happy to be a part of the team effort of the HCG. I consider myself a member of the HCG," he said.

Sabnavees took leave from his office and came to Ahmedabad. During his two-day stay, he not only recorded a couple of songs for the CD but also played his favourite numbers to the accompaniment of congos by master musician Paresh Bhatia at an evening gathering at Bansi Gajjar's bungalow.

The magical moments

This photographs were taken during my visit to the crocodile breeding centre, Chennai.

I have used a harmonica tune played by Shri Ashok Bhandari. Both the tune and the baby that I am holding fascinate me. I wanted to ckeck the pressure of baby crocodile by putting my hand in its mouth, of course covered with a thick jute cloth. Unfortunately, i was not allowed to do that.

99% me Ghadi varna Chhadi

Master Kavit again, with 3 idiots in the background. He spent a very few minutes to get ready with this song.

Rishwat to khud Baap ne lena shikhaya, 99% marks laaoge to Ghadi varna Chhadi.......................... :-(

Master Kavit : Riding easy

Master Kavit played ' Ye Dosti ' on a Diatonic Easy Rider. Kavit is basically from Nadiad, 60kms from Ahmedabad, He was inspired by the Harmonica Club of Gujarat. Today he owns a Hering special 48, and a few diatonic harmonicas. He is now focusing mainly on how to get the maximum out of Diatonic harmonicas. He has performed in his school and old age homes also.

He has promised to play Indian Ragas on his Easy Rider for us..............

Saz aur Avaaz : Part 2

The other day, we had a guest Mr. Salim malik, also known as Voice of Mukesh. Businessman Mr. Malik used to sing in his college days, and thereafter due to very heavy business load, left singing for many years.
Satisfied with the achievement in business, he decided to develop his forgotten hobby again after almost 20 years. He started with a professional training under Mr. Bhuprndra and now is a well known singer again.
He is invited by many business and corporate houses, private meetings etc.
Aditya and Manohar Vaidya accompanied Malik on their harmonicas.
That was a Funday !!!!

Unique blend of SAAJ and AWAAJ

On 7th March. 2010, Mr Sandeep Patankar a member of HCG accompanied with him his 2 aunts(father’s sister) at the Sunday practice session. Mrs. Kamal Thakar, an accomplished classical singer who performs occasionally as radio artist and stage shows, sang some old filmi compositions accompanied by her younger sister Mrs Asha Damle with harmonica being played by our maestro Vaidyaji. Mrs Kamal Thakar has graduated in music in 1962 from Khairagarh University -the only music university during those days with B.Music(Honours). She is married to Mr Srikant Thakar –himself a claasical singer belonging to a family of musicians, who was working with All India Radio and retired as Chief Producer. Mrs Asha Damle also sings as a hobby but has excelled as educationist- herlast assignment as the Principal of Dr Radhakrishna School –a renowned school at Borivali-Mumbai .Mr R G Patankar their –father was also a accomplished tabla and harmonium player who worked with Blind School for music and a Litho artist by profession.

Many Thanks to Mrs. Thakar and Mrs. Damle.

Wah Taj, Wah Rajesh

He is a photographer by profession and a mouth organ player by passion. When on a short visit to Ahmedabad, Rajesh Goswami, the official photographer of the Indian Army based in Agra, heard about the Harmonica Club, he dropped out of the sight-seeing tour his host had arranged. Instead, he came to meet the members of the club at music teacher Paresh Bhatia's office-cum-residence.

The music session, which began at 11 in the morning continued well past 3 in the afternoon. Rajesh regaled us with some old melodies. "I want to first listen to you," he said before agreeing to play the mouth organ. Club secretary Tapan Bhatt obliged and played his favourite number, "Yaad kiya dil ne kaha ho tum."

While waiting for Tapan, who postponed his scheduled visit to an industrial estate to grab the opportunity of meeting the visitor, I asked the usual 'where, when and how' Rajesh picked up the harmonica. "About 30 years ago, mouth organ was quite popular among the young people and widely used by music directors in the Bollywood films. I was in the school when I first heard our neighbor Shivanand Mishra play mouth organ," Rajesh said.

He pleaded with Mishra to teach him how to play the instrument. "First, you need to have a mouth organ only then can I teach you," said Mishra. With Rs. 35, Rajesh bought his first harmonica, a made in Germany instrument without a scale changer. "Mishraji too had a plain mouth organ, without a scale-changer."

Agra being a hot tourist destination, many foreigners visited the city of the Taj Mahal. Rajesh befriended a foreign tourist and managed to get his first scale-changer harmonica from Germany. Since then, there has been no looking back. Rajesh became a star harmonica player in Agra, having won several cups and medals at various music competitions.

He had bought a Chrometta 8 mouth organ with him. It was amazing to watch him play half a dozen popular numbers on that single octave instrument. Here are a couple of them.

1. Gore Gore O Banke Chhore

2. Khayi Ke Paan Banaraswala

3. Na Maangu Sona Chandi

4. Papa Kehte Hain Bada Naam Karega