JOIN USClassic Bollywood tunes filled the room, while the small gathering cheered on and nodded to the nostalgic music.
Bringing back memories and observing ‘Indian Harmonica Day’, the Bangalore
Harmonica Club along with Sonido Musicals held a meet for harmonica lovers in the City recently.
With songs like Haseen dasta hain yeh, Sayonara, Yeh mera dil toh, Mera joota hain and many other musical numbers, the event brought back memories of the past for many. Some of the performers, who came up to perform in front of the audience, shared their stories of how they picked up the harmonica and their journey thereon.
Giridhar K, who played at the event, says, “I’ve not had a chance to meet anyone with the same taste for a while now. My first harmonica was gifted to me when I was 11. I used to play regularly then and after, but now it’s off and on. I was a part of a band, with which I played the harmonica and the keyboards. I’m passionate about it.”
Debashis Dutta, a senior engineering manager who was also part of the event, shares, “I started playing when I was in college. I had to leave the instrument because of various job-related pressures, but I have taken it up again. As a part of the Harmonica Club, we used to meet and jam at Cubbon Park every Sunday. But the club slowly died down.”
Talking about the instrument, he adds, “Most harmonica players play the instrument for fun. But the harmonica is a serious instrument like any other and systematic learning is required to play it well.”
While many might think of the harmonica as an instrument of the past, a few youngsters who were a part of the gathering proved those notions wrong.
Debashish Pradhan, an embedded hardware engineer, says, “This is my first time at such a gathering. I heard about this through a colleague. I started playing the mouth organ about five or six years back and then gradually moved to the harmonica.”
Saket Jalan, the emcee and organiser of the event, states, “I’m really excited with the response. I’ve been playing the harmonica for 12 years now and am always excited about meeting people with the same passion. The harmonica is a beautiful instrument that can be gifted to a father, or between a girlfriend and boyfriend; the instrument is not age-bound.”