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It is known to everyone that the harmonium is an integral part of Indian Music, regardless of the genre. Starting from the folk and classical songs to the mainstream Bollywood; Harmonium has been a part of everything. While Hindustani Gharanas are enriched with the tune of harmonium, its wide use can be found in devotional music by all religions, mainly Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs.
However, the origin of the harmonium is not actually from India. A keyboard instrument that is fixed in a box and develops sound when air is blown through reeds; it was first patented by Alexandre Debain who invented the instrument in France, in 1940. Unlike the organs, the harmonium is quite easy to carry and its portability allowed it to be a part of the world since taking it on a voyage was no big deal.
Music Historian and Writer, Manek Premchand said, “Brought to India by French missionaries in the 19th century, the harmonium took no time to blend beautifully into the warp and weft of the Indian music scene,” and further added, “Its euphonious sounds have a universal feel to them, too, adding to its appeal.”
However, at the peak of the Indian independence movement, the instrument faced banishment due to the activities of anti-colonialists. As a result, several orthodox music institutions considered it a foreign music instrument and termed it in a way that others do not use it. One of the biggest examples would be the author of the Indian National Anthem, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who considered it “the bane of Indian music”. The instrument was banned for quite a time in his residential school of Shantiniketan.
All India Radio (AIR) which used to have a monopoly over radio broadcasting all over India had also banned this instrument for almost three decades. Ethnomusicologist Matthew Rahaim from the University of Minnesota completed his research paper on the matter, which is titled “That Ban(e) of Indian Music: Hearing Politics in The Harmonium”. It was published in 2011. In the book, Rahaim could be found saying, “The attempt to banish the sound of the harmonium was part of an attempt to define a national sound for India, distinct from the West.”
After an era full of struggle, the ban on harmonium was finally lifted in 1971; however, in a limited way. It was only allowed to be used as an accompaniment but could not be used for solo performances. In case of the India, the first harmonium was developed and manufactured by Dwarkanath Ghosh in Kolkata, in 1875. He made the first version of Indian Harmonium, the one with which people are familiar these days.
While the European versions had foot-operated bellows, it was tweaked for seated performances along with handpump bellows. Gradually, the instrument became a greater substitute for Sarengi which required a lot of effort. Jeevanlal Mistry from Palitana introduced its manufacturing as the cottage industry around 1900 and soon in 1915, India became the leading manufacturer of the instrument. Previously, the metal reed used in harmonium was imported from Germany but now, the brass reeds are made in Palitana, a town in Gujarat. These harmoniums are best known for their craftsmanship, durability, and tonal qualities.
In India, the instrument got popular with Urdu poetry and ghazals as well as for the music for North Indian classical dance, Kathak. Harmonium also became highly popular with ‘qawwalis’, the devotional Sufi music tradition that was practiced mostly in North India. Rahaim wrote on the matter, “As elites have struggled to cleanse modern Indian music of what they argue is a ‘foreign’ intruder, the masses have used the harmonium as a gateway to an understanding of their musical heritage.”
Pakrashi & Co export on Kolkata, the company which has been selling harmoniums for 100 years and in more than 21 countries explained why it is so delicate for them. The third-generation owner of the store, Suvojit Pakrashi said, “The instrument is made in our workshop without any machines. It is entirely handcrafted and a team of three artisans work for 40 days to make four harmoniums. We use teak wood and reeds from Palitana and polish it using polyurethane,”. He also said that the price of their most expensive harmonium is around 52,000 rupees.
Costly or not, Harmonium’s influence and contribution to Indian Music is priceless as if, it was meant for it!
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