The foreign interloper? 'Harm-onium'

M S Viswanathan, @ Mellisai Mannar,
King of Melody at the Harmonium.

I have always found the harmonium somewhat out of place among other Indian musical instruments. Yet, it plays a crucial role in a composer's toolkit. In a typical Indian musical orchestra, you find flutes, traditional trumpets in various shapes and forms depending on the region (such as nadasvaram or shenai), string instruments like the sitar or the veena, and percussion instruments like drums in various forms, small cymbals, and so on. Having an air instrument that resembles a piano seems somewhat incongruous. It looks like a mini piano with black-and-white keys. Then there is another instrument called the shruti box, which looks similar to a harmonium but lacks a keyboard and produces a continuous humming sound (drone music).

Another instrument that I found strongly rooted among other traditional instruments in a traditional Indian (Carnatic and Hindustani) musical recital is the violin. We know that the violin was adapted and Indianised in the 18th-19th centuries.

The harmonium was developed in 1840 as a bellows instrument operated with a foot pedal to pump air. The church found it very useful because it was portable. When missionaries arrived to proselytise natives, they discovered it was very convenient for getting around. 

The Legendary Dwarkin's Harmonium
https://www.getbengal.com/details/harmonium-by-dwarkin-created-a-revolution-
in-bengals-musical-journey-getbengal-story

The Indian public also developed a liking for the instrument. They found it well-suited for Indian musical styles, which emphasised melody, unlike European styles that relied on harmony. Indians mostly sat on the floor when playing music, so the harmonium lost its legs and foot pedal. The bellows were operated by hand movements. Soon, the Indian harmonium — the small, portable, hand-pumped reed organ — became the preferred instrument for Carnatic and Hindustani musicians. Even Rabindranath Tagore used it in his academy, Santiniketan. 

Musical composers of Tamil film songs from yesteryears, such as MS Visvanathan, Theva, Illayaraja, and even contemporary maestros like AR Rahman, are known to craft their masterpieces from scratch on these harmoniums. 

Interestingly, this essential musical instrument, at times, conferred divinity status, was banned from the airwaves by All-India Radio for nearly 30 years between 1940 and 1971. Nationalists in the Quit India movement regarded the harmonium as a foreign intruder and a symbol of British cultural dominance. The call for a ban on the harmonium was led by Tagore and others who aimed to define and protect pure Indian musical heritage. In an independent India, Nehru sought to establish a 'pure' national music. Even harmonium players could not be on All India's payroll. Nevertheless, the harmonium remained a popular instrument throughout that era and remains significant today.

A funeral of harmoniums in Lahore. (1940)

The harmoniumists staged a mock funeral after

All India Radio's ban on its use. They buried

11 harmoniums, reminding people of a time when

Emperor Aurangzeb banned them during his reign.

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A shortsighted populist policy!

Starting 1st January 2023, the State of Kedah in Malaysia closed all their gaming outlets. Nobody in the state could place their bets on their lucky numbers in 4D, Toto, or DaMaiCai or buy lottery tickets anymore.

What they need to comprehend is that Man is very innovative when it comes to beating the system. I remember a neighbour during my childhood who ran a clandestine betting business. After taking all the bets for the day, he would sneak the counterfoils above the electricity switchboard that served the whole floor of the flat. If he gets caught, the police cannot put his involvement in it.

Again during my childhood, as the European-run estates came to a grinding halt, the estate-managed spirit shops also closed. Labourers, who by then were addicted to the bottle, got their fix from bootleg booze. They had to settle for locally brewed concoctions because they were out of jobs, and legal liquor cost too much. Methanol poisoning caused blindness to many and cost their lives to some.

Lessons from the American 1920s Prohibition Law are worth revisiting. During the roaring 20s, easy access to alcohol was determined to be the root of most social ills. The frequent wild parties that led to deaths, the increase in alcoholism and the frequent absence from work as mass production was in high gear were blamed on booze.

The Churches, Women Empowerment groups and even Ku Klax Klan were all for the Volstead Law, which prohibited the production, transportation, sales and importation of alcoholic beverages except for ceremonial wines and liquor for private (the affluent) consumption.

As days went on, supporters of Prohibition decreased as they were unhappy with what they saw. There was widespread thuggery, shootings and racketeering. The police force had never seen such amounts of bribery. The number of outlets, called speakeasies, illegal, of course, paradoxically increased during Prohibition. The noble intention to curb access to alcohol actually backfired, with the government of the day getting no revenue from its sales.

Entrepreneurs became creative. The so-called ‘bathtub gin’ became a thing when water from the bathtub tap was added to the premixed powder to produce gin. Cakes with fermented grapes were sold past the expiry date to achieve the desired effect. And methanol poisoning reared its ugly head too.

Rather than banning something outright, the more sensible thing is legislating all these so-called sinful activities, booze, cigarettes, gambling and even the flesh trade. Outlawing them is akin to burying one’s head under the sand. The rest of the world will just go on, business as usual. At least you can go on with life, convincing yourselves that, at least in the afterlife, all will be hunky dory to eternity.

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Can't beat the original!

Laal Singh Chaddha (Hindi;2022)

Bollywood version of 'Forest Gump'

Director: Advait Chandan

Even before Aamir Khan's latest film made it to the silver screen, a large portion of India's population, or at least those vocal on social media platforms, went on a crusade demanding its boycott. The threads #banLallSinghChaddha and #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha gave the impression that the movie was demeaning to the Indian psyche. 

It all stamped from the time following the events of the Gujerat riots. Aamir Khan, an essential icon in the average day-to-day Indian's going on, as all Bollywood of is and movie stars are, made a public statement that he, a Muslim, and his then-wife felt unsafe in intolerant India. Khan later earned the public ire in 2020 when he was photographed with the First Lady of Turkey, Emine Erdogan, after filming in Turkey. President Recep Tayyib Erdogan, at that time, was quite vocal about the aberration of article 370 in Kashmir and had clearly stated his pro-Pakistani stance on the Kashmir issue.

The keyboard warriors had all the ammunition to run down Aamir Khan. They thought his previous film 'PK' denigrated the Hindus. Then someone suggested that Aamir Khan was not alone. It seemed that the whole Bollywood mafia was concerted in bringing the values Indians held dear to them. The platform was set to bash Bollywood and the first families of Bollywood (i.e. actors who made it big due to their sheer family connections). Films that glorified India, promoted nationalism and tried to re-narrate India's past history were given publicity and feted.

People may say that cancel culture and mob mentality are just rearing their ugly heads in public space. They are telling Aamir Khan and the likes, with their newfound Indian nationalism as the world becomes more and more inclusive, to mind their words if they wish to make money out of them. They would not continue taking all the Indian bashing anymore.

Perhaps because Netflix and the other OTTs just opened the floodlights to other new non-Bollywood mafia-linked sons and daughters of actors, people have realised that they do not need Bollywood to feel good. People have also discovered that a wealth of gems are being churned out of other Indian language cinemas, especially in the South. 

To be fair, this film 'Laal Singh Chaddha' is not all bad and demeaning. The only slacking thing is it is a bit draggy. If one were to nitty pick, one could say the film defames jawans (warriors) by implying that even a mentally challenged individual can be deployed as a soldier. This is, of course, a stark in the Vietnam War, which the original film depicted when the US Army had its hands full replenishing the numbers who kept returning in body bags. Uncle Sam took in all!

Laal Singh's characterisation appears too familiar. We think we saw him in 'PK'. And the frequent 'Mmming….' gets a bit annoying after some time. Diehard Bollywood would be pleasantly surprised by a digitally de-aged Shahrukh Khan appearing in a cameo role as a fledgeling newbie trying to break into the silver screen. 

On a positive note, LSC excelled in creating an emotion that connected with viewers. The narrative gave a scroll down memory lane of many significant events that happened in India in recent years. The outdoor shooting is breathtaking. The idea of showing India's different skyline must have gone through Aamir Khan's mind when he saw Forrest Gump start running the whole span of the USA. Hence Khan must have bought the rights to remake the movie. 

It may not be groundbreaking, but LSC is indeed a wholesome, feel-good movie that the family could watch together without being encountered in embarrassing adult moments. 3/5.

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