Anil Gode, the man with an Accordion

The city of Pune is almost a goldmine to me as my daughter Prit, her husband Ravi and their children Aadya (8 years) as well as Udit (3 years) live there.  In addition, to someone as mad after Accordion as I am, a city that houses the legendry Accordion maestro in the name of Shri Enoch Daniels is a great incentive. As if this is not enough, there lives another champion Accordionist Shri Suhaaschandra Kulkarni. Pune is residence to Shri Amit Vaidya; another ace Accordion player. Over more than five years of friendship, I keep talking to Amit about the Accordion and its exponents. When I was talking to Amit while doing a feature on him for this Blog, he dropped a name more than once. He said the artist was someone very senior as well as a reputed one and then asked me, “Haven’t you ever heard about him? He is a professional and comes often to perform in Amdavad.”  

But then like everywhere else, even in Amdavad, the programmes are sold by the names of the singers and very rarely by the name of orchestra. The individual instrument players take a back seat. If at all, in the middle of the programme, the compere would fast go through the names of them. So I could not recollect if I had ever heard about or listened to the artist whom Amit had referred to.

It was somewhere in November 2014 that I was teletalking to Shri Gajanan Navathey, yet another very good Accordion player who is residing in Pune. He said, “Are you sure, you haven’t ever heard him or heard about him? But then he is too good to be not known to you”. Now I made up my mind to meet and to listen to the man both, Amit Vaidya and Gajanan Navathey were so fondly referring to, namely Shri Anil Gode. 

 I requested Gajananji to kindly inform me whenever Anil Gode was to visit Amdavad and so he did within one month. He instructed to me that I should go and meet the artist at Tagore Hall of Amdavad in the evening of the same day. I managed to buy the entry pass for the show and went straight backstage. As I met the man, I could place him instantaneously as the one who used to play Accordion for Melody Makers, an internationally famed orchestra of yester years.  This group used to hold shows in Amdavad and I don’t think I missed any of them!

Shri Gode greeted me warmly. As the show was about to begin, we decided to meet during the intermission. That was exactly what we did for nearly 15 minutes. We exchanged our phone numbers and promised each other to keep in touch not only virtually but also physically as and when possible.

For two years however, we kept crossing each other. On his visit to Amdavad, I would be away. Similarly when I would call him prior to my visit to Pune, he would invariably be away! Finally, one fine morning of the last week of this February I received a phone call from Shri Gode, inviting me to attend his one man performance in Pune on 26^th of March. I did not want to miss this opportunity and I made sure I did not miss it. I booked my tickets, packed my bags and what happened in Pune, is following below....

I reached Pune on 25^th Morning. 26^th of March will remain itched deep in my memory as the noon was spent talking with Shri Enoch Daniels and in the evening I got to listen to Shri Anil Gode rendering one gem after another, manoeuvring his Hohner brand Accordion so swiftly.  Let us enjoy two of the songs he played over there . One is ‘Zamin se Hame Asamaan Par’ from film Adalat and the other is ‘Aiye Meheraban’ from film Howrah Bridge.

At the end of the programme, he asked me to meet him the next evening at the cultural centre of Pune, ‘Bal Gandharva Natyagruh’. Come the next evening and as I reached the venue quite in time, he was already waiting me with a warm smile. We sat together for almost 100 minutes and talked at length about himself and his Accordion (Not that the two are separable!). Following is the outcome of that interaction.

Question: Tell me about the early years of your life and how did you take fancy over Accordion.

Answer: “I was born on 11^th of December 1946 in the city of Pune. I have spent my entire lifetime here. Like a typical Maharashtrian family, mine was essentially a music oriented one. We had an old Harmonium over which I used to try my fingers. In my childhood days, Radio Ceylon (Now Shri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation) was very popular among the lovers of Hindi film music. Every Thursday, between 8.00 – 8.30 am there used to be on air, a programme of film songs being rendered using musical instruments. I used to wait eagerly for that. I would sit before the Radio with our Harmonium and would try to play along with the song being aired. Quite often, one of the songs in that programme would be on Accordion being played by Shri Enoch Daniels, who has been my hero ever since. I fell in love with the instrument and the artist. In the year 1961, a fund raising programme was held where I got to see and listen to  Enoch Daniels and Van Shipley ( Famous Hawaiin Guitar Player ) perform live on the stage. I saw the Accordion for the first time then. That was when I made up my mind to become an Accordion player, the first thing in my life. Knowing fully well that the Accoedion was far far out of my reach, I played Harmonium with all my zeal. I started playing Mouth Organ too.”

Question: How and when did Accordion enter the scene?

Answer: “Since I had gained reasonably good command over Harmonium by 1965, I started dreaming of buying Accordion, learning to play it and taking up a career in music. But what went against the idea was the fact that I scored more than 71% in my S.S.C. Board examination (Readers, please note, this happened in 1965.)! This led my parents to get me admitted to Science faculty. Thus my father wanted me to study hard and make a decent academic career. He did not appreciate the idea that his son should take up music as a career. He was of the opinion that music can at the most be acceptable as hobby, not any further. Thus temporarily, project Accordion was put off. Though I was disappointed, I did not lose heart. I kept practicing over Harmonium. I had earned good reputation as I used to play in cultural programmes at College and at University level. Ultimately in 1967, I bought an Accordion from Sharad Moghe, my cousin. My father was not very happy about this but as I started playing the instrument, he understood that Accordion and I were made for each other. He encouraged me to go ahead then.”

“In 1970, I bought a superior(Scandelli Brand)Accordion from a Parsi gentleman. He demanded Rs. 4500/- for it. I had only Rs.3100/- with me. When I told him I was falling short by Rs.1700/-, he put a condition.  Said he, “Play this Accordion, you young man! If you will play to my expectation, I will give it to you for the amount you have.”  I played right then and he was more than happy! This is how I got a splendid deal and my lifelong association with this wonderful instrument started. Believe me, I am more than enjoying it.”

Question: Where, when and how did you learn the finer points of playing Accordion?

Answer: “Honestly, I have never had what can be said the formal training for this. The keyboard part of Accordion was not much of a problem as I had acquired good command over Harmonium. It was the art of manoeuvring the chord buttons on the bellow which was important. Shri Suhas Nargolkar gave me very useful guidance for that. Over the passage of time, I got acquainted to the art. There have been two gentlemen who have taught me the art of playing music. They are Shri Nandu Belvelkar and Shri Vikas Paranjape.  Shri Paranjape also taught me the methodology of writing music notations. Have you heard that joke about a boy who said he could write stories but could not read them? Similarly, I can write notations both, Indian and Western way but by natural instinct I don’t read them I’d rather say I don’t have to read them! I have always played by instinct and intuition.”

Question: When did the stage performances start?

Answer: “I had been performing on stage right from my school days. Even during college, I performed at College, University and State level programmes quite often. I got my first chance to play at a professional show when famous Hawaiian Guitarist Sardar Hazarasinh performed here in Pune. I must have been about 25-26 then. बस, फिर तो अपनी चल पड़ी! The organizers liked me more because not only would I play Accordion, I would also write notations for entire orchestra (with a gleam in his eyes, he added, ‘I won’t write my part’!). I was invited to play with the renowned orchestra of Pune, the Melody Makers. This became a strong association as I travelled a lot, within and out of the Country with this group.”

“As I travelled across the Country, more and more people connected to show biz came to know me. As a result, I started getting calls from reputed show houses. By 1983, I had participated in the programmes of many reputed artists. At that time, I considered having my own show house. I thought that prior to that, I should develop more proficiency over Accordion. I went to U.K. and learnt much more about the art of Accordion playing. I participated in and arranged a couple of stage shows over there. As I came back, I was a much more confident man. The first assignment I got was to arrange the orchestra for Shri Manna Dey’s stage programme. The legendary gentleman was so happy at my services, he made me an integral part of his stage show troupe. The word spread and I got assignments for stage shows of Shri Talat Muhammad and of Shri Kishorkumar."

With Kishore Kumar and Amit Kumar

 "I also got a chance to be part of the troupe of Smt.Asha Bhosle that travelled overseas. Ashaji was extremely happy with me. In the year 1999, I got a big chance to arrange the orchestra for the stage show of Shri O.P.Naiyer. At the end, the maestro was ecstatic at my contribution and praised me to no end. He presented me with a Rs.Hundred note, on which he wrote, ‘Anil, you are best arranger of my music'! As luck would have it, a very close friend of mine took that note and never returned it, saying it was lost! I also got to arrange for a stage show by Famous Lakshmikant  Pyarelal duo.”

Question: When you were doing so good, did not you consider going for a full time professional career? The idea of joining film music industry must have given you a bite!

Answer:” At that stage and at that age, it was only too natural that I was bitten by the idea. But I had already acquired a decent, well paying job with Bank of Maharashtra. The provision of pension was there too. So I decided to have best of both the worlds. Besides, the bosses were very appreciative of my musical prowess. This is how I could enjoy my music as well as financial security without much struggle. I am thankful to my bosses and colleagues at the Bank.”

Question: I know there are some very good Accordion players right here in Pune. How do you rate them?

Answer: “The first and the foremost is Shri Enoch Daniels. Like I said in the beginning, right from my early childhood, I have been in his awe. I don’t have words to tell you how good he is. Then there is Amit Vaidya who is excellent. We also have Chandu Kale and Gajanan Nawathey who are very good too. And yes, there is a young man Sameer Sapre, who is holding great promise. There are some more but I can’t recall names at the moment. Last but not the least; let me add the maestro to the list. Though he did not stay  in Pune, I have tremendous respect for (late) Shri Kersi Lord. He knew me personally and encouraged me a lot”

Question: Before we conclude, two very personal questions....

1) A bird cooed in my ears that you can play as many as 1200 film songs instantaneously. Can you, REALLY?

2) Please say a little about your family.

Answer: “(Smiling naughtily)Who has been spreading such exaggerating stories about me? On a serious note, well, with more than fifty years of experience, I’d say I can play about 800-900 songs without prior preparation. And I can play about 100-150 songs with a little practice. (Looking up) It is all his grace (Folds his hands).”

“Answering your second question, at 70 I am a content man, spending retired and peaceful life in the company of my wife Ajita. Adwait, one of our sons is settled in U.S. while Parag, the other one is here in Pune only. They are well settled in their career. I keep myself engaged by still travelling a lot for the programmes and while in Pune, I teach music to genuinely interested few.”

So that was it. A very straight forward and down to earth Anil Gode talked about his lofe and his first love, viz Accordion. He is too modest to be talking about his accomplishments and the recognition he has got. He however shared a photograph of his with Mirco Patarini, the President of world leader Accordion manufacturer compny, Scandelli. He was highly impressed with Anil Gode’s control over the art of Accordion playing.

With Mirco Patarini

As it was time to bid Good bye, I wondered if he would agree to me recording him play at least one song. His response was very positive. He said, “But then you DID record a couple of songs in yesterday’s programme, didn’t you? Anyway, if you want, we will do one more.” As luck would have it, he was to fly to Indore for a programme the next day. “I will ask someone to record me playing the song of your choice and will share it with you later.” said he. My Faramaish was for a C. Ramchandra composition from film Naushervan E Adil, ‘Bhul Jaye sare ghum’. Please find below, the same being rendered by this artist, sitting in the suite of an Indore hotel.

That is it. Shri Anil Gode ji, thanks a lot.

Acknowledgement: The Photographs kindly provided by Shri Anil Gode
                                The Videos are procured from You Tube. These are not to be used for                                                     professional interests.

Enoch Daniels, The Living Legend

I must have been an Infant of barely five or six when I listened to a distant relative play a strange instrument at a family get together. So amazed was I that I went straight to the artist, asking him what was the name of the instrument and if I could lay my hand upon it. My father came at the rescue of both, the artist and the instrument. He took me away, telling me that this one, called an Accordion, was too heavy for me and he would certainly buy me the one meant for the ‘artist’ of my age and of my build!

Little did my father know that he had made a commitment that would cost him dearly. I did not allow him peaceful sleep for a few nights (his days were spent at the office, to his good luck!). To be able to find  
back his comfort, he brought home a card board made toy Accordion for me. His problem was not resolved; it was only transferred to my grandfather who had to bear with my untiring renditions of the ‘Accordion’ most part of the day. Tired of this, he would tell my mother or grandmother, “Arre, somebody take this Enoch Daniels away from me!” It was then that I understood that Enoch Daniels was almost a synonym to Accordion. As I grew older, my fascination for Accordion and instrumental music grew more and more. The time of my adolescence was the golden period of Hindi film music. Any song that would have pieces of Accordion would immediately make a deep dent in my mind. Every time I got to listen to a good piece of Accordion, I would invariably associate that to Enoch Daniels. Thus, I developed the same fascination for the artist which I had for this wonderful instrument called Accordion. It was later that the idea that other Accordion players were there too, dawned upon me. I would make all possible efforts to be able to listen to the radio programmes with instrumental rendition of film music, hoping that there would be at least one song by Enoch Daniels and most times, I wasn’t disappointed.

As I grew older, I yearned to see the maestro in flesh and blood and listen to him perform live. The dream came true somewhere in 1979 when a stage programme of C. Ramchandra took place in the city of Amdavad. I attended the programme and went to see Ramchandraji during the intermission. He obliged me by not only talking to me but also by introducing me to my childhood hero, THE Enoch Daniels! Enoch Sir was very cordial to me and listened to my effervescent enthusiasm with patience and a smiling face! Following that, I was able to meet Enoch Sir a couple of times over the space of 35 years. From a young stalwart of 1979, he was transformed into an aged veteran when I met him in 2013 at a musical night. Age had not taken away from him, the energy and enthusiasm as I found him still standing tall and straight at the age of 80! 

Young Man of 80 plus !

In that programme, he took to Accordion first and to Piano afterwards, demonstrating clearly that he was no different from his 1979 version. It was then that I came to know that he had shifted his base from Mumbai to Pune where he was leading a peaceful (but certainly not retired) life.

It was last week of August 2016 when upon my visit to the city of Pune, I wanted to do much more than spending quality time with my Grand Children. I wanted to meet Shri Enoch Daniels and request him to allow me to do a feature on him for my Blog. I had no clue however to connect to him. I had a good back up in Shri Madankumar Sharma, the famed mouth organ maestro of our country. I knew he was friendly to Enoch Sir. I was lucky that Madanji readily obliged me by calling and talking to Enoch Sir about my plans, which got an ‘always welcome’ nod. As bonus, Madanji also granted me the permission to do a feature on himself which I did and have posted here in the month of September 2016. Unfortunately, on the day previous to my appointment with him, Enoch Sir was needed to be hospitalized as he was down with dengue fever. Disappointed though I was, I told myself, there was always an ‘another time’. On the day I had to leave for Amdavad, I thought of enquiring about his well being. I dialled his Landline phone, thinking that a family member or a domestic help would pick up the line. To my utter surprise and sheer pleasure, the maestro himself answered the phone! He said, “Yes, Madan(ji) had told me that you were in Pune for a week and had also fixed date with me for you but I took ill, you know! I was in the hospital and have been discharged only yesterday”. He added, “When you are in Pune again, I will definitely make sure we can meet and chat at my residence”.

And sure he made! I was thinking of a visit to Pune during the last week of the month of this March. Before finalizing my plan, I tried to contact Enoch Sir in the first week of March. Despite several attempts to contact him through his cell phone and his landline number, there was no response. I thought he would have probably gone on a trip. I almost decided to postpone my plan when on 12^th of March; I got a phone call from Enoch Sir, asking me if I was planning a trip to Pune and if yes, he would be happy to see me! He said, some social obligations kept him away and that was why he could not be contacted when I was trying to call him. “Once you are in Pune, just give me a call and we will finalize everything” said the maestro.

So, ultimately it happened. I reached Pune on 25^th of March and as per his instruction, called him. He asked me to reach his house at 12.00 noon on 26^th, giving me details of his residential address and how to reach there. As I reached a sprawling bungalow in a posh society, I found a very cordial and smiling Enoch Sir greeting me with a “Hello, welcome, please make yourself comfortable”.

A warm, Smiling Welcome

 

Please find the following, the extract of a maestro talking to a novice blogger about his life and his accomplishments in most unassuming manner.

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How did The Journey Begin:

Enoch Daniels as the world knows him, was born in the month of April, 1933 in the city of Pune to a God loving and law abiding couple. He was among six sons of the family. The church culture drew each son of the family to the choir music. Young Enoch was drawn to the organ which he started playing at a very tender age. He soon picked up the early lessons of the western music from the missionaries associated to the church. One Fr. Slade  recognised the talent of the young lad and gave him the first lessons of western music. This prompted him to learning to play Piano too. Though he was fast attaining proficiency over both, Organ and Piano, he found that the limitation with these instruments was their difficult portability. So he decided to also learn to play an instrument that was easily portable. By the time he entered the college, he had earned fame in the city of Pune as a promising artist. It so happened that young Enoch Daniels was to participate in the youth festival event. One of his classmates offered a baby Accordion to him. He started practicing vigorously over the Accordion. It was not very long that he performed up to national level with that Accordion to win prizes and accolades. He was about 20 then.

This was the time he had to choose the career path as well. He had a strong inclination for joining Armed Force. But then the speed with which he was gaining fame and popularity with his musical prowess drew him towards the field of entertainment. He finally decided for the latter. This landmark decision was accompanied with three major events.

1) He started learning Accordion much more sincerely. Whatever he had picked up while learning piano from Fr. Slade was now also practiced over the Accordion.

2) He acquired a full size Accordion from a European missionary who was returning to his motherland.

3) Once in possession of the full size Accordion, he thought of going professional. For that, he decided to move to Mumbai. After studying for three years in Wadia College of Pune, he got himself admitted in Bhavan’s College of Mumbai, where he completed his Graduation. Bhavan’s College also offered him ample opportunities to participate in various cultural events.

How did He enter the world of Film Industry Music:

As luck would have it, the friend who had offered his Accordion for the youth festival was instrumental in this. His uncle was a film distributor in Mumbai. That gentleman identified the amazing talent of young Enoch and introduced him to Sachin Dev Burman. He was called for an audition and so impressed was S.D. Burman that he called young Enoch for a recording scheduled for the next month. “Though S.D. Burman was much much my senior, over the passage of time we became very friendly”, said Enoch Sir. He was barely 22 at that time. There was no looking back. He made his own road to success with extraordinary talent and with his willingness to learn new things. While working in the music world, he came in contact with famous Hawaiian Guitar player Van Shipley. This resulted into a lifelong bond of both, professionalism and friendship.

Van Shipley, Talat Muhammad, Enoch Daniels

With C.Ramchandra

His ability to play Accordion and Piano equally well and also to read and write staff notations made him popular with music directors, arrangers and fellow musicians very soon. He started playing for Music Directors like (apart from S.D.Burman) C.Ramchandra, Naushad, O.P. Naiyer, Madan Mohan, Khayyam,Vasant Desai and last but certainly not the least, Shankar Jaykishan.

Enoch Daniels(Left) with C.Ramchandra and others

Enoch Daniels(Extreme Right) with Madan Mohan(Center),shaking hands with Talat Muhammad

He joined Van Shipley over the tour to East Africa at the age of 23. During this very successful tour, he not only played Accordion but was also entrusted the duty of arranging the music for every show the troupe produced. The way he successfully carried out his newly acquired assignment boosted his demand in Mumbai music industry. This was followed by yet another successful tour to Mauritius with Talat Muhammad and Van Shipley.

Standing Tall!

 To be an integral part of foreign tours became almost a habit as he traveled with the likes of Muhammad Rafi and Manna Dey. 

With Muhammad Rafi

This brought him the reputation of being a very capable and responsible artist. He also started arranging for the stage programmes of Talat muhammad, Kishorkumar, Dattaram and many more. Said Enoch Sir, “The pinnacle was the opportunity to accompany Lata Mangeshkar during her famous Royal Albert Hall (London) programme.” As if this was not enough, he was contacted by Columbia, the famous recording company for cutting records of popular hindi film songs played over Accordion. Even during these recordings, he made arranging himself. These records were sold like hot Pakodas! He became a regular arranger/performer of a number of overseas shows and kept on cutting records with Columbia and with HMV.

Recording Session For HMV Company

By the time he was barely 27, he had attained so much fame and popularity that his name became synonymous with Accordion. I take liberty here to remind the readers of what I have said at the beginning of this feature in the second paragraph. My grandfather used to call me ‘Enoch Daniels’, realizing my craze for Accordion in about 1958-59! He was definitely not among the ardent lovers of film music but still he knew that there was something called Accordion and there was someone called Enoch Daniels! And that too in the era when Radio was the only media and it played the film music only for a limited slot of time. This speaks volumes about the fame Enoch Sir had attained at a reasonably young age.

A promising young man

He also started arranging music for Marathi films with reputed composers like Dattaram Waadkar, Sudhir Fadke, Ram Kadam and few others. He composed music for advertising jingles as well. He was involved in arranging music for famous Nursery Rhymes recordings rendered by Priti Sagar. Following that, he arranged music for the recordings of O.P. Naiyer, Salil Chaudhari, N.Datta and Khayyam. He arranged background score for films like ‘Kabhi Kabhi’, ‘Trishul’ and ‘Chhoti Si Baat’. He also composed entire background music for Shekhar Kapoor’s film ‘Masoom’. For this film, the songs were composed by Salil Chaudhari.  As if all this was not enough, he composed music for a Konkani Film ‘Suzanne’.  

“A good arranger is the one who would produce best possible results with minimum possible number of instruments and people believed I could do that” said he.

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As I thanked him for giving me a detailed account of his illustrious career in most humble manner, I asked him if I could ask a few personal questions. “Well, just go ahead. My life has always been an open book”, came the warm response. So, following is a sort of rapid fire round!

Me: Did you ever think of making a career of a full time composer or that of a full time arranger?

Enoch Sir: “No. I believed that for everyone there is a niche and for every niche, there is an individual to fill in the space. I never wanted to go and push myself where people were already doing very good work. Besides, I was extremely busy with my job of playing Accordion and Piano for recordings and was travelling a lot. 

While I was happy and satisfied with what I was doing, why should have I tried to snatch away something my friends were doing happily?”

Me: Who was/were your favourite composer/s?

Enoch Sir: “I would not like to pick up names. I clicked well with all of whom I worked with. Whereas I have tremendous respect for S.D.Burman Saab and Naushad Saab, I was always happy working with everyone in the field. Those were the days when there was a great deal of comradery among all of us. There used to be rehearsals and rehearsals before a song actually went for recording. This made a strong bond amongst all involved in the process.”

Me: Which are your memorable songs, in which your rendition was the highlighted?

Enoch Sir: “It is very difficult to remember now. There used to be times when I was so busy recording, sometimes I wouldn’t even know the name of the film the song was being recorded for. But I can pick up a couple of them. My Accordian rendition for ‘Bees Saal Baad’ song ‘Bekarar karke Hame Yun  N Jaaie’ became quite popular.”

{Note:  Please allow the timer to run. Note the Accordion pieces between 12 seconds – 14seconds (to be depicted as 0’.12” -  0’.14”), 0’.21” - 0’.30”, 1’.52” - 1’.53”, 2’.01 – 2’.10” junctions.}

“Apart from that, All songs of film ‘Love in Tokyo’ had noteworthy pieces of Accordion which I had privilege to play. And yes, ‘Jalte Hai Jis ke Liye’ an immortal number from film ‘Sujata’ had very subtle Accordion pieces, which were played by me.”

{Note: Please allow the timer to run. Note the way Accordion pieces are played. This is the subtlety. Pay attention at 0’.1” – 0’.3”, 0’.6”- 0’.7”, 0’.29”- 0’.30”, especially find the wonderful use of the bellow between 1’.36”- 1’.38” and 2’.30- 2’.32” junctions.}

Me: There is a large population of your admirers who associate you with the great duo Shankar Jaykishan. How far do you endorse this?

Enoch Sir: “As a matter of fact, I joined this duo only during making of the music for film ‘Love in Tokyo’. Earlier, there was Sumit (Mitra) who played a lot for them. Like I said earlier, I never wanted to make intrusion into an already existing system. Every composer had a team of his own and it was because of working together that they came out with desired results. In my times, apart from Sumit (Mitra), there was Gudi (Servai) and there was Kersi (Lord). 

Burji Lord(L), Enoch Daniels(C) and Kersi Lord(R).

All these were very good players and we were quite friendly to each other. So, contrary to the popular belief that I played a lot for S J, I did play for them but there were others too.”

Me: Would you mind elaborating upon the film music of now? How far has it drifted from that of your times?

Enoch Sir: “Look, music is the most divine gift of God to us mortals. As I have perceived, the music for the human race originated with the rhythm of heartbeats. So, ‘Taal’ came first and then came the ‘Naad’. Whatever has been happening in the world of music is just a follow up of natural phenomena. I do not claim that music of now is inferior to that of our time. The difference is actually a reflection of the market demand. In our times, the music was created. There used to be number of sessions where the composer(s), arranger, singer(s), a few knowledgeable instrumentalists, lyricist and director/producer of the film would participate and a good amount of brainstorming would result into the final composition. The notation for the song would be written with meticulous detailing. Next, a series of rehearsals used to take place and then the final recording. Today, the music is synthesized. It is kind of screw driver technology! As a result, like all other products in the market, even the music has become a ‘use and throw’ product. Still, there are good people in the field and some very nice songs often hit the market. In my humble opinion, the music of our time was ‘मा के हाथ की रोटी’ while what we get mostly today is Pitza ordered from the  maeket! फर्क तो रहेगा ही, ना?”

Me: Did you ever want to do anything else than music? If yes, what?

Enoch Sir: “Like I told you in the beginning, I had a strong urge to join the armed force. But then I chose music. I used to be good at painting during my school days. I also loved to travel. Though there was little I could do with painting, I could travel a lot. My profession was more of my passion. And that took me to various parts of the world. I have enjoyed what I have been able to do, no regrets for what I could not do.”

Me: A little about your family, Sir?

Enoch Sir: “Why, Sure. You have already met Grace, my wife (Yes Sir, I had already met a beautiful lady of 75+, who welcomed me with a warm smile and treated me with delicious home made Kokam Sharbat).  

The Lady Behind The Legend's Success - Smt. Grace Daniels

Our Son Ramaya Daniels is a very good musician himself but has chosen the profession of hospitality. He has his base in Banglore. Our daughter Ramona Borthwick is in U.S. and is teaching western music there.”

Me: Sir, Your message for your admirers and for those who want to make a career in the field of music please?

Enoch Sir: “Well, my best wishes for all. That is my message!”

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As I was about to leave, he asked me about how our Harmonica Club of Gujarat activities were going on. Both, Smt.Grace and Shri Enoch Daniels are extremely warm and affectionate people. They readily obliged by posing for a few photographs. “Do visit us again, you are hardly 20 minutes walk away fron here” was his way of saying bye bye. As I reached home, I realized that the photos I had captured were not of very good quality. The next day, I called Enoch Sir and asked if I may visit him to click the photos again! He agreed readily. He also granted me the permission to use his photos available on the internet sites. I went and clicked a few photos, including the first selfie of my life and that too with the man whom I admire from the bottom of my heart.Thanks a lot, Enoch Sir, you will never know the pleasure you have provided me with. Thanks, again.

My Selfie with the Maestro !

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I mentioned in the early part of this feature that the maestro was born in the month of April 1933. I deliberately avoided mentioning the date. By sheer co incidence, it is 16^th of April 1933. As I am posting this, he is completing 84 years of life.  Ladies and Gentlemen, let us all wish The Great Enoch Daniels all the very best on this auspicious day. May all good things continue happening to you, Enoch Sir, and to your near and dear ones for ever. Amen.

Acknowledgement:

The photos are procured from net, with kind permission of Shri Enoch Daniels.

The Videos of both the songs are procured from You tube. These are not to be used for professional interests.

Amit Vaidya and His Accordion

Please listen to this song from film ‘Howrah Bridge’. In the light of other very popular songs of the film ( ‘Aaiye Meheraban’ and ‘Mera Naam chin Chin Chun’), this song went into oblivion. Not many are even aware of it! However, it is equally well composed and orchestrated as the other two mentioned above. This particular one has excellent pieces of Accordion played by Goody Servai, the legendary Accordion player. 

As it can easily be noticed, the Accordion pieces during the prelude as well as interlude are are extremely difficult to play. An accomplished Accordionist only could play these flawlessly.  Now please listen to the same song being played by a Pune based Accordionist.

A careful listening to this rendition shows the mastery of the artist over the instrument. While his right hand moves swiftly over the reeds of Accordion, his left one handles the bellow and especially the cord buttons there upon. Without going into the intricacies of this wonderful musical instrument, I may please be allowed to mention that the bellow and the cord buttons are the features of the Accordion which make it so special. Only an expert player with dedicated, vigorous practice of years and of course, amazing natural talent can ‘play’ Accordion in real sense. And do I have to add here, this artist has done it very efficiently? Any music lover would fall high over hills upon this performance - I did.

I happened to listen to this clip for the first time in November of 2011. There is no mention of the name of the artist in this upload. I desperately wanted to find out who he was and after an extensive search, I could trace Amit Vaidya from Pune as being the one. Next, I managed to procure his contact details and once I had the phone number, I called him that very night. His response was very warm. We clicked instantaneously and our friendship has only grown stronger ever since. He is such a dear that I will refer to him in the ongoing account as Amit only. No ‘Shri’, ‘Mr.’ Or ‘Ji’ business. He’d appreciate this, I am sure.

In the times to come, I became addicted to Amit’s rendition. I started searching for more and more of his uploads. There were only a few, however. I started sharing those with my friend Chandrashekhar Pandya who too is extremely fond of Accordion. So impressed were we with his videos that we thought of inviting Amit to Amdavad for a live performance.

When I called him to ask if he would accept our invitation and if yes, what would be his terms, his response was very positive. “I am doing stage programmes for the promotion of this wonderful instrument which is slowly moving towards extinction. If you want me to come and perform in Amdavad, all I expect is second A/C class rail travel, stay and of course, an appreciative audience. I don’t charge for performance since it is my hobby”, he said.

It was on 31^st of March 2012 that Amit Vaidya performed in an auditorium of Gandhinagar. The audience was spell bound and he received standing ovation from time to time. This clip of that programme shows him playing ‘Aaiye Meheraban’ from film ‘Howarah Bridge'. This particular song demonstrates how well he has operated the bellow and the cord buttons the way only a few can.

We have remained in touch ever since. Though not very frequently, we have managed to meet in person at least once a year and electronic communication technology keeps us attached virtually. 

It was during my recent visit to Pune, at the suggestion of a dear friend Shri Biren Kothari, that I had made up my mind to do a feature on Amit. When I called him, he more than agreed. He invited me to his house on 9^th of this month. I took along with me apart from a Pen and a Note book, a camera to record a couple of his live performances. We talked about his life, his love for Accordion and also about his future plans. Following is the extract of that good time I spent with him over delicious Halwa which I relished as much as I did the communication and the music.

                                                         

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Born on 2^nd February 0f the year 1972 to very literate and cultured parents, Amit showed inclination for fine arts from early years of his life. A famous theatre personality of Marathi, Shri Vasant Kanitkar was his maternal grand uncle and Amit grew in the ambience of drama and music all around him.

Shri Vasant Kanitkar

 In his childhood he had nurtured a dream to dedicate himself to the acting and become a torch bearer to Vasant Kanitkar. He started participating in dramas while in primary school and made a good name of himself. He won many prizes for acting at different levels. At the same time, he started playing Mouth Organ and in very little time developed fascination over it. There came a stage where he found himself at the cross roads and he knew he HAD to choose between Theatre and Music. It was now that he decided to go ahead with music. This happened when he was about 12. 

Young Amit Vaidya

 In the early years, he developed good command over Mouth Organ and next he set his eyes upon Key board instruments, starting naturally with a Harmonium. In the time to come, he took fancy upon Accordion. There were two stalwart Accordion players in Pune in 1991-92, Shri Anil Gode and Shri Suhaaschandra Kulkarni. Amit took basic lessons from these two, intermittently however. In 1994, he acquired his own Accordion, a second hand one at the cost of Rs. 18,000/-.  He always felt within himself, he wanted to do much more.

Amit considered learning the use of notations for playing Accordion. For this, it was imperative to learn western music. He thought of learning Piano. Since there was nobody in Pune to teach him Piano the way he wanted to, he thought of finding somebody in Mumbai. In the year 1999, He went to ‘Furtados’, the famous store for musical instruments located in Dhobi Talao area of Mumbai. A shop assistant told him that there was someone in the name of Shri Cyrus Panthky residing in Dadar, who gave Piano lessons. He hired a taxi and rushed to the address as given by the shop assistant. Cyrusji was about to leave when Amit reached his house and introduced self. Surprised at this unwarranted visitor, Cyrus Panthky however gave Amit a considerate ear and agreed to teach him on weekends.

By this time Amit had graduated with a degree in Plastic engineering and had acquired a decent job in Pune. On Saturdays, he’d catch an early train to Mumbai, take lessons from Cyrus Panthky only to return home a tired man after hours of commuting , practice and toiling hard in the process. But all that toiling was holding very precious value to the young man. While in Pune, most of his free time would be spent practicing over his Accordion, what he learnt in Mumbai over Piano. 

With Grand Piano

In 2004, he had to move to Europe as his job demanded so. The four years that he spent in Europe were very fruitful as he went on to acquire as much knowledge as he could regarding the intrinsic details of the making of Accordion and also learnt more of western style of Accordion playing. While there, he kept in touch with Cyrus Panthky and kept him updated about his progress. The Piano however had to make room for Accordion.

Amit returned in 2008 and it was not very long before Cyrus Panthky took ill. His condition worsened and he succumbed to the disease in 2009. “This was an emotionally disturbing time for me” says Amit. He decided to dedicate himself to the promotion of Accordion. As a part of his effort, he delivers an infotainment programme ‘The world of Accordion’ every year on first Sunday of the month of May, which is celebrated as ‘World Accordion Day’. As already mentioned, he does not charge or even invite sponsorship. He spends from his pocket.

Open Invitation , Free for all

Every year, he designs his programme based upon different themes. He invites renowned Accordion players of Hindi film music industry and even internationally acclaimed European Artists for these programmes. As can be seen in the photograph, Shri Kersi Lord, the legendary musician of hindi film industry was invited to one such event. Needless to add here, such programmes are eagerly awaited by music lovers of Pune.

With Kersi Lord

Amit is acclaimed in the international circuit for almost a decade now. A very befitting compliment has come from Scandalli, an Italian company known world over for making very high quality Accordions. In their website, the company mentions names of reputed artists on the international circuit. They have made a mention to Amit Vaidya. A matter of pride for not only him, for everybody who knows him.

Scandalli Website

At 44, he is a successful man by all possible standards. What next? I asked. I also wondered if he ever thought of making a career in the music industry. He is very clear about what he wants to do. ‘Six more years of professional life. At 50, I would quit all this to pursue my love for Accordion where I will teach youngsters and will do everything that I can for the promotion of Accordion. Answering your second question, I never wanted to make Accordion my source of income. I have seen the music industry from very close quarters and I never wanted to indulge into the games an artist has to play to sustain him in the race.” He also wants to do a little more with theatre. He does indulge into it whenever he can manage to snatch a little time from his busy schedule of profession, music and family responsibilities. In 2014, he did a one man Vachikam show of a play by Shri P.L. Deshpande.

'Vachikam' of a P.L. Deshpande Play

The fascination for theatre is alive within himself. “When I am playing a song, both the tune as well as lyrics of that song play within my mind. I do not merely play the song, I’d rather say I enact the song”, said he. Now was the time for the live recording. The following clip has him playing ‘Shola jo Bhadake’ from film ‘Albela’. Please mark how efficiently he is managing the Key board, the Bellow and the Cord buttons during the rendition.

Next we recorded ‘Yad n Jaye Bite Dino ki’ from film ‘Dil Ek Mandir. “Why this song?” one would wonder. He explains in the beginning, in anticipation. I would strongly suggest everyone to please listen to what he says. Following that, allow the time bar to run. Mark between 57 seconds to 1 min and 16 seconds, how the bellow control helps create the desired effect. Throughout the rendition, the rhythm is provided by manoeuvring of the bellow buttons. As if all this is not enough, please mark the fingering between 4 min and 55 seconds to 5 min 7 seconds. This is what an accomplished artist is capable of.

It was ‘Thanks for everything’ time. We have been meeting  and will continue to meet but personally, this was a precious and quality time spent with him which I will always remember very fondly.

Here are a few more performances by him.

  Many more of his performances are available on You tube. One waits for the year 2022, when he will turn 50 and as per his wish will turn into a full time Accordionist. Thanks a lot, Amit Vaidya and my Best Wishes for an all yielding future.

(Photos courtsey Amit Vaidya, 

Videos courtsey You tube)