The Instrumentalists

His meeting with Cawas Lord in 2002 remains deeply entrenched in Dinesh Ghate’s memory. After all,he is the musician who introduced percussion to Hindi film music. “In the early days of Indian cinema,there weren’t studios where songs would be recorded with an orchestra playing. The music arrangers,singers and instrumentalists would often be stationed under a tree where instruments would be played and the playback singers would sing. Cawas Lord was one of the first instrumentalists who gave Bollywood some of its finest music,” says Ghate,a Hindi film music lover. The following year,Ghate honoured Cawas Lord through his organisation Swar Aalap.

Swar Aalap started as an eight-page magazine in 2003 and it was initially called Dastak. A year later,it changed its name and along with the magazine it also introduced an annual programme that felicitated music arrangers and instrumentalists. Today,in its 10th year,Swar Aalap has done extensive work in the field of honouring the lesser-known artistes whose contribution to Hindi film music is immense. “Everyone remembers the names of the singers behind film songs. But what about those saxophone pieces,guitar solos,violin renditions,and percussion pieces? These successful songs would have been lost without those,” says Ghate. He recalls the time when legendary singers such as Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi refused to record when any of these top instrumentalists of the time weren’t present.

Originally from Indore,Ghate arrived in Mumbai with his father,who worked with the Indian Railways. He came from a family of music lovers. As he grew older,he wanted to know more about the making of each song he had heard. Nearly 10 years ago,he left his day job to focus on organising the musical programmes featuring these musicians and set up Swar Aalap.

At the event to be held at Ravindra Natya Mandir today,Swar Aalap will honour 93-year-old Nanji Bahadur,who has been an instrumentalist in Bollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Nanji has been one of the most prominent organ players in Bollywood,is known for his songs such as Mohe Bhool Gaye Saawariya,Bachpan Ki Mohabbat Ko and O Duniya Ke Rakhwale. “I wasn’t a trained musician; it was my hobby. But to be recognised for it even now feels special,”

says Nanji and recalls his

association with renowned composers,Naushad and

OP Nayyar.

At the programme,Swar Alap will also honour Pandit Damle,who is the only actor alive from the silent era and who played the role of a child artiste in Sant Tukaram. In the past,Swar Aalap has honoured Kersi Lord,Manohari Singh,Burjor Lord,Ustad Rais Khan,Leslie Godhino and Anthony Gonsalves.