A Good Way To Remember Old Times, by Lakhmi
As soon as I entered Nangla, I heard a clear sound. It was from a harmonium. Someone was playing the tune of an old film song. But his fingers did not sound practiced. I wondered where source of the sound was. The tune faltered more than once, but it wasn't difficult to recognise the song.
My feet followed my ears, trailing the sound. A man sat in front of the door to his home, wearing a vest and knickers, testing his hand on the harmonium. Another man was atop the roof next to his house, fixing it. Yesterday's heavy rains had called for quick repairs. He spoke from the roof, “Hey what is this tan-tan? Can't you play properly?” The man on the harmonium turned a deaf ear to this, and continued playing. He was already trying his level best to play in tune. I wanted to listen to his tunes for a while, and so joined the group of young children who had gathered to hear him, on the stone bench behind him. Everyone watched him intently. The woman next door from him, who was filling water and washing utensils, looked at him from time to time and smiled. Her scrub seemed to be moving to the tune from the harmonium.
When he stopped playing after some time, I asked said to him, “Bhai sahab, you play well and in tune.”
He smiled and asked one of the children to fetch his pants from inside the house. I responded to his smile, “Where did you learn to play the harmonium?”
He said, “I had started to learn when I first came to Nangla. That was in 1984. I used to work in Chandni Chowk then, which had several shops selling musical instruments. People who worked in the shops used to play some of the instruments sometimes. I used to watch them and long to play something as well. I bought this harmonium for Rs. 3000 from Chandni Chowk. I used to be able to play all kinds of songs then, but now I've lost my touch.”
“Why? Why is that?” I asked.
“I lost my job. So I rented out the harmonium to the temple nearby at Rs. 20 a day. I was jobless for a while and this harmonium was a big help during that time.”
“And now?”
“What now! Nangla has been broken. Perhaps the temple will also be broken soon, as will our house be. I work on contract, so sometimes I have work and sometimes I don't. So I spend my time playing the harmonium. And it's a good way to remember old times. So in the mornings, whenever I have time, I practice. It's a small way to keep myself entertained as well. I feel like my days are not empty. It's a small something that I do for myself.”
“Is there a song you specially like?”
He laughed and looked around. Everyone was looking at him. He pulled the harmonium towards himself and said, “Listen.” And he played the tune of the song, "Pardesiya, yeh sach hai piya, sab kehte hain main ne tujh ko dil de diya." (Oh stranger, it's true, they say I have lost my heart to you.)
The tune faltered. But his face did not turn from the harmonium, his eyes remained fixed in concentration on the keys. His fingers played the entire song, without pausing on the harmonium that had returned to his home as Nangla was being demolished.
When he stopped playing after some time, I asked said to him, “Bhai sahab, you play well and in tune.”
He smiled and asked one of the children to fetch his pants from inside the house. I responded to his smile, “Where did you learn to play the harmonium?”
He said, “I had started to learn when I first came to Nangla. That was in 1984. I used to work in Chandni Chowk then, which had several shops selling musical instruments. People who worked in the shops used to play some of the instruments sometimes. I used to watch them and long to play something as well. I bought this harmonium for Rs. 3000 from Chandni Chowk. I used to be able to play all kinds of songs then, but now I've lost my touch.”
“Why? Why is that?” I asked.
“I lost my job. So I rented out the harmonium to the temple nearby at Rs. 20 a day. I was jobless for a while and this harmonium was a big help during that time.”
“And now?”
“What now! Nangla has been broken. Perhaps the temple will also be broken soon, as will our house be. I work on contract, so sometimes I have work and sometimes I don't. So I spend my time playing the harmonium. And it's a good way to remember old times. So in the mornings, whenever I have time, I practice. It's a small way to keep myself entertained as well. I feel like my days are not empty. It's a small something that I do for myself.”
“Is there a song you specially like?”
He laughed and looked around. Everyone was looking at him. He pulled the harmonium towards himself and said, “Listen.” And he played the tune of the song, "Pardesiya, yeh sach hai piya, sab kehte hain main ne tujh ko dil de diya." (Oh stranger, it's true, they say I have lost my heart to you.)
The tune faltered. But his face did not turn from the harmonium, his eyes remained fixed in concentration on the keys. His fingers played the entire song, without pausing on the harmonium that had returned to his home as Nangla was being demolished.
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Sabiha Al-Issa
@ 02.07.2006 15:57 CESTNo new comments allowed (anymore) on this post.