There's magic in his fingers

As I was scanning the racks at Saptaswara Musicals, Mylapore, I could hear strains of fascinating music coming from the first floor. After a brief silence, it started again and this time, it was a downpour of ragas Sindhubhairavi, Mohanam, Thodi and Sankarabharanam. Unable to resist the urge, I darted upstairs to find a skinny, elderly man cleaning the reeds of a harmonium. Unperturbed by my presence he placed the reeds in position and started singing, and this time, his dancing fingers produced magical phrases of Hindolam. This man was 74-year-old P. Kanagaraj, a wizard at playing the harmonium and tuning it.

I went to meet him at his Vadapalani home, to get to know more about his journey so far. And he was more than willing to share his life. Born to the famous harmonium maker and musician Madurai N. Ponniah, Kanagaraj grew up in an atmosphere filled with music. His childhood days were spent in Coimbatore when his father played gottuvadhyam, harmonium, mandolin and tenor banjo for Tamil and Telugu films that included ‘Aryamala,' ‘Prithivirajan,' ‘Ashok Kumar' and ‘Araaichchimani.'

Added feature

“My father was the first to make a harmonium with dasavidha gamakas. An added feature was the instrument's capability of producing several tonal qualities that resembled instruments such as the flute, veena, sitar and the accordion. What is today possible through electronic manipulation on the keyboard was achieved by my father through simple adjustments of the reeds and their vibration. Due to invasion of music software and the electronic keyboard, the harmonium has lost its status as an instrument used for composing film songs. Thankfully, it still rules the roost in bhajans and Hindustani music.”

Kanagaraj goes on to demonstrate vocally how the harmonium crafted by his father helped in playing ragas such as Thodi and Varali with ease. Unfortunately the same was not patented and developed further by them. He has had formal training in vocal music under the tutelage of S.R.V. Sharma. Acquiring the skill of crafting a harmonium from his father, Kanagaraj is equally adept in tuning the reeds. This he attributes to the rigorous training his father gave him as a child. He fondly remembers how he was involved in making a pedal harmonium in 1951, exclusively for Sivaji Ganesan's drama group. In fact, his father set up a shop in Mount Road, Chennai.

Kanagaraj simultaneously started playing harmonium for Tamil plays during the period when they were dominated by songs rather than dialogue. This offered him enough scope to improve his playing skills and enhance his knowledge. He had played continuously for about a year in the Vaira Nataka Sabha for all their plays. Thereafter, he has been freelancing for all major theatre companies.

”Kattabomman, Sarvaadhikaari and D.S.P. are some plays for which I played the harmonium… those moments are etched in my memory till date.”

“Maestro Ilaiyaraja still uses the box (as the harmonium is sometimes referred to) made by my father for his brother Pavalar Varadarajan in 1946. You can find the words ‘M.N.P.' etched on it. I have made boxes for G.K. Venkatesh, Rajeswara Rao, M.S. Viswanathan, Bhanumathy Ramakrishna, T.M. Soundararajan and other leading music directors of that time. Being a close friend of music director Sekar, I made a baby box for his son, A.R. Rahman. I have made professional boxes for Rahman as well, and to date, he uses the ones crafted by me.

“M.S. Subbulakshmi was very fond of my harmonium and so is Madurai T.N. Seshagopalan, who is an exponent of the instrument.” Music director Maragadhamani has been extending a helping hand now and then.

Kanagaraj tried his hands at composing for films by joining hands with another musician Sethupathi. He was successful in wielding the baton for ‘Mangalalakshmi.' T.M. Soundararajan's song ‘Kadhal Ragangalay' was a chartbuster and stayed on the top billings of the then Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. However, that was his only movie, and despite it being a hit, offers did not pour in.

Life has not been easy for Kanagaraj, his talent notwithstanding. Even at this ripe age, he ekes out a living by repairing harmoniums of any make. He thanks God for blessing him with sharp ears, for he is able to detect any detuned reed with precision without any electronic support.

Before signing off, on a request to play Keeravani, he does so with aplomb, interspersing it with accidental notes to give it a light touch.