Credit: Special Arrangement
Bengaluru-based Hamsanada foundation will award two harmonica artistes for their contribution to the instrument in India. The Ragamalika Award will be given to Vishwanath Shirali and Rusttom C Karwa.
A self-taught musician, Vishwanath Shirali started playing the harmonica at the age of four and performed in public for the first time at five. However, he soon took up the guitar and then the keyboard. With these instruments, he performed across the world. During this time, his harmonica lay unused for about 30 years. He returned to it when he performed an acoustic show with the saxophone icon Manohari Singh. Singh advised Shirali to take up the harmonica again. Since then, he has recorded for a number of films — with Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudwal, Shwetha Pandit, Ekta Kapoor, Viju Shah, Shreya Ghoshal and Kunal Ganjawala — and performed in multiple shows. Shirali has played the harmonica parts for the Kannada song ‘Ondondu kshanavu’ (‘Jotegaara’, 2010) and the 3D version of the Hindi film ‘Sholay’ (1975). Shirali is also a harmonica collector and the only Indian to own the Hohner Super Chromonica 270, in all the 12 keys.
Rusttom Karwa was introduced to the harmonica when he was studying in a residential school in Pune. It belonged to his friend and Karwa longed to play it. When he later moved to Mumbai, one of his friends introduced him to Bahramji Irani. Under his tutelage, Karwa learned to play the instrument. He is also a professional whistler. Karwa has worked with well-known composers, Lakshmikant Pyarelal, Viju Shah and Usha Khanna and has recorded for films like 'Ek Duje Ke Liye' (1981) and 'Mr India'. He performed Western classical harmonica for the All India Radio for two decades (1965 to 1985). Karwa now teaches music theory, harmonica, keyboard and guitar in Mumbai.
Founded in 2012 in Bengaluru, Hamsanada aims to promote the harmonica in India. The group has been presenting the Ragamalika Award to veteran harmonica artistes since 2022. Theatre personality Srinivasa G Kappanna and noted musician Anoor Ananthakrishna Sharma will be the chief guests at the event on Sunday. An ensemble of 100 harmonica players will perform at the event.
Harmonica Vaibhava and Ragamalika awards presentation ceremony on June 2 at The Bangalore Gayana Samaja, K R Road, 4 pm onwards. Entry free.