THE PENNY PUB
Me and a Keyboard Instrument That Is a Lot Like an Organ
Learning the music of the Harmonium
Music is part of my blood and my lineage. I am from Bengal, where all the good girls from accomplished families learn English, study science, learn to sing, and play the harmonium as their chosen musical instrument.
The Harmonium, a musical instrument used in much of eastern India is a strange device. Music comes out of the contraption only if you flap air into the instrument. It is a mini hand-powered organ and is the work of a genius. If you have never heard it before, here is a video from YouTube showcasing how it sounds.
It is a beast to play. A task made harder when you hear every woman in your family could play it well. I could never get the coordinated dance between flapping the back cover of the Harmonium so it had power, and playing the keys at the same time. Compare the task to playing the piano with one hand while simultaneously flapping the lid to a rhythmic beat to generate the right sound.
Granted it was much smaller than a piano, but the enjoyment and ecstasy that I felt listening to beautiful music left my head and heart when I was asked to play the Harmonium to prove my love of music and my allegiance to my East Indian cultural heritage.
