For Prabir Deb Chowdhury, the old is and will always remain golden

This is an interview about a musician named Prabir Deb Chowdhury who plays the piano-accordion and mouth-organ, and his thoughts regarding technology taking over all forms of art. Technology today has surrounded our lifestyle from almost all areas.

In this interview, he stresses the need to stick to the basic instruments which still has a lot to offer, recalling personal experiences in the form of anecdotes.

In this day and age, there is nothing left under the sun that technology doesn’t have any control over. Think of it. From the way we live to the way we eat, from travelling to communication, technological advancements in all these areas have led us to experience whatever we want, in no time at all. The domain of art isn’t free from this control as we are growing each day into our high-tech lives.

Nowadays, it is possible to recreate the sound of any instrument using a sound mixer and other such devices and its impact is felt on the people as well. Not many of us would want to visit a flute concert or a harmonica performance for that matter but there are still some who believe in the instrument and its power to create magic with its sound/s. And Prabir Deb Chowdhury is one of those people, who feels that these, ‘gadgets’ themselves have a lot to offer.

A player of the piano-accordion and the mouth organ, he feels that the mechanical sounds would never be able to match the liveliness and the energy, brought by the sound of the harmonica.

“The importance (of these instruments) can be understood from the fact that people still appreciate it. I performed last in a one-and-half hour program and people appreciated it. That is my takeaway. I love spreading happiness and if I can make someone happy with my music, then why not,? said Prabir, during a chat with The Live Mirror.

An engineer by profession, Prabir had always been passionate about making music using these instruments and according to his opinion, he always sought to entertain people with a form of music, which in his view is, “life.”

Having professional commitments to fulfil, it isn’t always easy to chase one’s passion, but he made it look pretty simple. As a matter of fact, the humble man revealed that this was something which he enjoyed doing, despite having had to balance his professional and personal lives.

He says, “I used to work for a company when I played the piano-accordion for Mamata Shankar Ballet troop. This is my passion. After work, I used to sit for rehearsals and quite frankly, I enjoyed it. Since I enjoyed doing these things, I never thought of it as a hardship. During my stint with the Mamata Shankar Ballet troop, I performed in many places and the sheer joy is incomparable. Yes, I learnt to play the piano-accordion while I was working so it meant that I had to go for my classes after office. My teacher was extremely particular about the lessons.”

Narrating his musical journey, he said, “Actually, I learnt to play the mouth organ myself from a very young age when I was in school. The piano-accordion was gifted to me by my mother after she bought it from the late Sudhin Dasgupta in 1971. I learnt to play the piano-accordion from Bani Chakra after which I played the instrument for Mamata Shankar Ballet troop for four years from 1978-82. The journey has been excellent and I got a lot of respect from people. I also went to Bombay and played for my wife’s dance school named Nupur Ballet Troop where she teaches Odissi, folk and many other types. I began a group known as Rhythm Orchestra in Bombay where I perform with the singers and other musicians.”

“I have also got to meet many people. I have developed an identity for myself as a musician and since I play the background music in drama, I have got to know people from that area as well. Next, in line, we have a script ready on Salil Chowdhury’s music and we would perform a ballet on that sometime in November-December this year.”

Music has always been something which has appealed to him. As a matter of fact, he recalled one of his experiences while playing the mouth organ in a silent place in Mahabaleshwar.

“Music is life. I had gone to Mahabaleshwar and was playing the mouth-organ in a very secluded place. My eyes were closed and when my wife, who was behind me asked me to open my eyes, I was left stunned. I saw four-five dogs sitting in front of me and listening to the music. That day I learnt about the unbelievable strength of music. Music always had a separate and special appeal and it will always stay at way.”

Further suggesting possible ways to spread the influence of the musical instruments in an age of technological advancement, he said, “I think people should know more about the instruments. Yes, you can reproduce the sound of a mouth-organ from the synthesizer but the feelings wouldn’t be there. There would be no life in it. Originality always stays. Even when people listen to me playing the piano-accordion, they appreciate it. This art should be preserved,” he further added.

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