Hello everyone, I’m Spondon Mukherjee, a student of class-10 of S.K.S public school, Raniganj. I am a violinist but I can also play 12 other musical instruments like Indian flute (Bansuri), English flute, pan flute, guitar, mandolin, and a few percussion instruments, and obviously Harmonica, the magical pocket orchestra.
Here I will talk about my harmonica journey. It was April 2018 I was first added to a harmonica group named “Harp On Reeds”, conducted by Smt. Coomie Sam Kasad and Mr.Yogesh Prasad. Coomie dadi first influenced me to play harmonica. I never played before, though my father occasionally plays. Father gave me his old Hohner Echo harmonica (approx 40yrs old). After trying for a few days I got interested. Then my father bought me Suzuki Songstar Harmonica. Then the practice time……. Faced mild breathing problems…but practice helped me to overcome them. After one or two months of practice, Coomie dadi asked me to play the famous song “El condor pasa” by Leo Rojas. I searched for some notations on the internet and I revealed. That was the first full song I played with harmonica. My first harmonica teacher was my father. Then after I regularly do follow the famous players like Mr. Asoke Bhandari sir (my all-time favorite), Mr. Doordarshi Singh sir, Mr. Aseem Mashi sir, and the famous Sri Swarup Mitra Uncle, who stays in my city. In between IMO organized a competition where I performed 137 songs and received the winning prize of Suzuki SCX 48 harmonica (My first winning prize). In the mean time I met the legendary harmonica Guru Sri Sukanto Ghosal sir. It was my greatest experience ever. He visited our home. I’m really thankful to him that I got the opportunity to spend 3-4 hours with Guruji and Guru Maa. He shared a few tips and that was the magical jump. Then the year 2020-21, I performed 52 duet songs with 27 different lady harmonica players all over India. I received a golden harmonica. It became a record, “Maximum duet songs played on the harmonica by a teenager”. I was approx 13 yrs and 10 months at that time. It was my fantastic experience with the lady harpers (Surprisingly from 8yrs old to 92 yrs old). All were very helpful. Thanks to them. Without them, it would not be possible. After that, I also won prizes from Kolkata Harmonica Association (KHA) in the year 2022 and a few More. Now I’m trying to play Hindustani Classical Music with harmonica. Though it’s very tough, let’s hope for the best… I have received lots of love from the harmonica world. I’m very grateful and thankful to those who watch my performance. Also my love to my Fans. There’s another person, I should take his name, Mr. Azizur Rahman. It was a beautiful experience. We were returning from Tatanagar, Jamshedpur, and Azizur uncle suddenly and surprisingly came to visit me on the train at Jaychandi station. We spent some memorable moments on the train and had some conversations. It seemed a celebrity-like experience. After his departure, a few co-passengers came to me and wanted to listen to my harmonica. They also got some pics with me. An 80-year-old lady had given lots of blessings. It was a fantastic experience. Hence the journey continues… If anyone needs any musical help, I would be very thankful to help him. Thanks a lot to all of you… My regards to all the seniors and my best wishes to the young ones.
Your beloved
SPONDON.M
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