The humble harmonium seems to have been forgotten in today’s music world.

But, artiste M Muthuswami Bhagavathar, a long time resident of CIT Nagar East, is doing his bit in keeping it alive, by playing the instrument at various venues for over several decades.

The vidwan who was recently presented with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Humour Club of Triplicane, speaks to ‘News Today‘.

“My father, Muthu Natesa Bhagavathar, who is also a harmonium exponent, has performed at various sabhas. I started learning the instrument from him when I was studying in class eight. My journey with vocalist Madurai VS Mani is also special, as I accompanied him to various concerts.”

The musician also imparts training in Sanskrit, a subject in which he has attained academic excellence. He is presently conducting free classes in the language at Habibullah Road.

On the time frame needed to learn harmonium, he said, “A minimum of six months is required to perform, as all the fingers need to be tuned to operate the keys of the instrument efficiently.”

He can be reached at 94451 47275.