CHENNAI : Tucked away in one of the remote lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Street in Red Hills is T Benny’s house. Everyone in the area know Benny as the man who leaves home every morning to go around the city, repairing harmoniums. And for 45 years now, he says, this has been his daily routine. As he greets us into his house, the active 65-year-old master harmonium repairer, sits down in his work area, to play his favourite tunes on the instrument for us.
He doesn’t remember how or when he started playing; but he began repairing harmoniums as a 20-year-old boy. He loved accompanying his father every time someone called them with a complaint. The job took them to the nearby towns and villages. “We were like today’s stove-repair persons who call out to people on streets. We used to spend about three days in a village, fixing all kinds of harmonium repairs that were brought to us. The villagers took care of our food and stay, and once all houses were covered, we’d move on to the next village,” he shares.
They repaired for artists who played the harmonium during koothu performances, street plays, bhajans, kutcheris, and processions. Back then, they used to earn about `1,000 from each village, and it was their only source of income. “I used to individually make `15 for every box that I repaired. During my free time, I loved playing for street plays or functions at the church. After my father, I took it up as a full-time profession to support my four children,” he shares.
It takes Benny anywhere between two hours and two days to repair a harmonium. He is committed to assure the artist that they need not come back with a complaint for the next 10 years at least. “Making it as good as new is important. That’s why even though many have set up shops for harmonium repair work, not all have gained the artists’ trust in the city,” he explains. The word about his repair work was mostly spread by artists Muthuswamy, Sesha Gopalakrishnan, Murugadoss, and others in Chengalpet, Arakonam, Adyar, Thirvanmayur, and T Nagar.
Benny carries a little blue phone and a tool bag with him wherever he goes. What he treasures the most, however, is his pile of worn out address books and visiting cards. With wonderment, he looks at the collection made over 45 years, and says, “This has all the addresses of people I’ve repaired for. And when I go for a drama or function and see my name stuck over someone’s harmonium, it’s a great feeling,” he shares.
While his children — a daughter and a son — play a song or two once in a while, and are familiar with the parts of the instrument, they don’t plan on taking up their father’s profession because of how strenuous the job is. Benny believes that the harmonium’s popularity has not reduced in these 45 years. He explains that electronic instruments won’t replace the harmonium any time soon. “People know that even MS Vishwanathan’s main tool was the harmonium petti. And till today any singer who records in studios, first practices the traditional way with a harmonium. It’s natural to take out the harmonium first,” he shares.