Harmonium was patented first by Alexandre Francois DeBain in France on 9th August 1840. And, ever since it's import in India by the Europeans after the 1860s, it remained as a controversial instrument as far as the Indian Classical Music was concerned. This was so, because the instrument had a 'European' tuning and did not have any of the 'Indian' 22 Shrutis. In spite of this lacuna, however, the harmonium became a very popular instrument in India, being played actively, besides Classical music, in Folk, Drama, and Cine music. Many cultured Indian homes had and still have a harmonium. I started playing harmonium ever since I remember, as, my mother and her father, both, were harmonium players. Later, I was very fortunate to learn from my Guruji Late Pt.Govindrao Patawardhan, from whom, I learned various techniques of harmonium playing and accompaniment for about 25 years.
During the process, I had observed that harmonium did not have a universal acceptance from Indian Classical Vocalists due to the 'tempered' tuning, and for which reason, it was not considered suitable to Indian Classical Music. As against this, the string instruments such as the Sarangi or the Violin were considered more acceptable for accompaniment. When I made enquiries about the details of the tempered tuning and it's differences from the so called 'Hindustani Classical' tuning, to my surprise, I found very little script, and that too was inconsistent.
I therefore had decided to plunge into this revolutionary research myself at a suitable time in my life, which happened in 2004 when I left behind my 28 years of pharmaceutical career and started my research work on shrutis. Initially I had absolutely no idea of how to proceed but I was determined to solve the 22 Shruti puzzle, come what may.
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