What makes Hemen & Co, Kolkata’s iconic music store, special
The Hindu
Still going strong, Hemen & Co’s clients included George Harrison and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
“Who? George Harrison?” Mahadeb Pramanik points to the frayed bench, “Oh, he was sitting right there!” Pramanik has been a craftsman at Hemen & Co — ‘Manufacturer and Exporter: sitar, sarod, harmonium, tanpura, esraj, etc,’ says the weatherbeaten board outside — for almost 50 years, and his eyes light up as he recreates the time when ‘the quiet Beatle’ dropped by. “Uni obaak! He was amazed! But Hemenbabu ignored him, and kept working. At some point, he told George Harrison, ‘Arrey chhaya porchhe, shorey boshun’ (‘Move aside, you’re blocking the light.’).”
Apparently, one day when the teenager Hemendra’s sitar broke, he couldn’t afford to get it fixed professionally, so he did it himself. His guru, Baba Allauddin Khan, was so impressed with Hemen’s skills that he made him the de facto repairer of all his instruments, and those of his Maihar Band. Soon, ‘Hemen & Co’ was born and, over the years, it acquired a near-mythic reputation.