PUNE: When city-based accordionist Amit Vaidya took the stage at the Kalmadi Shamarao High School in Erandwane on Sunday evening, his patrons were ready and waiting.

More than 200 aficionados, mostly the middle-aged and the elderly, made it a point to attend the fourth edition of Vaidya's yearly programme ' The Accordionist ' and were overwhelmed with his rendition of old Bollywood numbers like 'Awara hun' and 'Sab kuch sikha humne...na sikhi hoshiyari' from Raj Kapoor's films Awara (1951) and Anari (1959), respectively.

Vaidya was joined by Italian accordionist Antonio Spaccarotella. Both gave a brief history of the instrument during the programme and elaborated on its multifaceted usage.

Many of us will remember wistfully, the legendary showman Raj Kapoor charming his way into our hearts while playing this bulky instrument. Take a trip to the sepia-toned era and the accordion was a must in party scenes.

Some other memories would be of actor Vinod Khanna playing the accordion while singing 'Anhoni ko honi kar de...' in the 1980s blockbuster Amar Akbar Anthony or veteran actor Alok Nath picking up the instrument in 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' in the song 'Yeh toh sach hai ke bhagwan hai...'

The accordion was once an oft-used instrument in Hindi cinema. Music directors C Ramchandra, Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishan, Salil Chowdhury and S D Burman made it a part of their compositions.

Lovers of old Bollywood songs would agree that immortal numbers like 'Jeena yahan, marna yahan', 'Har dil jo pyar karega', 'Pyar hua ikraar hua hai', would just not be the same without the lilt of the accordion.

However, the musical instrument has fallen from grace. "Accordions were used in the Indian film music between 1950 and 1970. Raj Kapoor was very fond of accordions and gave it centre stage in the movie Sangam, where he plays the instrument in a party scene. But the accordions disappeared post-1970 due to advent of the electronic keyboard or synthesizer," Vaidya said.

He has been trying to help reinvent the taste for the sound of the accordion, and has been organizing programmes for the last three years centred around World Accordion Day.

Vaidya organised a programme in 2011, "In the World of Accordion", in which he gave a brief knowledge of the instrument. He followed it up in 2012 with "Accordion - A One Man Orchestra", where he elaborated on the multifaceted usage. Likewise, the theme of last year's programme was, "Accordion 150", a celebration of 150 years of accordion manufacturing.

The piano accordion has piano-type keyboard on the right and buttons on the bass side. The button accordion has buttons on both the right and the left sides. Other accordions are used for folk, jazz, classical and modern music.

Many enthusiasts are striving to bring the instrument back into focus. At the Jodhpur International Folk Festival 2013, in October, Norway trio, Linda Gytri with Kristoffer Kleiveland and Vidar Berge, presented a range of Nordic folk on accordions.

Needless to say, audience was enthralled. For most in India, accordion usage is limited to Bollywood films of the 1960s. To be suddenly exposed to compositions that ranged from quiet melancholic tunes to joyful polkas, was a wonderful revelation.

Trivia

The accordion's basic form is believed to have been invented in Berlin in 1822 by Christian Friedrich Ludwig Buschmann

Cyril Demian, an Austrian, is credited to be the inventor of this instrument. It was invented on May 6, 1829 and hence this day is celebrated as World Accordion Day. But its factory production was started only about 150 years ago

The accordion appeared in popular music worldwide from the 1900s-1960s. This half century is often called the "Golden Age of the Accordion"

Composer A R Rahman bought an accordion while on a trip in Hong Kong. The music from this accordion can be heard throughout the film Guru

Accordion is derived from the word, Akkordion, German for 'harmony'

The accordion is the designated instrument for the city of Detroit

Accordion was first heard in the movie Samadhi (1951) and was used to play interludes for the song Gore gore o banke chore composed by C Ramachandra

A standard accordion weighs anywhere between 10 kg and 13 kg, though there are smaller accordions which weigh between 5 kg and 8 kg

