How this Tamil Nadu family has been handcrafting harmoniums and organs for four generations

In a narrow alley of Mettukadai in Tamil Nadu’s coastal town of Kanyakumari, one can find the oldest manufacturer of harmoniums and organs in South India. A humble vintage building with a rustic tiled roof is home to the Sree Murugan Harmonium and Organ Manufacturers, exuding an old-world charm. In 1938, Subramanian Achari set up this workshop, now run by his grandson SM Ganesh and great-grandson Muthuraja.

At a time when traditional craftsmanship is nearing extinction, Ganesh and his family have preserved the art of handcrafting musical instruments -- harmoniums and organs. 

Ganesh’s son Muthuraja, who joined him ten years ago, is the fourth generation preserving the family legacy. 

Apart from making harmoniums and organs, they also provide repair services for guitars, tambura, veena, violin, and other instruments.

“In the late 1930s, many people in this locality were learning music and using harmoniums. And they required repairs as well. My grandfather had a keen interest in this instrument and he began learning how to make and repair them. He was a self-taught artisan. He then passed on his skills to my father, and eventually, I learned the craft,” Ganesh tells 30Stades.

“I feel grateful to have been successfully following their footsteps,” he adds.

Also Rea: A quaint village in Hooghly becomes manufacturing hub for string instruments

Handcrafting harmoniums and organs

Harmoniums are reed organs. They produce sound by blowing air through metal reeds that vibrate. They first came to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in India through merchants and missionaries in the 19th century. Their popularity peaked during the 19th and 20th centuries. Indian craftsmen and artists incorporated the instruments to accompany traditional Indian music like Carnatic and Hindustani.

With rapid industrialisation, the manufacturing of harmoniums and organs has also been mechanized in India. However, Ganesh and his family have kept alive the tradition at the cost of lower volumes.

“Even after so many years, we have not opted for machine-based manufacturing. We craft the harmoniums manually from scratch. We use large tree wood, cut and shaped according to requirements,” Ganesh explains.

They make reed boards from pine wood and set up the body and frame with cedar or teak wood. The reeds are sourced from Delhi. “Then we assemble the reed board and install the reeds, and set up the keys along with other components like sounding brass,” he says.

Also Read: How Ustad Moinuddin Khan is keeping the rich legacy of sarangi alive

The last step is to ensure proper fitting and tuning for fine sound quality,” he adds. 

Ganesh explains that they make four types of harmoniums based on the number of reeds – single, double, triple and four sets. “The Single Reed harmonium, with 37 reeds, offers only one male tone. It is predominantly used by beginners. The Double Reed Harmonium, featuring 39 or 42 reeds, offers a versatile sound with male and female tones, suitable for folk performances like street play, theatre and Villu Paatu (musical story-telling),” he says. 

The Triple Reed Harmonium, with one male, one female, and one bass reed, is used for theatre performances. The Four-Set Harmonium, with up to 44 reeds, is used for music compositions. 

The business

It takes about four to five days to make a single or double-reed harmonium while crafting a triple-reed or Four-Set harmonium takes about a month. They also make suitcase-style harmoniums for easy portability.

Single Reed models are sold for Rs 8,500, Double Reed models range from Rs 14,000 to Rs 15,000, Triple Reed models are sold between Rs 45,000 and Rs 50,000, and Four-Set models cost between Rs 80,000 and Rs 1 lakh. 

Apart from the harmonium, they also manufacture the keyboard instrument called organ. It is mostly used in churches. 

Ganesh notes that the difference between a harmonium and an organ lies in their air movement. A harmonium blows air through its reeds using bellows, while an organ sucks air through the reeds, using foot pedals or an electric motor.  

Also Read: How Chanditala Kaugachi became Bengal's guitar village

"The sound from an organ is loud, making it audible throughout the church. Due to its size, a full-sized organ requires around 61 canes, while a baby organ needs 49 canes,” Ganesh notes.

Repair and restoration

Ganesh shares they get a lot of repairing work for musical instruments. Even though they have been doing this for many years, only in recent times, has their name spread through social media and many have been approaching them for repair works.

“Lately, I've noticed that the younger generation has developed a strong interest in antique items. After hearing about us, many people have brought in old harmoniums that belonged to their grandparents or ancestors for restoration,” Ganesh says. 

“We've also repaired organs and harmoniums over 100 years old. Many churches reach out to us because there are few craftsmen left who continue this work,” he says.

Now, people in the community know that no matter the condition of an instrument, if it’s brought to us, we can repair it and get it working again,” he shares.

Continuing the legacy

Ganesh's son, Muthuraja, has joined the family business, proudly as a fourth-generation artist. When asked why he decided to continue the legacy, Muthuraja shares, "I grew up in this workshop, watching my father and grandfather create beautiful instruments. I've always had a passion for music. Although I became a marketing professional and worked in that field, I eventually started thinking about who would carry on our family tradition after my father. That’s when I decided to step up and take on the responsibility to keep it going."

Also Read: Jaipur’s Bhatt family struggles to keep alive the Tamasha tradition

He plans to expand the workshop and add equipment based on demand and orders. However, they plan to continue manual craftsmanship which is their USP. 

“The only real difference is the design and the finishing touches we add to the outer body, based on the client requirements," Muthuraja says.

For Ganesh’s dedicated and continued craftsmanship, he got a memorable appreciation from the maestro of music, Ilaiyaraaja, when he met him at a TV reality show some years back.

“I feel such appreciation is a feed for us to go a long way and keep up the work. I also understand that with the rise of electronic and digital music, the use of harmoniums has declined, but there remain music enthusiasts, students, and professionals who opt to use the harmonium, as they are drawn to its authentic sound, which can't match the electronic alternatives,” he says. 

Earlier, many artisans specialized in this field in Madurai and Trichy. “But, I don’t know if there are any now. However, as long as the requirement of the instruments exists, artisans like me and my family will continue,” Ganesh signs off.

(Chandhini R is a Kerala-based journalist specialising in human interest, entertainment, and art and culture stories)

Also Read: With Baul songs, Bengal's Mansur Fakir preaches the message of humanity

Look up our YouTube Channel