This Sunday, you get to watch a comb organist in action, for free. Shashikant Khanvilkar plays bhangra numbers and patriotic songs using a plastic comb and a bus ticket

This Sunday, you get to watch a comb organist in action, for free. Shashikant Khanvilkar plays bhangra numbers and patriotic songs using a plastic comb and a bus ticket

Earth Hour has a new ambassador. Forty seven year-old Vikhroli resident Shashikant Khanvilkar is a true-blue recycling agent. "There is nothing in the world that cannot be used," he insists, whipping out an old bus ticket. That and a plastic comb is all he needs to make music.

Shashikant Khanvilkar has been making music using a comb and a bus
ticket for over 30 years now. PICs/DATTA KUMBHAR

What began as a hobby 30 years ago, is now a full-time profession. "Children blow into chocolate wrappers made of gelatin to make bizarre sounds. I used to watch and imitate them. But eventually, the paper would wear out." Next in line was a real instrument, the tutari (a curved horn-like shehnai that was once played to welcome royalty). Several singing awards won at school later, Khanvilkar decided to put a comb to his mouth to make music. School poojas and family functions suddenly had a new musician.

Without formal training in music, Khanvilkar has performed at over 1,000 shows across the country, including the inauguration of the Dadar bridge, where he played the national anthem on the tutari in 1999.u00a0 His name appears in the Limca Book of Records 2008, and the India Book of Records.

Being a comb organist is every bit as unique as it sounds, Khanvilkar admits. "Not everybody can do it. It requires lung power and stamina. People have tried to learn it, but they get dizzy in the first ten minutes," he claims.

When Khanvilkar performs, (usually for two to three hours at a stretch), both his hands are used to hold the comb while his attention is focused on keeping the rhythm with accompanying musicians (usually someone on the keyboard, octopad, and a vocalist). It's a passion that take little to maintain. No speakers to lug around. Just two combs snugly fitted into his trouser pocket, each costing Rs 2. The bus ticket comes in handy as a shock absorber that buffers the vibrations caused by the comb's vibrating teeth.
On the simple pocket comb, Khanvilkar plays three different scales.

His performances are interspersed with stories about patriotism, daily life and some comedyu00a0-- all of it impromptu. Hindi and Marathi songs, Koli geet, Garba, Bhangra numbers are part of his repertoire. Almost all his shows begin with Lata Mangeshkar's Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon, as a tribute to those serving the country. "Music is a medium to tell people to remember those who are fighting for our country," he says.

On: March 28, 6.30 pm at Open-Air Stage, Bhavan's College, Andheri (W).
Call: 56970066