My first harmonium

The divine Sher Singh was our gatekeeper, or you can say security guard, at India House. He had a harmonium. One day he said to me, “Do you play the harmonium?” He wanted to sell it to me for six dollars.

I said, “Please take twenty-five dollars!”

He said, “No, no. You are poor.”

Then I said, “My lucky number is seven. Let me buy it for seven.”

So he took my seven dollars and gave me back one dollar. I do not know why. Then he gave me the harmonium and I was so delighted and inspired. I used it for many, many years. His harmonium is immortal. It was my first and foremost harmonium. His name was written in Hindi on the front of the instrument.

Sher Singh:

If my recollection is not failing me, I was the first person at the Consulate to meet Chinmoy Ghose on the day that he came to apply for a post. I was relieving the receptionist, Mehru, during the lunchtime. A young Indian man came in and, as a security guard, I asked him, “What is your name?” He said, “Chinmoy Ghose.” Then I asked, “May I help you?” He sat down by the reception desk and told me his story. He said that he wanted to stay in New York but, in order to stay here, he needed a job to help himself. After learning that his intention was to stay in New York, I told him that the only person who could help him was Sunil Kumar Roy, our Consul General. Somehow, Ghose got in touch with the Passport and Visa Consul, Mr. Mehrotra, and within a week or so he started working in Mr. Ramamoorthy’s department. Since Mr. Mehrotra had to ask S. K. Roy for approval, I believe that S. K. Roy created the job for Ghose. In this world I do not have much, but I do have a little bit of memory — which has not failed me yet!

One of Mr. Mehrotra’s secretaries had to go back to India, so I bought a harmonium from him to occupy my leisure time and to learn some music. Somehow Ghose came to learn that I had a harmonium. In those days I used to live at the Consulate in the basement, which was the security quarters. I knew that he wanted a harmonium and so one day I brought it to him and said, “Ghose, here it is!” He paid me seven dollars for it. Once I went to a meeting that he was holding on 86th Street. That was the first time I saw him playing the harmonium.

Often I used to see Ghose eating his lunch inside the telephone booth. He kept the door closed. When I passed by, I would knock on the door from outside by way of joke.