His father bought him a synthesizer when he was 11, and he mastered that soon. Sharma, 33, had been fascinated by the piano since he set sights on the instrument as a toddler in kindergarten. It is a sort of meditation," he told TOI. "Playing piano well is a challenging task involving the player's brains, hands and feet. Ashysh Sharma, manufacturer of high-end leather bags, says playing the piano helps him beat stress. That's because, say enthusiasts, playing the piano is perhaps the best stress-buster. But of late, we're getting an increasing number of young adults who want to learn the piano," CSM President Dickoo Nowroji told TOI. "Earlier, only school students would enroll for piano lessons. Incidentally, along with the fresh interest in pianos, a new trend has also emerged. This enables many from middle-class families to enroll for piano lessons. But pianos are available on rent, too, for a little over Rs 1,000 a month. Possessing a piano at home is a pre-requisite for enrolment at CSM, where lessons cost between Rs 1,020 and Rs 1,800 a month, depending on the learning grade. The cheapest acoustic would cost at least Rs 1.2 lakh, a grand piano can be priced up to Rs 25 lakh and a concert grand piano can command a price tag of Rs 1 crore or even more. A digital piano, and conservatives will turn up their noses at these, costs at least Rs 70,000 and the best ones could easily leave one poorer by Rs 7 lakh. But even so, learning the piano is still a bit of an expensive choice, especially if one wants to posses the instrument. A couple of other music schools in Kolkata that impart piano lessons have also witnessed a spurt in students in recent years. This 96-year-old institution, the sub-continent's first music school, has more than 180 piano students on its rolls and a few dozen on its waiting list. But after liberalization, when import duties and other barriers were lowered, the scenario changed and we now have a huge number of people queuing up to learn the piano," Chaitali Ganguly, who teaches piano at 'The Calcutta School of Music ' (CSM), told TOI. Thus, interest in learning to play the instrument waned. So only used pianos, many of them in poor condition, were available for enthusiasts here.
"Pianos (all have to be imported since they're not made in India) were unaffordable even for the rich earlier, with stiff import duties and many other barriers. It also sparked a renewed interest in the 'king of musical instruments' among many residents of the city, which was once known for its repertoire of gifted pianists.
Singh's perestroika in the 90s paved the path for pianos getting within the reach of middle-class people. Not because of the economist's political accomplishments, but for the liberalization he initiated during his tenure as the finance minister. KOLKATA: Manmohan Singh has a growing band of admirers in Kolkata.
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