Striking the Right Note
INDIAN EXPRESS, PUNE, October 16, 2000
By Neil Pate

Even now, when one listens to songs like Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein, Hai apna dil to awaara, Bekarar kar ke hamein ..., the melodies take one on a nostalgic journey. The man who played the accordion for these songs is Enoch Daniels. Standing, 6-ft tall, 'Danny', as Daniels is popularly known, has carved a niche for himself in the music world. Says he, "Music has always been in our family. my three elder brothers would play the violin, clarinet and saxophone. My Daddy would play the banjo, although I never heard him play because by the time I grew up my brothers had already broken the banjo."

Going back to his childhood years, Danny recalls, "I was always fascinated by drums. Very soon my personal drums set comprised a wooden cupboard as a bass drum, brass plates as cymbals and coconut shells as wooden pad on which I would play the Latino and other beats. Seeing my keen interest in music, Fr. Wilkinson of the Panchowd Mission Hostel gifted me a small 'kettle drum' and later Fr. Slade taught me the church organ, its musical notations and western classical music for  two years."

He reminisces, "in the mission hostel, we had a decent band which, would perform at army functions, church services and even have musical parades in those days."

Later, while studying in Wadia College, Pune, Daniels would perform during annual gatherings and his talents saw him entrusted with the Indian music section. A newspaper article written about him in 1952 proved to be the turning point in Daniels' life. "It was this article - and the appreciation of my friends which inspired me to choose music as my career. I started doing small shows and, at times, I would even hire musicians from Deccan Studio (where the Chakan Oil Mills at Shankarsheth Road now stand) which I visited frequently to see the recordings of Sudhir Phadke, Vasant Pawar, and Ram Kadam." During this time Vasant Pawar heard Daniels play the piano and the accordion and offered him to do the background music for his film. Later, Daniels played the accordion for Hi koni chedili tar, Ithech taka tamboo - in Pu La Deshpande's 'Gulacha Gaiiapati'. He then went to Bombay in 1955 and played for S.D. Burman in the film "Society". Soon he was a rising star, sought after by renowned music directors like Anil Biswas, Naushad, C. Ramchandra, Vasant Desai, Madan Mohan, Salil Chowdhary, Shankar-Jaikishen and Khayyam.  

"I always enjoyed working with Ram Kadam and C. Ramchandra. These exceptionally talented music directors never compromised or cancelled a recording: Anna (C. Ramchandra) meticulously worked on his compositions, interludes and, being a good singer himself, explained the subtle nuances of rendering a song perfectly with appropriate pauses and breathing techniques to the singers and even helped musicians during a difficult piece."

Daniels also went abroad with C.H. Atma, Talat Mehmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Manna De where he interacted with musicians, attended concerts and operas and acquired the knowledge of arranging and composing music in varied moods and types. While in India, Danny arranged music for all the songs of Ram Kadam, Bhaskar Chandarvakar, Bal Palsule. Striking a chord on his accordion, Daniels plays the tune of Kabhi Kabhi.. and mentions that the music arrangement was his. He adds, "I played the accordion for the famous signature tune, in R.K. Films like 'Awara', 'Sangam', 'Bobby' and others, even arranged the entire music and the interludes for Bhaskar Chandavarkar's, 'Thodasa Rumani Ho Jayen'.

"Meanwhile in 1957-58, 1 was introduced to the then general-manager of HMV company who, having heard me play the accordion, agreed to promote my instrumental music records, although he was hesitant if people would appreciate the instrumental version of old songs," he recalls. But since Danny was constantly involved in stage shows, he knew exactly what the audience liked and insisted on playing old songs from 'Mahal', 'Bazaar', 'Albela' and other classics instead of those from new films.

Eventually, he released his first record called 'Vintage Wine' which became an instant hit, paving the way for 17 other albums, among which, 'Whispering Palms', 'Exotic Diamonds' 'Accordion Cocktail' are favourites even today.

Seating himself at his immaculately kept piano, Enoch Daniels reveals the essential qualities he feels a musician should have. "Good musicians should train their ears to be open to different styles of music, accept their faults, adjust themselves to all situations and maintain a low profile." Lamenting the state of music today, he philosophizes "Whatever is good will last forever, whatever is bad will perish."

Daniels has been a recipient of several awards but he feels that his greatest award ever has been meeting Dr. Bhuvan DayaL an old acquaintance, after 19 years on a trip to Florida. Says Daniels, "On. seeing me at the airport Dr. Dayal guessed that there was something amiss, eventually goading me to undergo a check-up which led to my open-heart surgery which he sponsored. This gave me a 'New Life'."

Daniels was the music arranger of the recently released album, 'Asha aur Khayyam', a collection of ghazals. At present, he is the music arranger with Khayyam on three TV serials, two of them being directed by Sanjay Khan. He says, 'Life is a privilege and to waste it is sinful'. Always use your talents to the best of your ability and contribute to the common good."