This week for our weekly edition of the Community Wise, The Pioneer engages with Mohan Hemmadi, who with his Surmandal and Konkani Association, has been actively working towards bringing in the positive light in the city, even at the age of eighty-six.
SHIKHA DUGGAL
There is an older adult of Hyderabad who’s accomplishment can be seen through continuing association from the 1960s — Mohan Hemmadi at the age of eighty-six years old is continuing to do what he loves, with Surmandal and Konkani Association. It was our absolute honour to engage with his community and to know how he is being a positive light for everyone around us in the city of Hyderabad.
“Been with the association from 1964: that’s when we kicked off! From an ordinary member, I was made to be the president of the association. I am quandring these days, nobody wants to restore my place in the association, I wonder why. Going to be eighty-seven years old next month and I want someone to come forward, take over, “ he shared.
Momentarily his plan is to go to Canada for a very special reason—”I have a solid friendship of forty years with Saleem. He’s a Hyderabadi Muslim and the one who brought the Pakistani singer Mehdi Hassan to our city and country for the first time. From the last twenty-five years of my life, this best friend’s wife (Syedda) has been sending me a Rakhi all the way from Canada. That’s what solidifies my friendship with the family even more, you see?”
The only ICS officer of Andhra Pradesh, the medical director of Andhra Pradesh, and another one was the pioneer who started the Taj group of hotels in the city were few members who laid the foundation of this association. He continues, “Mostly during Ugadi and Diwali we had our events of the association. As everyone knows, Konkani is a language! I come from the Mangalore side of the country. Everything has changed in the city, I hold YouTube responsible for this, hardly anyone is interested in attending our musical concerts. Thank god for the group of retired people, we run the association.”
In 1982, he had the opportunity to invite Lata Mangeshkar and family to this city. He had organised a classical music concert for her at Lal Bahadur Stadium. What happened after that was difficult to believe for him — “We were invited over for lunch by none other than the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh at his residence. He offered me a place for my association! I was feeling incredible. Disappointment followed because my community members back then didn’t take this opportunity so seriously. We don’t have a Konkan Bhavan to ourselves today so that we can promote Konkani culture also in
Hyderabad looking at its diverse culture. I remember giving an another try years ago before the defence minister where KTR was standing just beside me and said “You have given such a good presentation, you must get clicked with him.” Mohan Hemmadi’s point of contention years ago was on how the state government has allotted two acres of land and ten crores for a Christian Bhavan, and there was him requesting for his own space for this association. “I am very much connected to KTR through our common links with Sparsh Hospice—he promised me, still it’s a far-fetched dream that hasn’t come true yet. I understand he’s an extremely busy man!”
In 1970s, he was attending a rotary convention in Montreal. Coincidentally, Lata Mangeshkar and he were sharing the same hotels! He spoke to her, gave her a few cassettes of Mehdi coming all the way from Pakistan and she loved those. Followed by another unexpected surprise when Lata didi told him that Mehdi is performing in
Montreal, he was glad. She asked him to drop-ship two perfumes for him, she telephoned Mehdi and the next moment, Mohan Hemmadi was in his green room building a friendship of his own. That was his first interaction with Mehdi Hassan!
“I don’t think I can continue with this association anymore, growing old. I remember studying in Bombay and one of my neighbors was a great tabla player. One fine day, I saw Ravi Shankar climbing upstairs with a sitar in his hand and I didn’t know how famous he’s. I was just a school boy! I followed him just to know what was that
instrument in his hand? He described the sitar for me, even played for me and that’s when I fell in love with classical music, bringing me to be a part of an association like this. Another similar moment could be when I fell in love with music watching all the singers from Bollywood jamming at Lata didi’s house, far-off in some corner I was playing carrom with her younger brother.”
There have been ups and downs for this association. Ustaad Bade Ghulam Ali made Hyderabad his home, so Mohan used to offer his services to them back in the nineties. He was really fond of cigarettes, Mohan Hemmadi was the one supplying him the limited edition. His music circle hadn’t yet started. So he was the one who insinuated us to form a musical circle of our own and that’s when this association came alive. He literally
blessed us! He used to play Surmandal and he named our association. The inauguration of this association was done by Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. They are struggling with finances at the moment, hardly any of the members pay the membership fees. The associations in Pune are doing better than them!
