When I pinched Zubin Mehta’s ear!

Some small episodes in life become significant and remain fresh in the landscape of the mind. Reminded of one such mischievous encounter, I am drawn to my days at the Bombay station of All India Radio, where I had no anticipation of a strange encounter.

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As a routine, I used to meet celebrities from the art and film world. But one night, something quite unexpected took place. The station was to broadcast western classical music live between 10 pm and 11 pm on its main channel. The gathering in the studio comprised famed violinists Mehli Mehta and Homi Kanga, accompanied by George Lester on the cello and Mario Pagliarin on the piano. Much to my dismay, Mehta, a famous conductor for the Bombay Philharmonic Orchestra, ordered me to position the microphone, so that the different instruments could be balanced in a proper manner. I was not too familiar with western music, but I opened the soundboard of the piano, placed the mike in front of it and told the violinists and cellist to sit facing it at the correct distance to get a proper equilibrium of the ensemble. Thereon, I took my seat in the control room and waited for the programme to be on the air.

When it flew on the air, to my chagrin, all I could hear were the violin strings minus the piano notes! The first thought that occurred to me was that the microphone might have got dislocated from its position. In an attempt to locate the snag, I peeped through the ‘spy hole’ of the studio. I got a big jolt when I saw that the soundboard of the piano, which I had opened, had been shut again. The artistes were already halfway through the opening piece and could do nothing, but continue playing.

I quietly opened the door of the control room and entered the ‘live’ studio to investigate what had gone wrong. I went straight to the piano and opened the soundboard. Imagine my shock to see two youngsters impudently grinning at me. I could not make out when or how they had gate-crashed into the studio. I caught hold of them and tweaked their ears, before dragging them out.

After that, the programme went on with no hitch. When the concert was over, I learnt that the two boys whom I had chastised were the sons of violinist Mehli Mehta.

Fortunately for me, he took my action in the right spirit, and even apologised for their mischievous behaviour. The rest is history. The elder boy, Zubin, went on to become a world famous conductor himself. I sometimes wonder if the distinguished maestro remembers that night in the studio of All India Radio, when a junior engineer tweaked his ear and dragged him out for disturbing his father’s concert!