Breathing life into strings

ALLAN MOSES RODRICKS spends a day with one of Bengaluru’s iconic instrument makers to tell a tale of fond memories

July 12, 2016 03:08 pm | Updated 09:07 pm IST - Bengaluru

ALL HANDMADE And each one very special Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

ALL HANDMADE And each one very special Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

I was around 16 when I first strolled down a narrow pathway off Millers Road into N. Lewis & Son’s music store to buy my first guitar. It was then that I first met Cyril Lewis, a wizened man full of life whose eyes sparkled when I told him I was there to buy my first six-string. He handed me a handmade Lewis guitar I still treasure for the first chords I learnt on it. Several years later, he sits across from me behind the same table and the sparkle in his eyes still glows bright.

The septuagenarian tells me how every one of his customers has a memory to recollect when they visit his shop. “I remember every face. But I can’t remember their names. I identify with their stories and it makes me happy and proud to have being instrumental in their musical journey.”

Named after his father, Noel Lewis, Cyril’s shop is one of the first music instruments store in Bengaluru. Cyril is also one of the finest guitar manufacturers, piano tuners, indigenous pickup makers and instrument repairmen in the country. The 70-year-old exudes humility despite his several years of qualitative restoration work and contribution to the city’s musicscape.

A day in the life of the instrument creationist in the prime of his life would see him work from 8 in the morning till 2 to 3 a.m. the next day. “I had my shop on Moore Road back then. I’ll work till the afternoon, have lunch and work till 8-9 in the night. I’ll then go buy some samosas or biscuits and tea, come back and get working again. We had a lot of sales back then. In a week, I’d make six guitars alone with my bare hands. Now of course, age is caught up and I can’t even make one.”

Business used to be very good in those days, says Cyril. “We were the only shop and sometimes we’ll customers knocking on our doors at midnight all the way from Mysore or Mangalore or Madurai. But now a lot of shops have come up since there is so much business in this field so it has become competitive now.”

He adds customers still do come when they need something specific that no other shop will have.

“We often have an old customer visiting just to share stories and connect with the place where they bought their first guitar.”

Serendipitously, investor Sriram Janakiram walks in with his guitar for a minor repair and the first thing he asks Cyril is: “Remember me?” He sits beside me and says it was in 1968 that he bought his first guitar from N. Lewis & Son. “We were a group of Physics honours students from Central College. We used to listen to The Beatles and play covers so we decided to form a group. All of us bought our guitars from here.”

All of us owe our music to Lewis, he continues. “Without them, we wouldn’t have had music in Bangalore that time. Everyone I knew came here, and is still coming. Also since they were handmade, each guitar had a slight variation, sounding a little different from the other making each one special. Without Lewis we wouldn’t be musicians.”

Cyril describes himself as a dedicated workaholic. “My day isn’t complete if I don’t work. I do get tired and I take short breaks, but my work has to be done. I try and design something new every day. It’s not for the money, just for the passion. Even now, I’m manufacturing a winding string device for pianos.”

The multi-talented gentleman says he never patents his work. “Music is a gift for everyone. I once made an electric veena for a lady who found it difficult to carry her veena abroad for shows. I don’t use wax for the frets. I designed a small one with a pickup and a case with permanent frets. It sounds just the same. Of course, the traditionalists don’t like it. But I’m a designer. I can’t stop innovating.”

He adds that while age has caught up with him and it’s tough on his health, he still gets a lot of work. “I’m currently re-fabricating a 160-year-old grand piano. We take up repairs that no shop will do.”

“When we used to make the guitars, I'd write the date inside the body with a pencil. A guitar came a few months ago completely battered up. The owner wanted it restored since it was a memory of his father. I opened it out and was surprised to see the date. I was only 13 years old when I made that guitar!"

While the shop opened in the 1940s, Cyril’s dad had been in the business since the 1920s itself. “I started with my dad as a 10-year-old. I spent my entire life surrounded by musical instruments. I started repairing guitars and moved on to pianos and travelled throughout India.”

Cyril was also the first to make indigenous pickups for guitars in the 1960s. “I later made built-in pickups for veenas, violins and classical guitars.” I’m a designer as well, he adds. “Show me anything and I’ll do it. I’ve designed a double-stalk guitar - both 12-string and 6-string, a banjo guitar, a drum guitar and cajons.” He is also legendary for creating a harp, a cricket bat guitar and more.

His legacy continues with his sons. While Gerald teaches music, Noel runs the business and Joseph runs a shop in Koramangala where he imports and sells instruments. He also has a daughter – Lorrita. Contact Cyril on 9845506631.

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