Legendary Kolkata Store Where Ravi Shankar and George Harrison Got Their Sitars Made

In a world of glass buildings, wooden flooring and perfectly lit showrooms, it becomes difficult to pay attention to any other showroom or a shop that has little or no visual charm to it. We’re living in a time where the absence of lack of options has left the consumer in a state of mind where it has no option but to quickly judge a book by its cover.
And while this argument might serve as a free advertisement for wooden flooring or a quirky colour combination for your walls, it also goes against the need for visual charm being a reflection of the quality of one’s work.
Hemen & Co., a 73-year-old shop checks all the boxes of being the kind of shop that no one would pay attention to but the reality is a bit of a surprise. The old walls inside, victim to a whole lot of dust and peeling paint, have seen legends such as Pt. Ravi Shankar, George Harrison, Ian Anderson frequent the shop from time to time. This dilapidated shop has produced sitars, sarods, violins, guitars and more for legendary musicians all over the world.
Hemen & Co. located on the busy Rashbehari Avenue was set up by the late Hemendra Chandra Sen before the Independence in 1946. Hemendra, a young man, apparently couldn’t afford to hire a professional to fix his sitar when it broke one day, so he restored it himself. Hemen’s instructor, Baba Allauddin Khan, de facto hired him to fix all of his instruments as well as those of his Maihar Band because he was so impressed with his abilities. Soon, “Hemen & Co” was established, and over time, it developed an almost legendary status.
Ratan and Tapan started helping their father, Hemendra Sen, as boys and took over the business after his death in 2010. For his accomplishments and contribution to Indian classical music over the years, he received many awards, two of the most distinguished being the Hafiz Ali Khan Award and the Vidyarthi Samman Award.
From Ravi Shankar’s specific Kharaj Pancham Sitar to the dilruba, a variant of the esraj, used memorably in ‘Within You Without You’ on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to Ian Anderson’s bamboo flutes, Hemen and Co. have made a global impact from their humble existence.
Also read: Recordwala: A platform for local vinyl record sellers
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