Amplifying emotions

Veterans of Nagpur city’s amateur theatre movement, who have dedicated a lifetime on stage take a stroll down memory lane and share a few pearls from their cherished treasure of experiences with me as part of The Hitavada's special series...

For Damu Morey, the sound system is a lot more than something that transmits a speaker’s voice. “A microphone should be able to pass on feelings, thought and character of the speaker,” says the man, who has seen three generations of speakers, actors, and singers quite closely, sitting right in front of them, arranging the sound tracks.

“Eyi Harami, tui amar natok noshto kore dili. Toke aajke merei phelbo,” (You bastard, you spoiled my play. I will kill you.) With a dagger raised in a hand, the warrior was chasing the man who missed the exact moment of turning on the spotlight during a play. The dagger-borne man was portraying a soldier in the ill-fated play and now his ire was focused on the technician at the Dhanwate Rang Mandir, the only auditorium in Nagpur those days.


“Oh my God, that was a great sight! I was trembling with fear running out of the theatre. And in a warrior’s get-up; Toru Mitra was standing right at the main gate, shouting at me. People were watching the drama within the drama, and it was a great embarrassment for me being the technical in-charge,” recalls Damu Morey, veteran sound technician, who was recently felicitated by Nagpur Municipal Corporation for his contribution to the city’s theatre movement. Owner of the century-old ‘Morey Sound Service’; city’s signature sound system provider; Morey, these days, relaxes at his recording studio in crowded Modi No 1, behind Janki Talkies, recalling his seven-decade-long association with theatre.

“It was not a personal quarrel. It was an anguish of an actor, who failed to deliver the desired impact due to a technical goof-up. The incident never dampened the spirit of companionship between me and T P Mitra nor did it stop the next half of the Bengali play ‘Gehri Pataka’. Thankfully things went right later,” remembers Morey.

Understanding emotions is probably the most important thing Damu Morey has achieved in his life apart from a bagful of prizes, acclaims, recognition and a lot of work.

That is why, when he provided sound system for the historical ‘Dhamma Pravartan’ event at Deekshabhoomi, or when he changed the look of the city’s trademark ‘Ram Navami Shobhayatra’ by playing a single song on every loud-speaker all along the 17-km route; or when he introduced the use of recorded speeches of national leaders during election campaigns; he was met with nothing but resounding success.

“It was the ‘Deeksha’ event which made me realise the impact of ‘one’ voice,” says Morey almost entering into a trance while recalling the golden days.

“My approach towards work changed after seeing millions of people answering to a call of a single charismatic voice that my loud speakers were transmitting. At that very moment, I realised the difference my work can make,” he remembers.

Since then, his profession has become a passion for Damu Morey. Studying performers’ voice quality, auditorium’s architecture, and sound needs before arranging sound system is his habit. This is why, everyone right from Prabhakar Panshikar to Pt Bhimsen Joshi insisted on Morey’s service whenever they performed at Dhanwate Rang Mandir.

“I shared a special bond with Rang Mandir,” says Morey. He vividly remembers the structure and architecture of Rang Mandir, and explains the theory of sound waves, that he learned through experience. His two sons learnt the same after doing BE (Sound Engineering) from Mumbai.

His decades-long career is full of experiences. He remembers the legendary Mohd Rafi for his humbleness; Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia for saying “Yeh mera nahi, Morey Sahab ka Kamal Hai” when he was provided a spontaneous reverse echo while playing his trademark ‘Pahadi Dhun’; Pt Bhimsen Joshi for his down-to-earth nature; Lata Mangeshkar for the way she responded to a song played during her felicitation in Nagpur; Yashwantrao Chavan for a look he gave him when Morey played a Maharashtra Geet to coincide with his entry on stage; and so on.

Today, in his seventies, Damu Morey is still busy working on innovative concepts. In his studio, now full of modern equipment, he records for a variety of events. He is proud of young theatre activists in the city and is always ready to help them. This is because he understands their urge and emotions.

He has mastered this art now.