Come February 7, it will be time again for the city-based organisation, working for the welfare of the musicians of the Hindi film industry, to repeat the magic-this time in the memory of deceased maverick musician Cawas Lord. On that nippy evening, nearly 50 of his forever green numbers will fill Dinanath Mangeshkar Hall, Vile Parle, along with audio-visual presentations of his life and times.

Lord, who died at 96 on December 24, last year, has been credited with blending the flavour of western music with the melodious fare of Hindi films. “Cawas Kaka has worked with an amazing range of instruments and patterns of music. The effect of ghungroos in Guide’s Piya tohse naina lage re, manjira in Abhiman’s Tere mere milan ki yeh raina and Chinese Temple Block in 1942-A Love Story’s Ruth na jaana tumse kahun to are his doings. Even the bird chirping in Anupama’s Kuchch dil ne kaha and train whistling in Ajnabi’s Hum dono do premi are his handiwork,” say Dinesh Thakur, founder of Swara Aalap, as well as the editor of a monthly magazine by the same name.

The musician in Thakur prodded him five years ago to create a platform for the veteran musicians, most of who have been sidelined after the onslaught of electronic instruments. The result was Swara Aalap. Apart from its magazine’s cover story highlighting musicians who remained unsung, the outfit also regularly hosts live music evenings that makes the foot-tapping audience the behind-the-scene music-makers.

Its spotlight fell on Leslie Gudhena, who is the real drummer for Teesri Manzil’s Aaja aaja, mein hun pyar tera, not Shammi Kapoor, saxophone and flute expert Manohari Singh without whom Sholay’s Mehbooba mehbooba probably would have been little less hip-shaking, and base guitarist Tony Vaz whose strummed for Tere bina jiya jayena. Ranjit Gazmer, Homi Mullan and Jairam Acharya too found a platform to remind the audiences of the great melody of yesteryears and the role they had played in creating them.

“Most of these musicians and music arrangers, who are at the fag end of their careers, deserve a showcase for their work and talent. They belong to an era when mixing was unheard of in recording, which demanded perfect coordination among the large fleet of musicians and singers,” say Kushal Gopalka, a music archivist.

After five years, including the time when Thakur had to coax people to drop by, Swara Aalap seems to be extending its reach. It has attracted people like Gopalka into its fold and won admirers beyond the city limits. “In April, a set of veteran musicians are going to perform in Ahmedabad,” says Thakur, who wants to widen the outfit’s ambit to accommodate young and talented musicians too.