In many ways, the history of the NCPA is also a slice of the history of Mumbai—a story of how art and culture have been shaped by the countless influences sustained by the city. While every new performance here brings in a newer sensibility, the very instruments driving the concert, too, have a tale to tell. Tucked away in the NCPA’s annals is the story of one such instrument—a Yamaha grand piano—that is nearly 45 years old.

The idea of a grand piano at the NCPA first came up in 1980 when the Tata Theatre was being developed. With a seating capacity of over 1,000 and unparalleled acoustics, this was a platform worthy of the finest performers of Indian art forms. It was also a stage to present the best from around the world to Indian audiences and having top-notch musical instruments at the centre was an expensive necessity.

Tsutomu Koga, a senior official of the Japanese corporation Nissho Iwai and a passionate musicophile, was posted in Bombay around the same time. Having moved to the city with his family, Mr. Koga was faced with a unique challenge. His 10-year-old daughter Yoshiko, who had been learning the piano since she was three, didn’t have access to a good instrument here. “When an upright piano came to our home, the C scale started from the E scale, which means Do was Mi. I was confused playing classical pieces, especially Bach,” recalls Yoshiko. The Koga family eventually managed to rent a piano from a concert hall in the city, but this long-winded search revealed the paucity of pianos in Bombay.

Highly supportive of the performing arts in India and a close friend of the Tatas, Mr. Koga evinced interest in donating a grand piano to the NCPA via the Nissho Iwai Corporation. The top brass that included J.R.D. Tata, Naval Tata and Ratan Tata endorsed the idea and accordingly set about making preparations.

One initial setback presented itself in the form of high tariffs; import duties could swell drastically at that time. The duties were borne by the Tatas and with the timely intervention of the Indo-Japanese Association, the Yamaha grand piano was soon glistening in the newly built Tata Theatre. And when Joan Grillo, mezzo soprano of the Metropolitan Opera, was accompanied on the beautiful instrument a few days before the theatre’s formal inauguration, the result was supreme: the rubber had met the road and was off to a roaring start.

That streak of eminence has only grown over the years. When Igor Butman, the celebrated jazz saxophonist, performed at the Tata Theatre in 2014, ’15 and ’16, the grand piano did its bit. More recently, at the NCPA International Jazz Festival 2023, acclaimed musicians like Emmet Cohen and Thilo Wolf performed on the piano. Colombian pianist Jesús Molina too brought the house down with his magic on the Yamaha’s ebony and ivory. The piano has been an integral part of concerts by the SOI Chamber Orchestra. On the other hand, in its spare moments, the instrument is put to judicious use for the students of the SOI Music Academy. Young Ayaan Deshpande, the musical prodigy, has played on it during the academy’s annual concerts.

Meanwhile, after returning to Japan, Yoshiko continued her piano lessons and went on to perform in numerous shows across the country as a background vocalist for Hikaru Nishida, a well-known singer, while also doing commercial songs and other live performances. Mr. Koga’s travels took him to the US, Brazil, South Africa, where he enjoyed authentic local jazz, popular and classical music, Latin music and tango.

During his 86th birthday celebrations in March this year, photographs of the grand piano’s thriving presence at the NCPA sent from Mumbai on Yoshiko’s initiative, took Mr. Koga down memory lane. He passed away early in May this year, secure in the knowledge that his gift of friendship and generosity continues to nurture budding musicians—just the way it all started.