Come January and the country gets ready to witness the pompous Republic Day parade at the Rajpath. Smart soldiers march to many a tune that invigorates a feeling of valour but people have forgotten that many of the pieces which fill the air at various events of the Armed Forces were composed by Harold Joseph who was the first Indian Director at the AEC Training College and Centre at Pachmarhi.

Born in Ootacamund in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu on November 3, 1923, Harold Joseph was the eldest child of Alfred Robert Joseph and Mary Mengel. He started taking piano lessons at the young age of five under the tutelage of Mr Fewkes. His studies led to the licentiate diploma examination of the Trinity College of Music, London. Soon he took up his first job as incharge of the music section of a school in Panchgani, Maharashtra. Later, he went on to become Principal of the Calcutta School of Music.

In December 1951, his association with the Indian Army took a shape when he joined the Military Music Wing of the AEC Training College and Centre, Pachmarhi as Assistant Director of Music, a post he held till 1956. Married in 1956 to lris David, he was sent abroad for further studies at the Royal College of Music, London. There he specialised in piano, wind and stringed instruments, conducting, composition and general musicianship. In 1958, on completing his studies and becoming an Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) London, he returned to India as the first Indian Director of the College at Pachmarhi. During his tenure there, he was responsible for evolving a modern syllabus and methods suitable for the training of the bandsmen of the Indian Armed Forces.

With his fertile imagination, he pioneered the idea of adapting Indian ragas and music to the needs of military bands. Travelling far and wide, he took special interest in collecting lilting folk tunes and transforming them into quick marches. Hanste Lushai and Konkan Sundari are among several popular marches still played by Indian military bandsmen.

Coming to Army Headquarters in 1962, he served as an Officer on Special Duty (Music) in the General Staff Branch, MT Directorate until April 1980. He returned to Army Headquarters as a consultant in April 1985. He was subsequently signed on by the Indian Air Force and remained a consultant with them till he passed away on August 16, 1988.

In 1964, together with Gen JN Chowdhry, Ezra Kolet and Caroline Craig, Harold Joseph set up Delhi Symphony Orchestra and became its founder conductor. His tireless efforts over the next two decades raised the orchestra to great heights. Conducting the orchestra at fifty-one concerts, he presented over two hundred major works of western classical music to audience in Delhi and elsewhere. He was also associated with the Delhi Symphony Society, Delhi Music Society and Delhi School of Music.

Long associated with the Republic Day parade and the Beating Retreat ceremony, Harold's abilities were further recognised when he was put in charge of the massed bands for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Ninth Asian Games in 1982. He composed the March Past and the Musical Ride as also the much-loved Victory March played before the presentation of medals. The Non-Aligned Summit in 1983 followed. Amar Panchsheel composed by Harold Joseph was premiered by the massed bands at a special Beating Retreat ceremony for visiting Heads of State.

He conducted the band of the Sikh Light Infantry Regimental Centre at the Edinburgh Tattoo in 1962. In 1966, as a guest of the King of Afghanistan, he trained the band of the Afghan army. A similar assignment followed in Oman in the early seventies. Following the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, he was invited to train its army band to play Amar Sonar Bangla, the song written by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Apart from serving the Audition Board of All India Radio and the Scholarship Division of the Ministry of Education, Harold Joseph broadcast frequently from the Delhi Station of All India Radio, both as a soloist and an accompanist. Modesty was the hallmark of the personality of this innovative musician. He was an artist whose musical scores inspired generations of jawans and countrymen.