Grammy-winning Indian musician on inventing a guitar and jamming with Richard Gere
Vishwa Mohan Bhatt became a global hit by combining Indian classical music with modern influences
I was brought up in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, in the west of India. I was lucky to be born into a family of musicians – music runs in the blood. From the beginning, I heard the sound of music coming from all parts of our large home. My mother, father, brothers and sisters used to play or sing. So, since childhood, the nuances of Indian classical music went into my ears.
I began with vocal music – singing – and started playing the sitar, the famous Indian instrument, when I was 10 years old. In India, there’s a different musical education system. You don’t attend a music school, instead it’s all about your relationship with a particular teacher.
My brother was a disciple of the famous sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. He was a family friend and we had a close connection with him. I studied with him as well, later in my career.
When I was 15, a lady from Germany arrived with a guitar in her hand, to learn Indian music from my father. It was the first time a guitar had entered our home. When she left, we bought the guitar from her. I started experimenting and modifying it.
It was my dream to create an instrument with the versatility to produce the sounds of many traditional Indian musical instruments. To do this, I applied the principles of physics. I removed the guitar strings and replaced them with 20 strings that are usually used for the sitar and the veena (another traditional Indian instrument).
It’s designed so that some strings act as resonators – their notes keep ringing after you’ve stopped playing, creating an echo that adds depth to the sound. I also raised the strings and added a tumba – a carved gourd – to the back of the guitar that enhances the bass notes and makes it easier to hold the instrument on my lap while I’m sitting cross-legged.
As well as sounding like different instruments, it can also make sounds that are close to the human singing voice. I called this new guitar the Mohan veena, because Mohan is my middle name.
Most members of my family are orthodox and want everyone to stick to their roots and traditions. When I started experimenting on a Western guitar, my family said, “What are you doing? Are you going away from our traditions?” I said, “I’m not changing the music. It’s still authentic, only the medium is different.”
