Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt Interview

Only a few know the rather amusing background to the creation of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt’s Mohan Veena—the story dates back to when the maestro was still learning the ropes. “When I was 16, a young German lady approached my father with a guitar and expressed her desire to learn classical music. I was attracted to both the girl and the guitar. While I couldn’t pursue the girl, I decided to go ahead with the guitar instead,” he narrates.

This candid anecdote set the tone for our conversation with the super-talented classical musician in the city who will perform at Barkha Ritu, the monsoon music festival by Banyan Tree. The event saw him collaborating with tabla player Pt Ramdas Mishra. Interestingly, at the end of it, both the charmed (audience) and the charmer (Bhatt) wanted more. “Oh! I love performing here. This is, perhaps, the only city where people throng to buy tickets for a classical music concert,” he says.

Returning to his creation, he says he added 14 more strings to the western Hawaiian guitar to construct the Mohan Veena—no wonder the instrument fetched him the Musical Scientist award in 1996 in Bangalore. “I wanted to make an instrument that was a perfect amalgamation of the Sitar, Sarod, and Veena, and it took me 4-5 years to make it. It is a culmination of innumerable im- provisations. Each time I sit with it, I improve it further. It’s an ongoing process,” he says.

The Padma Shri awardee’s brush with music goes back much before he was born. “My mother was preparing for her music exam while she was expecting me. I think that’s when it all began.” He smiles and then carries the conversation further, taking us through the important chapters of his life. Hailing from a musically rich background, Bhatt was born to the late Manmohan Bhatt and Chandrakala Bhatt, eminent musicians of their times. In addition to that, sitar tutelage from the renowned sitar player Pandit Ravi Shankar only furthered his musical prowess. 

After that, he started his professional journey with stage shows in the country and abroad. For stage performances, he collaborated with international artists. Most notable is Ry Cooder, with whom he won the Grammy award for their fusion album A Meeting by the River. “It was amazing how we went about making the album. Nothing was pre-planned. It all happened spontaneously…and the next thing I know, we had an album ready,” he recounts.

Bhatt also has, to his credit, music for international movies like The Dead Man Walking, which features the famous songs The Face of Love and The Long Road, sung by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Eddie Vedder.

His Indian portfolio includes working with musicians like Vishal Bharadwaj and AR Rahman. He lent music for the song Badi Dheere Jali Raina from Ishqiya, which won the 58th National Award for the best singer and music direction. Recently, he also lent music for the song Tere Liye from 7 Khoon Maaf.

He zoomed in on the international circuit with the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival, his most memorable performance. “I’ve had several unforgettable performances, but nothing beats the 2004 Crossroads Guitar Festival, where I performed with several other international artists like Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, and Zakir Hussain. Never before had I seen such a huge audience. It was an experience of a lifetime,” he says.

ishani.bose@dnaindia.net