MY Gurus
Vidushi Mita Nag
When I try to describe her, words fall short. She has not only been a guru, but also an elder sister, a friend, and a tremendous source of inspiration and strength.
Mita Nag is one of the leading sitar players of our time. She’s the daughter and disciple of the legendary sitar and surbahar maestro Padmashri Pt. Manilal Nag. As the khalifa of the Seniya Bishnupur gharana, Mita Nag is likely the first female instrumentalist to ever hold this position in a centuries-old tradition.
I started learning under her when I was just out of college. To test me, she asked what my other interests were. “Fashion!” An unexpected answer from a student of Indian classical music. She didn’t wait a second to respond. Her reaction was, without any qualms: “take an admission into a fashion college—then we’ll start our lessons.” She was at once an exemplar of tradition and open-minded about modern values, an extremely rare combination that inspired my everlasting journey with her: the journey of a guru and a sishya.
Dr. Pandit Rajshekar VyaS
My veena grandpa. Despite being 82 years old by the time I met him, he had the energy and enthusiasm of a teenager. He taught me all that I know about rudra veena making and all the shastras that go into playing it. He was deeply rooted in the tradition, but always encouraged experiments that could improve the sound of the veena. In fact, he encouraged me to create my own version of a Dagar-style veena instead of playing a traditional one.
Unfortunately, many of the shastras were lost with him when he passed away. We had planned to visit him and document all of his knowledge, but the pandemic prevented us from doing so. Nevertheless, I'm committed to carrying on his legacy by sharing everything I know with others as openly and freely as possible. If you're interested in learning more about rudra veena making and playing, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Bala Chandar S.
Bala Chandar has devoted his entire life to developing and perfecting the chandraveena, a unique instrument he invented for playing dhrupad. The chandraveena is a heavily modified version of the traditional Saraswati veena, with a longer neck and additional resonating chambers that produce a distinct, deep sound that is well-suited for dhrupad. He no doubt planted the seed that inspired me in my own veena making journey.
The Gundecha Brothers
Everyone who is familiar with dhrupad or Indian classical music more broadly knows the contribution of this renowned duo. Everything I know about sur and shrutis I owe to them.