Sachin Patwardhan is a musician who plays the ‘Spanish Veena,’ which allows him a perfect fusion of western guitar music and our traditional way of playing the veena.
In his zest to achieve a seamless blend of indo-western music, Sachin performs classical compositions on his brainchild, which is the ‘Spanish Veena’. It is a modified version of the electric guitar on which a full range of Indian Classical can be played like ‘aalap’, ‘jod’, ‘jhala’ along with different kinds of ‘gamaks’ and ‘murkis’ which are specific to the Indian classical style of music. This, on the other hand is not possible on the standard tuned electric guitar.
“Contemporary music always appeals to me and I like to collaborate with different genres of music,” he reveals. The Indore-based artiste is in the city for the Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music (SAM)’s recent music event showcasing his unique style. He is fortunate to have had intensive training under the ‘Guru-Shishya Parampara’ from the legendary Sarod maestro Padma Vibhushan Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb since 1998.
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Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb taught me, ‘music is way of life’, he says about his guru, adding “He thought about different ragas, their structures, how to build a raga and different ornamentations used in Hindustani classical music, and how to collaborate with different genres of music”.
Even after playing Sarod for more than 20 yrs, due to some severe physical problem he had to stop playing it, and so the idea of playing the guitar like the Sarod came to him. But the passion didn’t let him leave the instrument.
Born in a family of musicians, Sachin picked up playing musical instruments with a natural flair. Formal training began at the age of nine under the guidance of his father Manohar Patwardhan, a renowned violinist and uncle and sitarist Vijay Patwardhan. Growing up in a musical environment, Sachin pursued his studies hand in hand with his training in music. He graduated with a degree in Science and afterwards completed his MBA.
“I have been playing the guitar since 1994. My father, uncle and my guru Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb has been my inspiration since childhood and continues to be my inspiration till date”, shares the artiste. Apart from the guitar, he learnt tabla in school days and also did an arts degree in the violin.
But the core concept lies in Spanish Veena without compromising on his Indian classical techniques. His highly versatile and aesthetic perception has enabled him to touch the profound depths of his instrument. His purity of style, uniqueness of imagination with his brilliant technique in which he blends the elements of ‘Gayaki’ i.e. vocal rendering and ‘Layakari’ i.e. instrumental rhythmic patterns, make his recitals enchanting.
Talking about young musicians and their accomplishments he shared that they should respect the purity of music and well focused. He revealed that “rigorous practice” (riyaz) is the key to success.
