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Music and the muse

MUSICALLY YOURS Poly Varghese

Poly Varghese's home in Chennai is always filled with lilting tunes. His thumps on the electric guitar to make mridangam-like beats resound his single-syllable answers to any pertinent question about his life; “Music, music, music.” Among the few disciples of Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Poly's career in music began when he was a boy.

“My childhood was soaked in classical music and I felt that was the only thing I wanted to do. So, I joined Kerala Kalamandalam after school to study mridangam and Kerala folk arts. I wanted to know my native music and culture. After I finished my degree there, I went to Santiniketan, where I trained in Rabindra sangeet. I also travelled with the Baul singers and learnt their songs. At that time, I began to play Hindustani music on the guitar.”

Poly, who had even then been an avid fan of Bhatt, approached him and played the guitar for him. Impressed, the Mohan veena master agreed to take him on as his student.“I used to listen to him on television or radio. I never wanted to limit myself to one instrument or place. I left for Kolkata as it was an excuse to move from home. I travelled, sometimes like a gypsy, with other musicians, met many great people before I finally went to Rajasthan and met my guru. I have been learning under him for over a decade and I have never met someone as great as him,” Poly smiles.

The musician, who invented a 40-string guitar a couple of years ago, says the three-neck poly-string guitar has 12 octaves but he is still not satisfied,

“Any instrument has limitations, no matter how niche it is. Only the musician knows it. I'll keep modifying and experimenting with this guitar.” Apart from playing 19 instruments, Poly is a theatre personality, a music director and an actor. Having acted in plays enables Poly to express his emotions better through music.

Teaching

Poly spends his time practising and learning through this art.

“I'm not very confident about teaching people because I don't feel I know enough. I spend most of my time researching about music and learning more. But all this is only with Indian classical music.”

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