Article On Sunday Times-04/04/2010

This is not my article. This is an article from the Sunday Times Of
India dated- 04/04/10. Page-2. I liked this article, so I'm Posting
it. For my own articles u can browse my archives.

Still passionate? Guitar gurus ask GenNext
Krishnendu Mukherjee | TNN

Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar.
But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded". That was Jimi
Hendrix, talking about what drove him to greater heights of
excellence.

Four decades after the guitar god's death, his words still ring
true, especially for the guitarcrazy GenNext. But the big question is:
what does the guitar signify for today's youth? Has the instrument
become just a "chick magnet" to pep up cool quotient? Or does the wind
blow in new directions these days?

Three decades have passed since the rock movement arrived in
Kolkata with bands like High and Great Bear. Though the guitar has
played a lead, the passion for the instrument
seems to have undergone a sea change with the passage of time. Forget
the days when budding guitarists used to emulate musicians like Slash,
Mark Knopfler and David Gilmour, rue old-timers. "Times' are
achangin". Guitar, it seems, is only an instrument to get
certificates. No doubt that guitar is becoming increasingly popular.
And it's a very positive trend...but all this is happening after some
box office hits," says musician Amyt Dutt, referring to the post-Rock
On scene.
"The issue calls for a consensus. Even parents want kids to take
up guitar nowadays, but not for the art. The positivity is somehow
shallow and lacks depth," feels Dutt.
For veteran Nondon Bagchi, Rock On is not the cause of change.
"The film actually captures some changes in social values," he says.
Whenever a change takes place, Bagchi says, there will be those who
are genuine and those who pretend to be genuine. "But change has to
come. And that is what is happening now."
A tour of non-descript Paschimpara in Belur will tell you how
popular the guitar is among today's youth. Essentially a residential
area, the colony has all of a sudden become an "industrial hub" — of
guitar manufacturers. Locals say in the last couple of years, guitar
shops and factories have mushroomed in the area.
"There's an unprecedented demand. It seems everybody wants a
guitar these days. I am in the trade for almost 40 years, but have
never seen this before," says Mukunda Biswas, the man behind the M
Biswas brand. "A couple of months ago, I used to make about 70 guitars
a week. Now it's nearly 100, sometimes more," he says.
But this story has its flip side, too. "It's wonderful that the
music movement has got fresh wind. But don't you think that it's a bit
misdirected? Most of the buyers, it seems, are not much bothered about
the quality of the sound. All they want is the look of the
instrument," Biswas says, fixing the bass string of a rosewood guitar.
Subhashish Biswas, manufacturer of Signature guitars from
the same area, has his order books full. "We make 600-700 guitars a
month. The demand is growing. By May, I have to make 1,000 guitars. It
still seems like the other day when I had set up my own business with
four labourers. Today, 42 help me in running the show," he does not
seem to complain.
Guitar has travelled a long way in the city. And it holds truth if
one really takes into account its journey from the lanes of Kolkata 16
in the 70s, when, to put it in Dutt's words, "the beauty of difference
was shared between the natives and the Anglo-Indians", to this day
when the instrument has made its way into every household.
"But why this sudden craze? Isn't it commercialisation of the
instrument?" Dutt is worried.
Lou Majaw, the "Bob Dylan of Meghalaya", has a different take.
"Every individual has his or her own way of looking at things. And I
have no grudge against this. But the fact remains that a true musician
will always have oneness with the instrument. He will never run after
brand, look and money. No matter if a guitar is from an ordinary
company... Lou will still perform songs with the instrument," he says.
"Dedication is a point that has to be raised. But even in midst of
this sudden craze, we are getting quality musicians," says Ayan
Banerjee, a guitarist who was formerly associated with Bangla bands
like Abhilasha and Marudyan.