The first hints of Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya's imminent lift-off into a stellar orbit wasn't to be found in the iconic Indo-jazz collective Shakti's Saturday Night in Bombay album (2001, Universal Records). That album introduced Bhattacharya to a broader audience but hardly established the mastery of the Indian slide guitarist. The immense cult that surrounds Shakti co-founders John McLaughlin and Ustad Zakir Hussain meant that Bhattacharya's contributions in two of the four compositions were buried beneath, where only the assiduous would venture. 

  
Bhattacharya's next international release, Mahima (2003, Riverboat Records), was never in danger of obscuring his talent. He partnered the incomparable cultural scholar and Hawaiian slide guitar champion, Bob Brozman, for an effort heralded as one of the finest showcases of the instrument. The absolute virtuosity of the duo aside, Mahima - a triumph of enormous cheek and aesthetic audacity - is notable for the simple joys of music-making. 
 
In his newest work 3: Calcutta Slide Guitar (Riverboat Records), Bhattacharya reintroduces the two major Hindustani slide guitars (which he has named Ghandarvi and Chaturangui) that he had been fettling since Mahima - and which elevate his craft to an even more commanding plane. While Mahima dealt with folk, traditional and western-style compositions, and featured the vocals of Bhattacharya's sister Sutapa, 3: Calcutta Slide Guitar is wholly instrumental and introduces Anandi - a third guitar - in a purely classical setting. It is verification, if any were needed, of Bhattacharya's brilliance, and features nothing more than the guitars: Bhattacharya's brother, Subhasis, plays the tabla and Sutapa appears again, this time on the tanbura, the four-stringed instrument that produces the backdrop drone for Indian classical music recitals. 

  
Apart from the Bhattacharyas, the stars of the recording are the trinity of guitars which at times flawlessly mimic the tone colours of the sitar, santoor (hammered zither), sarod (the lute native to Hindustani music of north India), sarangi (bowed string instrument of northern India) and veena (the essential plucked string instrument in the classical south Indian music of carnatic or karnatik). 
Off The Edge played tap the keyboard with Pandit (master) Bhattacharya, who explains the origins of his trinity and the challenges in the creative process of a new international era for the 'Indian' guitar. Excerpts: 
  
Can you please tell us the story behind the making of the trinity of guitars? What was the motivation for their creation? 

 
The guitar has been part of the Indian musical environment probably since the time of the Portuguese and the English, as some of our earliest luthiers (makers of string-instruments), whose descendants are still in business today, learned their craft from them. However, the slide guitar is comparatively new and was brought to this country by the great Hawaiian maestro, [Papa] Tau Moe. 

I met Tau Moe in 2004, and played my homage to him, fortunately before he passed away in 2004 at the age of 96. In my experience the sheer lack of a formal structure in terms of a method of playing, a fraternity, quality education, and innovation that made the guitar amenable to the microtonal characteristics of Indian classical and folk music are some of the facts that inspired me to create the 'trinity.' I was also spurred on by the lack of recognition of the Hindustani slide genre by the maestros of Indian classical music, who treated the instrument and its players as outcasts. I felt this was a great injustice and had to be set right. 

I was guided in my pursuits by Baba Allaudin Khan's view on the subject which I heard at the tender age of seven: 'If some one can pull a string on a piece of wood and play beautifully to bring tears in my eyes he is the piece of music, not the wood.' This universal truth and the musical environment at home from a very young age are some of the factors that motivated me to create the 'trinity'. 
  
What were the main difficulties encountered in the creation of the trinity? 

 
The lack of trained craftsmen in India is the main problem. Most of our luthiers, post-independence, model their instruments on cheap Czechoslovakian guitars. They focus on the external look and not the structural elements that are so important for tonal quality. I brought in the know-how from luthiers in the West and trained my luthiers... features like hollow necks, wooden tail piece, bird-shaped bridge, wooden finger… some of the elements that add to quality were brought in [personally] to India. The other problem is the lack of good wood and the humidity. Finally, the issue of strings: even now most of the Indian guitars use piano strings! 

 
I work intuitively [to obtain just the right tone]. Over the years, the rich sound of the Indian instruments like the veena, sitar, sarangi, sarod, santoor played by our maestros has been embedded in my system. I try and explain to my luthiers the tonal qualities I'm looking for and they fine-tune the instruments accordingly. Hence, replicating it in every guitar is a very difficult and complex matter... it's a little bit like a black art. 
  
Your mastery of the various singing styles (Gwalior and Patiala, among others) aided in the achievement of the tones that you set out to attain... 

Yes, of course, not only tone but the style of throwing voice and the utilisation of the prime ornaments and the schools of composition. All this is affected by the input of riaaz (practice) and talim (education) and [the] familiarity of the listening to different schools [of music]. 
  
How do the features on the slide guitar pioneered by your guru, Pandit Brij Bhusan Kabra, in the 1950s differ from the innovations that you have created almost 50 years later? 

There are always two sides of a truth. I think my guru showed one side, but in Kolkata I have seen the other side. In 1975, he started three main strings with the back chikari (a bridge that contains four strings tuned to different notes) and without resonating strings. I experimented successfully with five to six main strings on the guitar with three supporting strings in the rear and two chikari strings in the front, which was accepted, after a while, as a breakthrough. 

This later became the Chaturangui. The other notable feature is a different wrist movement and style of finger-picking - all these are very different, not only compared to the playing of my guru but probably from the slide guitar as it is played the world over. 
  
Did the influence of your guru Pandit Brij Bhusan, as an innovator himself, play a huge role in your desire to explore and embrace new inventions? 

 
[He] has inspired me to continue my journey to the unexplored path of improvisation and innovation. Though he never played the way I play a guitar, he has never restrained me in terms of my improvisation. He has educated me and drilled me on the discipline of the tradition of ragas (melodic scales). His ego has never been an obstruction for my newer styles. 

 
You have also made your respect for the late Ray Charles very clear in the album sleeve notes. Charles had an irreverent streak in him and his approach to music. Did you relate to the spirit he embodied? And is this also in line with your collaboration with the likes of Bob Brozman? 
 
I have great respect for Ray Charles and his Indian contemporary, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The power of innovative genius is spontaneous in both of them, they never tried anything consciously. Rather, they were guided by a strange force. Their extended musical journey has followed that unseen force because they belong to that realm. I have the same faith in such unseen forces, the root of which is embedded in the human spirit... this has guided me to whatever I have invented or explored. 
  
You have hinted at the tradition rather than the instrument itself as the focal point of your music. To what extent does the tradition allow for innovation? How has the tradition itself helped in your quest? 

 
My tradition is my foundation as it represents my roots. It enables me to be wild in terms of innovation, without losing control... to be able to play with fire in the musical sense, to live dangerously and come out unscathed. 3: Calcutta Slide Guitar is the beginning of the journey, and is not really an example of my wild side where I can freely experiment with tradition and the contemporary. My quest is to put Hindustani slide guitar on the world map and to deliver ragas that are reminiscent of earth, wind and fire; no matter where I play them [it is] a tradition of a world raga. 
 
In the album sleeve notes, you mention that, 'Now, there are no more Maharajas or kings of queens. This is the Internet age. Music reaches everyone...' The patronage of the Maharaja helped the arts to prosper in post-independence India albeit very restrictedly. Now the Net is the new king. Has technology liberated your music beyond exclusive circles? 

  
Yes, it has of course saved my music from ignorant yet powerful hands of so-called classical music promoters and the elite of our society. On the other hand there are people in the same society who are contemporary in their views and accept the fact that the guitar, santoor, saxophone and mandolin are also integral to Indian raga music. Technology has 'opened' the music of an artiste like me to a vast world that spans various walks of life, cultures and nationalities. 

An interesting comment about your album is that it would require digital effects for any other guitar to have sounded as they did in your hands.. . 

To me all digital effects are blessings. It opens up a different world of sound... 
 
The studio sessions must have been interesting... 

The first couple of times I did some demo recordings in Kolkata, they came out satisfyingly. Thereafter, there was a recording at All India Radio where I tested my second invention, the Ghandarvi. The broadcast stunned many of the listeners. Then there was the real recording which was a joy. The positioning of the strings in Ghandarvi and measurement of the correct pitch of each individual scale-length of the instruments were issues that were quite challenging. 
 
Were there any doubts whether 3: Calcutta Slide Guitar would receive the response that you had in mind when you set out to make it? 

 
Woo! Every day or night is a challenge on stage [and to discover whether the] audience will accept the instruments or not. Unlike other traditional instruments in East or West, these guitars are new-born babies! So far the 15 concerts I have played internationally with the trinity of guitars have been a great success. The audience has shown great interest in the concept... they cry, they laugh; they really love it. It touches them where they haven't been touched before and [all concerts have been] sold out so far. 
 
Any particular inspirations for the album? 

The inspiration of being a father to my children Sukanya, my daughter of eight-and-a-half years and Suryadipta, my son who is just one-and-a-half years, and wife Tripti. And not forgetting my triplets the Chaturangi, Anandi and Ghandarvi and the blessings of all my gurus, my parents and family. 
 
After Mahima, where do you think this album stands? 

Mahima has been quite popular - a quartet of four different artists. It is diversified through the blend of different cultures and styles and is more folk-based. In contrast, this album is solo and critics the world over have hailed it as a 'milestone in improvised music,' 'noble work,' 'reward listening' and so forth. I think it has found a place in the world of music... 

3: Calcutta Slide Guitar is distributed by Trident Entertainment