Gracias por el amor, Harshith!!
- gulatigurpreet
- Sep 21, 2020
- 2 min read
Growing up, I was fascinated by the guitar wizard Mr Jimi Hendrix. He could make the instrument cry, roar, smile, scream, run, stop, sing or just fall silent. It was inspiring to know how this poor guy from Seattle taught himself to play by ear, spending countless man-hours trying to emulate tunes on the radio. In a mainstream career spanning a little over 4 years, he left an indelible mark on rock music, and is arguably the most influential rock guitarist of all time.
Well, there will never be another Hendrix, and I certainly cannot dream of being one. Countless articles have been written about this maestro, and several artists have paid respects to him through their music or other forms of artistic expression. One day, i happened to come across a sketch (pic 2 below) (https://www.behance.net/gallery/21645743/Jimi-Hendrix-Sketch-Experience) of Jimi Hendrix, made by a gentleman Mr. Giovanni Mucci. It was a B&W illustration, made in pencil. It pictured the virtuoso musician in his trademark bandana and fringed jacket, strumming away at his Fender Stratocaster. I could instantly sense the intent in his playing, mind focussed on the rhythm and eyes closed in ecstasy. Despite being B&W, the sketch had a vibrance to it, a technicolor splash of movement that you so readily associate with Jimi Hendrix when on stage. It just blew me away. How I wished that one day, I could have the stage presence like this man, never mind the <1% of his talent I might have!!!
So it was a moment of immense happiness when I received a sketch of MINE, made by a person who i had never met before (pic 1 above). This is drawn by Dr. Harshith Kramadhari, a radiologist working in a hospital in South India (https://www.facebook.com/harshith.kramadhari/). I took his number and called him right away. He mentioned that he had been to one of my gigs and felt inspired to see a doctor-musician. He had even read some of my research articles i had published while I was practising radiology. I was flattered and profusely thanked him. I mean, can any reward, financial or otherwise, be greater than when another artist acknowledges your art through his own artistic expression. In that moment, I felt that art is greater than the artist himself. It was as if one art-form was talking to another art-form through her own medium!
It will probably be decades before I can claim to reach the zenith of my musical creativity. But it's such remarkable moments, brought about by acts of others who respect you for what you do, that keep you going!!
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