Maheswor Acharya

Kathmandu,

People are often surprised to see a guitar-like instrument played veena-style, in different notes while it rests on one’s lap. Ishwor Joshi of Patan has been playing the Hawaiian guitar in concerts and musical gatherings for a few years now. Not as famous as its cousin, the Spanish guitar, many have not heard the melody of the Hawaiian guitar.

The Hawaiian, or steel, guitar is laid across the knees. The musician plays the metal strings by gliding a metal bar along the neck. The strings are usually tuned to the notes of a given chord. Joshi first heard the Hawaiian guitar nearly 10 years ago. “I listened to an album of the Indian musician Bisho Mohan Bhatt and Dilbhusan Kavra in a music store in Thamel. Those numbers were played by a guitar but the melody resembled a sitar or veena. That was when I came to know of the Hawaiian guitar,” he says.

Hawaiian guitar is similar to a sarod, a classical string instrument, to some extent and the technique with which it is played is also similar.

“I learned to play the Hawaiian guitar from sarod experts in the initial days,” Joshi says. “As there was no one to teach the Hawaiian guitar, books and compact discs were of great help,” he shares. “The significance of the Hawaiian guitar is that you can play different notes at once and the sound sustains for a long time, which is not possible in a Spanish guitar. It is a fine instrument to play oriental classical numbers with.”

The Hawaiian guitar needs fine hands to play and a couple of years’ hard effort to become a good guitarist, experts say. As a music composer, Joshi uses the Hawaiian guitar in modern songs also. “Music was always present in our family. Following my father’s footsteps, I played the tabala during schooldays,” Joshi recalls.

His father, Mohan Prasad Joshi played the tabala as an accompanying instrument during ‘bhajans’ and ‘kirtans’ in his locality. “I learned to play the guitar only after my SLC,” Joshi continues. “I chose to learn eastern classical tunes on the guitar rather than western,” he states.

Joshi received his Master’s in music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti India. Besides composing music, Joshi also teaches the discipline at various educational institutions such as the Kalanidhi Indira Sangeet Maha Vidyalaya. Joshi has already published three volumes of children’s songs album ‘Bal Geeti Yatra’. He is now a member of the classical music band ‘Sadaj’, which comprises Prem Chandra Ojha on the tabala and Jeevan Ale on the flute.

The Hawaiian guitar was introduced in Nepal by the renowned music researcher Ram Saran Darnal in 1955. Darnal used to play the Hawaiian guitar but it has been a long time since he played any musical instrument. C K Rasaili also played the Hawaiian guitar at Radio Nepal.