Vishwa Mohan Bhatt with Vishwa Veena, and his son Salil Mohan Bhatt with Mohan Veena

While winning the Grammy was Bhatt's moment of glory, creating A Meeting by the River was an experience in itself. For one, it was recorded at a quaint church in Santa Barbara and the half-hour session thrilled everyone. But what captivated music lovers most was that it was essentially Indian music produced on an East-West fusion instrument. The album lasted 40 weeks on the Billboard charts.

The only other Indian to have won the Grammy happens to be Pandit Ravi Shankar. " When Ravi Shankar won the Grammy we were extremely thrilled. But little did I know a time would come when I would also win the coveted award."

A resident of Jaipur and belonging to a family of musicians, Bhatt started his learning at an early age. His father, Manmohan Bhatt, a noted vocalist of his time, initiated him into music. " It is his blessings that have made me what I am today," he says.

Bhatt became a disciple of Pandit Ravi Shankar whom he regards as his godfather. And that period proved very crucial for Bhatt. As he explained later, he could not imitate Ravi Shankar. A better course for him would be to use what he had learnt from the sitar maestro to develop his own style. A Meeting by the River established that he had. Besides, he had imbibed the gayaki ang (vocal style) and tantrakari ang (instrumental style) that is reflected in his renditions.

Clearly, winning the Grammy and the great sense of achievement that preceded it as the album ran up the popularity charts, was a special moment for Bhatt. He says, "It was the greatest event in my life and I had the most receptive crowd I could ever get."

Now Bhatt hopes to re-create that magic all over again with his newly invented instrument, the Vishwa Veena. " The results have been more than encouraging," says an ecstatic Bhatt, " It is a great success and I am in consultation with the recording companies for an album based on this new instrument."

Behind his creation of the Vishwa Veena and his inspiring music is a philosophy of life. According to Bhatt, his sole objective " is to attract the young generation and to inculcate in them the spirit of Indian classical music."

Now besides him, his son Salil Mohan Bhatt too has followed his footsteps and is fast becoming a musician of repute. The father-son duo is now planning a joint album. And it goes without saying the two main instruments will be the Mohan Veena and the Vishwa Veena!

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