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Want to learn guitar? We have just the guy

At the age of 25, Mumbaikar Kunal Basu was well on his way to becoming the archetypal Indian success story: An engineering degree from Bombay University, a position at a top multinational company and assignments that took him to the US for work.

But, all the while, he had another, more driving passion. He wanted to play guitar. Every day. For a living.

"There wasn't enough music in my old job," he says plainly. "So I quit."

Fast forward four years, and the now 28-year-old Kunal's doing exactly what he loves: playing and teaching guitar. In addition to his day job at the American School of Bombay, where he teaches guitar to youngsters, Kunal also gives 45-minute private lessons in the evening, all over Mumbai.

"From Powai (a suburb in Mumbai's north) to Cuffe Parade (one of the city's southernmost points)," he explains. "If it weren't for my motorcycle, I'd never be able to get to all my lessons. Too much traffic in Mumbai."

A quick perusal of his apartment in Bandra, Mumbai reveals about 22 guitars stashed here, there and everywhere: under beds, attached to the walls, stuffed behind bureaus. The man obviously loves guitars. Not surprisingly, then, when he can squeeze in a moment's leisure time, Kunal's still found with a guitar in hand, usually performing for friends or at one of Mumbai's smaller venues.

"I recently had an extended solo gig at Jazz by the Bay, and that was a lot of fun. But for most of the big venues in Mumbai, they're looking for bands, especially hard rock bands. I primarily play solo acoustic music, so it can be tough. I try to play as many gigs as possible."

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Told he 'didn't have music in him'

Still, he's got two CDs to his name, Too Late to Press Rewind and Two Plunketts and a Boy from Bombay.

 "The second album I recorded this summer with two guys I met in Scotland. It's some really eclectic, crazy stuff," Kunal explains.

That Scotland trip was part of a larger excursion to the UK -- begun in June and concluded in August -- that saw Kunal perform 40 gigs all over the British Isles. A few of his customers, a family of Scottish expats working in Mumbai, suggested that he travel to their home country if he wanted to further explore his favoured genre.

"I really enjoyed my time in the UK. I met a lot of like-minded people, who appreciate and play the same kind of music I like. So I just I lapped it up. It was like one giant learning experience. I played all over the place, and in different types of venues. Played at Liverpool, Edinburgh, and so on. Some times in front of hundreds of people. Some times in front of a handful of people. I even played right out on the street in London, and made enough money for coffee," he remembers, laughing.

Given Kunal's fanatical dedication to the craft, you'd expect him to be a long-time guitarist. But this isn't true, he points out.

"Yes, I was always interested in music. And I grew up in a very musical home, where it wasn't unusual to hear The Beatles on a Sunday morning. But I personally wasn't immediately musical, because of an incident that happened when I just started showing interest in sound. I was 9 or 10, and my grandmother gave me my first guitar, for a present. So I signed up for lessons. But the music teacher, on just my second lesson, told me that I didn't have 'any music' in me. So that ended my initial experiments with music."

'I put my poems to music, and it just fit!'

Instead, he threw himself into his books, for literature was a true passion, particularly stories about the illustrious Sherlock Holmes.

"I was always a big reader and writer, very into literature. I would write poems, plays, stories, everything. For a while, I was sure that's what I'd do."

But one day, when Kunal was 21, he came across an old guitar, with just a few strings. To his great surprise, and contrary to his teacher's warnings, he found he could make melodies and tunes quite easily. "It just felt right," he remembers.

Soon, he was putting his poems to music. "I was shocked. They fit so naturally! It's like I'd been meant to do this all along."

As he's grown as a singer-songwriter, Kunal says Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Oasis, Coldplay, Red Hot Chilli Papers and others have all been influences.

But isn't he bitter over his once sceptical music teacher? "

Nope. Who knows what would have happened had I been playing since I was ten. Maybe I would have burned out by 16 and never picked up a guitar again. You can't live with regrets."

One thing he is sure of, though, is that anyone can play guitar.

"If you've never played before, of course you're not going to be any good. The key is to just practise, practise, practise. If you're determined to improve, you will."

Introducing the wizard of chords!

Kunal's serious about teaching guitar. He truly enjoys it.

That's why he created and published his book, The Guitar Chord Wizard, which he says represents a new spin on traditional, hefty music teaching guides.

The book has been designed to look like the fret-board of a standard six string guitar. On the front of each page, a chord is shown on the fret-board via finger numbering and position, which teaches you the particular grip and hand placement needed for each chord. The book contains about 50 chords in all.

"It's ideal for a beginner," says Kunal. "Especially in a place like Mumbai, where space is a luxury. You can play on the train, in the bus, etc. You can be learning your chords without lugging around a huge guitar. And the language is all straight forward and simple, not technical and confusing."

The Guitar Chord Wizard can be found in most of Mumbai's music stores, and it also has a web site. Kunal's even filed a design patent registration, convinced the product is going to be a hit.