Vijayawada: Sitar is my world, says Dr Murthy

Vijayawada: "Sitar playing is a part of my life and in fact it is my world. But I never neglected my duties as a medical officer," said Dr Pavuluri Himasagara Chandra Murthy, a Professor in Ayurveda Medicine and also sitar classical instrument player, a brief interview to 'The Hans India' here on Wednesday.

Dr Murthy is running an Ayurvedic hospital in Vijayawada and also presenting sitar concerts. He said that playing sitar was a passion and he started giving concerts from 1977. He was born in 1951 at Kuchipudi in Krishna district and brought up at Munnangi in Guntur district. Though neither his farther Seshagiri Sarma nor mother Nagamamba belonged to music family, Himasagar was attracted towards sitar while watching a sitar playing bit in an advertisement trailer, when he was a child. Since then he waited for an opportunity to learn that royal and gentle instrument. But he could not get a chance to learn that instrument.

After a long waiting period he had a chance in Jamnagar, Gujarat while doing his post-graduation in Ayurveda medicine. Since then he was very much fascinated towards sitar, Hindustani music instrument, and gave number of performances throughout the State.

Dr Murthy said that Dr Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna, a music legend complemented him.

While recollecting his Gurus Vasudev Ganesh Anagare and Chatan Bhai Shastry, Dr Murthy said that the teaching of their gurus is very strict and also friendly.

Dr Murthy had been to Dharwad to take training from a sitar maestro Bale Khan and remembered his meaningful quote "Agar swarg dekhna hi tho marna padenge..." "Yes… Really it's true. If anyone wants to see and enjoy the swarg (Heaven), he must work hard to enjoy the flavour."