Iyer took up the instrument after an initial interest in the mandolin. "Theguitar became my hobby in school and college. I played at annual dayfunctions and won many competitions," he says. It was then that he thoughtof taking up music as a career. He describes himself as a self-taughtmusician, who learnt by listening to good guitarists and reading books onthe subject.

He explains the basics. "This is a string instrument. Essentially, there arefour kinds of guitars. The Spanish guitar is the best known. The bass guitaris used for accompaniment, not for solo performances. Then there is the12-string guitar, which as the name suggests, has 12 strings instead of theusual six. The classical guitar belongs to a different family, and is playedwith the fingers instead of the little plastic piece called the plectrum,"he says. Iyer explains that the left hand is usually used to play the noteson the fingerboard, while the right hand is used for strumming.

The instrument is much in demand in the Western world, where the keyboardand the guitar are the staples of a recital. In India, the Hindi filmindustry makes use of the guitar for rhythm and for solos. Iyer himself hasplayed for films like Hum Aapke Hain Koun, 100 Days and Police Public. Hehas done jingles with Ashok Patki, and scored the background music for TVserials, Abhimaan, Hukumat, Faasle, Mast Mast Hai Zindagi and Tere MereSapne. The ultimate aim is to direct music for films.

Iyer started off playing with the renowned group, Tabassum Hit Parade, andthen did a stint as arranger with Tips Music. He even cut a couple of albumswith the company from 1990-96, until Tips stopped bringing outinstrumentals. During the same period, he was part of Lata Mangeshkar'smusic troupe led by music director Anil Mohile, and toured with her onconcerts across the world. "In fact, my first tour abroad was with her. Wewent to South Africa. You can't imagine how wonderful it is to play withLata Mangeshkar!" he says, beaming. "There is a great craze for theinstrument in other countries, in fact, even in most Indian cities. Only theMumbai crowd is not as fascinated!"

He is quite a celebrity now, thanks mainly to Zee TV's popular musicprogrammes, Antakshari and Sa Re Ga Ma. Iyer had been working with composerAnand Sharma, and it was through him that he got these shows. But there mustbe occasions when he and the other musicians have to mask the not-so-tunefulsingers? "Well, yes, though you must keep in mind that Antakshari is a gameshow, unlike Sa Re Ga Ma. It's great fun! Sa Re Ga Ma brings its share oftension because you have to be careful to hit the right key and follow thesinger's notes. Of course, one does prefer to play for good singers."

He has not had much occasion to utilise his diploma in computer science, butIyer's fascination with electronics has helped him understand moderninstruments better. He now composes and "sequences" songs on the keyboard."I have always loved to fiddle with rhythm machines. It is true that the useof acoustic instruments has been considerably reduced. But the keyboardoffers the sound of the guitar, dholak and tabla, in fact, every instrument,but the flute. So it makes things easier."

Like most musicians, he does not follow a set working routine. "There may berecordings seven days a week or just one. And Zee TV shoots 13 episodes atone go every three months," he says. That gives him time to listen to thesoft, soothing songs he likes best. His mentors are the master guitarists ofthe Hindi film industry, Dilip Naik and Castro. "Castro is the one whoplayed Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi. I am acquaintedwith him and have even bought one of his guitars. Dilip Naik, who now livesin the US, played Aaja aaja in Teesri Manzil. He is one of the seniormostplayers in the industry."

One day, future generations will say the same of Iyer.