But with India already being the house to some of the most wonderful instruments like Sitar, Sarod, Santoor and numerous others, where did he see the need to create a new instrument? His fingers still touching the strings of Vishwa Veena, he chooses to speak softly: "See, I as an artist think that all artists should never sit, there should be a constant urge to create, to learn more. And it is this urge of mine which lead to the creation of both Mohan Veena and Vishwa Veena. Not that I thought that any of the existing instruments were any less but only that I wanted to experiment and find something new."

And how different is his Vishwa Veena from his previous creation mohan veena? Vishwa Veena, he says, has a few more additions besides the change in form ??. Elaborating on his new creation, he explains: "While mohan veena was a combination of Vichitra Veena, Kotuvadyam, a bit of sitar and sarod, vishwa veena has got the basic features of mohan veena and some addition from harp, Sarangi as well as Santoor." The 34 stringed instrument, he explains, also has a longer echo, so unlike sitar or veena you can play it for a longer time without breaking the note.And when was it that he really got inspired to create new instruments.

Coming from the family of musicians, he remembers being surrounded by music right from his childhood. As a child, he remembers having learnt sitar and violin. When he, at 16, saw guitar for the first time-which one of his father's German student had-he really got inspired by its beats. "It's probably then that the idea really germinated inside me. It was the urge to combine the beauty of sitar, violin, guitar and other instruments."

His experiment started almost naturally after that. It was in 1970 that he played his first creation, mohan veena. "I was very nervous. But the audience seemed to respond well and finally when I saw it in the newspapers next day I breathed a sigh of relief. After that there has been no looking back. I just want to learn and explore further," says the Grammy Award winner.

His sons Salil and Saurabh are also taking forward his creation. Did he have to initiate them into it or did it come naturally to them? "I've always had this idea that the more you tell children to do something, the more they will move away from it. So I just let them be. When they were a little mature, I started initiating them slowly into playing it and it has payed off well."