Debashish Bhattacharya is a master of the Hawaiian slide guitar and a devoted student of India’s classical music traditions. He wanted to play both, simultaneously, from one instrument. So he built one. The Chaturangui (“four colors” in Sanskrit) weaves together the resonance of four traditional Indian instruments with the voice of the Western slide guitar, totaling 22 strings across six primary, four supporting, and twelve sympathetic strings.
When Bhattacharya plays it, you’re hearing centuries of two musical traditions in conversation with each other. The instrument didn’t exist until he needed it. That’s what happens when a musician refuses to accept the boundaries of what already exists.
