Jaywant Naidu isn’t a particularly household name in the city. Yet music lovers will instantly recognise him as the man that gave to the city the new and improved sound of the Hawaiian guitar. A musician by passion and chartered accountant by profession, Jaywant is a man who dons many hats during the very same 24 hours we all share.
His latest distinction however is one that he can frame for grandkids. For in April this year, Jaywant’s innovation with the Hawaiian guitar, an instrument he began learning as a child, was awarded a patent.
“The news is yet to sink in for me; I only found out about it two weeks ago,” he says enthusiastically. Starting at the tender age of eight, Jaywant began learning the guitar while in Nagpur at the Swarbitan music academy. “Since then, I shifted between three teachers, when I shifted to Mumbai and then to Hyderabad. At one point I wanted to learn the santoor for my teacher at Mumbai taught both the instruments. But he strongly advised me against it and forced me to concentrate on one.”
While he spent all those years learning the theoretical knowledge and writing exams, Jaywant realised there was a marked difference between theory and practice.
“Despite all those exams, I realised I couldn’t really play for more than 15-20 minutes in a stretch. That’s when I gave up the theory and focused on performing,” he says. In 1996, after performing his first major concert in Chennai, that’s when the artist in him began to take a more serious approach to music. “I was invited to play at the Madras Music Academy and that was the first time I played for an hour and a half. That performance made me take my music more seriously.”
After performing for a considerable number of years, Jaywant began noticing that symphony performances of string instruments sounded better and fuller. “While orchestras perform with multiple musicians, that wasn’t really an option for me. So I began to wonder how I could make that difference with my performances.”
And thus was born the Jaywant guitar.
“In 2005 I met with my guitar maker in Kolkata. The innovation was using the strings in pairs, giving a more heavier sound. I travelled back and forth for two years, with the guitar finally being completed in 2007. That was when the maker said that this was the first time anything of this sort had been tried.” The idea slowly took root and Jaywant forwarded a petition to the Patent Office of India. After nearly four years, he was awarded the distinction.
“I’m now working on standardising the design and offers have slowly been increasing. With the patent in hand, I can now focus on improving it.” Indicating that there’s always room for improvement, Jaywant says that “it’s a never-ending process”.
Besides trying to figure out the dynamics of the guitar and playing concerts, the 44 year old is also a freelance writer and volunteer for SPIC MACAY. “My days are packed, but there’s just so much to do.”
Last year, the musician was also invited to speak about his innovation at the TEDx event held at the city. Amid all of this, he’s also working on an album. “I think the Jaywant guitar sounds best with a saxophone and I have done a series of recordings of the both. Once I find a producer, I’ll have the album out.”With a multitude of plans, 2013 can only be a good year.