Guitar is a Western Musical Instrument, very popular and common in Western Countries, but now acquiring its position and popularity in Indian Classical Music also. The Migration of Guitar to India took place through the coastal areas like Goa, West Bengal, Bombay, by the Portugese and the Britishers and gradually spread over to many parts of the country.

Two varieties of acoustic Guitar are there : (1) SPANISH GUITAR & (2) HAWAIIAN GUITAR

SPANISH GUITAR is very popular in Western Countries & India. It is widely used as an accompanying musical instrument for light music such as - Ghazals, Geet, Bhajans & Film Music in India.

HAWAIIAN GUITAR is named as per it’s origin from HAWAII-ISLAND, situated in the Pacific Ocean near Honolulu in the territory of USA It is equally popular like Spanish and is adapted through Indian Film Music and Ravindra Sangeet, about a century back.

Regarding the structure, there is no marked difference between Spanish and Hawaiian Guitar, except the style of playing and the strings are slightly elevated with the help of a metal plate in Hawaiian Guitar.

While playing Spanish Guitar, a stricker is used by the right hand for strokes and the fingers of the left hand slide over the strings, to produce sound (Swaras). It is hanged on the shoulder with the help of a belt, usually in standing posture. Hawaiian Guitar is played by keeping it on the lap. The strokes are produced by the right hand with the help of two finger picks and one thumb pick. The Swaras are produced by sliding the steel-rod over the strings by left hand simultaneously.

The style of playing Hawaiian Guitar may be compared with that of Vichitra-Veena of our Indian Instruments. The only difference is, that in place of the Steel rod, a solid glass sphere (like a paper weight) is used in Vichitra-Veena.

There is another variety of Guitar i.e. Electric Guitar, where the sound is amplified by the electric media, may be Hawaiian or Spanish electric Guitar.

As far as the Adaptation of Hawaiian Guitar into Hindustani Classical Music is concerned, the credit goes to Sri (late) Nalin Mazumdar of Allahabad (Guru of my Basic Guitar Teacher - Dr. Shivanath Bhattacharya of Varanasi), who was the disciple of Late Baba Allauddin Khan Saheb (of Maihar Gharana). Sri Nalin Mazumdar, for the first time, played Hindustani Classical Music on Hawaiian Guitar about Fifty years back. It was really a difficult task for him, and he had to face lot of problems before the audience who were not at all interested to listen classical music on Hawaiian Guitar. He tried his level best to popularize Hindustani classical music on this instrument.

He achieved a great success in getting the Hawaiian Guitar included in the Syllabus of String Instruments of Hindustani Classical Music of Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahabad.

Late Dr. Lalmani Misra ji (Veena Maestro & Ex- Dean of Faculty of Performing Arts, Banaras Hindu University) did a great effort and was successful in getting the Hawaiian Guitar included in the competitive test of String Instruments, organized by U. P. Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lucknow in 1976.

With the great effort by my Guru, the renowned Veena & Sitar Vidwan Late Dr. Gopal Shankar Misra ji (Reader in Sitar, Faculty of Performing Arts B.H.U., Son & Disciple of Late Dr. Lalmani Misra ji), the Hawaiian Guitar was included in the “Doctorate” Course (D. Mus.) of Faculty of Performing Arts, B.H.U. in 1995. I feel myself lucky to join the First batch.

The credit goes to Pt. Brij Bhushan Kabra ji, for making the Hawaiian Guitar very popular in the Galaxy of Indian Classical Music. who for the first time modified this instrument by adding ‘Chikari”, Tarabs and using “Mizrab” in place of “Picks”.

Thereafter Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt ji, Sri Debashish Bhattacharya (Calcutta), Sri Barun Pal (Calcutta) and Sri Krishna Kumar (Delhi) and few others have given respectable height to Hawaiian Guitar like other Indian stringed Instruments.

Ever since the establishment of Hawaiian Guitar is made, in the armamentrium of Indian classical music, efforts are being made to modify this instrument on individual experimental basis e.g. adding extra strings in the forms of “Chikari” & “Tarabs”, using “Flat Rod” and “Mizrab” in place of cylindrical Rod & Picks etc.

Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt ji has modified the Hawaiian Guitar and named it “Mohan Veena:”

Hawaiian Guitar can afford pure classical abstractions as beautifully as any other plucked instrument of Indigenous origin which is now enjoying pride of place in the Galaxy of India’s concert instrument today.

We can proudly say that the adaptation of Guitar to Indian Classical Music will play a great role in “Universal Cultural Integration” of EAST & WEST.