Lists, lists, lists. The list of lists is endless. And as much as we love to pay allegiance to the format that won the attention of a digital generation (even as it became a millennial punchline) its well-meaning shackles felt too tight for a truly free-wheeling look at ‘artists’ in the contemporary Indian context. So without straying too far from the intent to observe, display and share, we decided to carve out our own little space on the internet—an online gallery if you will—to showcase the never-ending plethora of Indian artists who continue to spark fires with their work.
Pixels will be dedicated each week to individuals who are finding their own distinct voices, sometimes personal, sometimes political but always worthy of engaging with. Mediums have no place here either. Our ‘Artists Of The Week’ range from a luthier from one of Mumbai’s oldest neighbourhoods to live visual artists who combine everything from stage design to animation and 3D mapping installations to deliver staggering live experiences.
…And everybody in between of course.
Today, we proudly profile Samir Karnik, a humble luthier whose descriptions are almost as beautiful as the guitars he crafts with his own two hands. Scroll on for our full interview.
“I believe that life has a many facets and we must try and explore a wide range of its dimensions to truly understand what it means to be alive.”
Samir is what is termed a luthier, or simply a guitar make. If you were to approach any of the guitars that he’s made, they would turn to him as their creator, the one that gave them life, but for him, however, this would be a misguided fallacy. “I am only a humble student that seeks to unravel the mystery of an instrument that has changed me,” shares the 29-year-old.
“Perhaps, I bring life to pieces of lumber, but, the instrument begins its journey as a little seed rooted in the ground, growing to towering heights with the help of the sun, rain and soil. It’s then assassinated for trade because of its natural perfection and cut into little pieces. These dead limbs then come into my hands wherein I must painstakingly re-stitch the dismembered pieces and give them another chance to live. If I am successful, the instrument lives on for decades, singing a song for anyone that cares to hear its tune. As a result, in its totality the guitar is an instrument that contains aspects of the sun, moon, stars, and thus, a soul.”
Our fascination with Samir may be clear by now to our readers who have read our previous recollection of a day spent in his workshop. His beautiful words are hard to edit down, as is his journey from being a sustainability consultant with a background in economics, sociology and environmental sustainability, to who he is today.
Before you say anything, the irony of the situation isn’t lost on him. “It might seem at odds, being a sustainability consultant and the fact that I work with wood today, and I depend on trees being cut to make stringed instruments, but I do try to imbibe the principles of sustainability in my guitar building work. I am currently on a quest to find alternative, sustainable species to work with.”
While his perspective towards life is rather exploratory, he speaks of a parallel need for solitude, a desire to exist in harmony with the natural world. “I want people to remember me through the reflection of what I do… which is how I would like to define myself,” he muses. While his ‘formal career’ as a sustainability consultant dictated a corporate life on a computer, he knew he wanted to build things with his hands, using wood in particular, with the objective of making a guitar some day. He’d often go after office hours and sit with carpenters, observing their movements, their handy work, and working on little projects of his own.
Slowly building confidence in his own skills, he took time off work and headed to Goa for a three week guitar building course, by the end of which he had made his first ever guitar. It was a rediscovery of the almost forgotten joy of working with his hands. Upon his return to Mumbai, he quit his job for a new kind of adventure, into a space he hadn’t dare elore before. He converted a vacant room in his house into his own little guitar-making factory, and hasn’t looked back since.
Scroll on to know him a little better.
I. What would you describe as your perfect day?
“A perfect day, would involves a bit of work on sustainability projects, a couple of hours spent at my bedroom workshop, some noodling on the guitar and quality time with my friends and family – all of this leading to a goodnight’s sleep!”
II. What is your first memory of exploring your medium of choice?
“The musician in me developed early on. When I was 10 years old, I vividly remember watching the Physical Education (PT) teacher play ‘Hotel California’ on stage at school with a guitar in his hands, which was the precise moment I felt the urge to learn this instrument that would then become a significant part of my journey and me.”
III. What according to you is your best creation?
“My favourite creation is the 7th guitar that I made – which is where I began to experiment a very different design. It was made for a close friend of mine, who is a drummer. I spent about two month making this particular instrument carefully. I do keep a check on my creations and one day I visited him to have a look at how the guitar was doing, to find that he had dropped it and cracked the side of the guitar. This of course broke my heart. I took the guitar back to repair.
While it was on my workbench, I got a call from a photographer who wanted to document my work. An idea sprung up, that I though was great – we hung the guitar on a fork in a tree – and this was to represent the instrument as a fruit. Standing back he took a couple of images (the one with that is back lit against the tree) and in a sudden gust of wind (my name happens to mean a gust of wind) that pushed into the sound hole of the guitar, the thing came crashing down and completely shattered! That taught me something – the need to convert challenges into motivation. A little disappointed that my most lovely creation was destroyed – I quickly began making my next guitar with a greater sense of determination. It is my favourite creation, since it has this story to it – and through this story, I’ve learnt to be unscathed by the difficulties of that life presents.
Yet, I always think my best creation is the next one…it pushes me to better myself.”
IV. What are the three things you are really into, besides your art?
“I thoroughly enjoy adventures with my friends that bring me closer to nature – be it hiking or scuba diving.
Creating music and developing my skills as guitar player is a never ending quest that brings my the deepest satisfaction.
I have a strong belief in the idea of using skills development as a form of empowerment for underserved communities – it is closely linked to projects that I have been exposed to in my avatar as a sustainability consultant.”
V. What is that one thing that really annoys you?
“I am disappointed when I come across people that have good values, ideas and dreams but feel powerless in translating those values into real actions. Its easy – all that is required it to take the first step, however small. I believe that with a passion and commitment, the impossible is made possible.”
VI. What’s that something that you have always wanted to do, and really look forward to doing it some day in your career?
“At the moment, I’m working on a really special ukulele and I intend to go all out with detailed inlay work with shell and wood– it’s something I’ve always admired and wanted to do.
Simply making guitars for those that can afford them does not completely fulfill me. In its next avatar I would like to reorganize this as a community-based, skill development project, where I take this craft to the ground level and work with either rural or tribal communities that lack decent economic opportunities, and are thus impoverished. Having learnt this craft without any real carpentry experience or wood working skills, I am confidant that I will be able to teach it to anyone who is committed and can demonstrate a desire to learn.
However, this is yet a few years down the line. Unlike purely brain-based professions that use only one tool – the computer – working with wood involves using my hands, head and heart to guide a wide array of tools that can be quite challenging. It takes me a month of daily work to make one guitar, as I do this all by myself. For now I aim to make as many guitars as I can and thereby learn something new from each one by experimenting with my designs – in business management lingo its called product development.”