Mr. Biswas’ signature has now become his brand

Belur,Famous for Swami Vivekananda’s shrine – Belur Math, situated almost fifteen kilometers away from the heart of Kolkata along the banks of Hooghly, it is considered one of the holiest pilgrimages for Swamiji’s followers, the other being Kanyakumari. However, I am there for another reason.  there lives a man, aged 72, who has been living his passion for the last fifty years. I am there to meet him.

He greets me with a curious smile as if urging me to speak. I greet him with a namaste and shake hands.He is an incarnate of Vishwakarma, a magician, who can create literally anything.  we would play a guitar that’s slightly off-key forever, but he can sense the abnormality even if the stem bends by one degree!’ inspired me to come and meet him.

Though his eyes are resting on me, his hands skillfully continue the work that I had intruded upon a moment ago – that of putting glue on small pieces of  crafted wood sticks, to be later stuck to the inner wall of an acoustic guitar. He politely directs me to sit on a stool garnished with sawdust; it takes him a couple of minutes to finish his task.

Do people buy your brand? Would not having a professional brand name help?’ I ask, puzzled.

For over two decades, people have been asking for my guitars. Out here in Bengal at least, people know me by name. It helps to have my own name as my brand. It saves any extra marketing expense. For me, my name is my signature, he giggles like a child. I am not entirely convinced, but still nod.

The newly shaped wood freshly glued to make the body of the guitar is put out in the sunlight to dry.There is a room where workmen perpetually rub sandpaper on the fret-board; in another, three carpenters cut plies to later form the interior of a jumbo guitar; three young men position lustrous strings on the wooden guitar skeletons; there is an open space containing unfinished, unpainted, bare wooden bodies stacked together; and one small room housing over hundreds of colorful, ready-to-be-shipped guitars.

I touch his feet, wish him good health and prance back towards Math road, surprised to find a familiar tune floating inside my head.I wonder how many guitarists across the country would get a chance to meet the maker of their guitars. I feel fortunate.