A play of passion

fast fingers

From “fooling around” with his guitar to being adjudged the best guitarist in a number of gigs, Inder Mehra has come a long way. A student of CMR Institute of Management Studies, his tryst with guitar started when he was in the tenth standard.

He recalls that he had sold his cell phone, which was a gift from his grandmother, to buy an acoustic guitar and there has been no looking back since then!

A self-taught guitarist, Inder started learning the different chords and strings with the help of online courses. He would practise the instrument after class with friends and watch the videos of heavy metal bands like ‘Cynic’, ‘Death’ and ‘Exivious’ among others.

Though he plays heavy metal for ‘Dequma’, he also loves to experiment with other genres of music like jazz and blues. A guitarist for nine years now, he says, “I can play about 680 beats per minute (bpm) while some of the best guitarists in the City can play about 400 bpm. My aim is to be the fastest guitarist in the City.”  

Since he had to learn everything by himself, his initial days in the field were a huge challenge. “But the process was extremely exciting as I could discover my own sounds and use different techniques to my advantage,” he adds.

He considers heavy metal guitarists Chuck Schuldiner and Jason Becker as his inspirations. He has not only won a number of college fests but also played at fests like ‘Garage Jam’, ‘Freedom Jam’ and ‘Pit Exclusive’, in which he was adjudged the best guitarist. But his most memorable moment was taking part in the BMS College fest. “I competed against professional guitarists and was
adjudged the best guitarist,” he exclaims.

Inder religiously wakes up at 5 am to practise his passion. Terming the City as the capital of metal, he says that genres like Electronic Dance Music will not bring down the popularity of metal in the City. “Any genre can gain popularity in the City. But metal will never die. People are just learning to accept all genres which is good for the growth of music. However, I wish that the conflicts between different metal bands would stop,” he says.  

For him, music is a part of his soul. “I want music to be a part of my life always. Though it takes a lot of effort and motivation, it’s music after all that connects me to life.”