Creativity Through Intuition: Guitar Prasanna’s Musical Journey

As a distinguished alumnus from the Class of 1992, R Prasanna's (popularly known as Guitar Prasanna) journey from hardcore engineering to the world of music is a testament to the power of creative thinking and intuition. Prasanna's story is a remarkable example of how embracing the unconventional can lead to remarkable achievements.

“When I was about five years old, my neighbor used to play guitar in the church. My brother and I would go and sit with him, and just watch him play the guitar,” said Guitar Prasanna. With no logical reason or prior musical training, the young Prasanna was drawn to the guitar, and he knew he wanted to learn to play it. This instinctive decision, made without overthinking the consequences, set the stage for Prasanna's remarkable musical journey.

"The first time I played in Mardi Gras (Saarang) was representing Vivekananda College when my brother was singing for the college. I was just 13 and still in school," Prasanna adds. Since then, he set his sights on attending IIT Madras. He enrolled in various coaching classes to prepare for the entrance exam, and yet kept in touch with his true passion by squeezing in time for his guitar lessons as well.

"If anyone asked me why I wanted to go to IIT Madras, I had no clear answer," Prasanna said. "But the instinct was so strong that I enrolled anyway." This was the second time Prasanna made a major decision based solely on his gut feeling. It turned out to be another great twist in his life, leading him closer to his true passion.

"And then I came to IIT Madras," Prasanna said. "I thought I would be immersed in academics. But, I was immersed in music." Music became a part of his life as he played every other day during his time at IIT Madras. "So music was a big part of my IITM life," Prasanna adds.

Then, the time came to bid adieu to his undergraduate days and make a life-altering decision: music or the usual work life. "Luckily, I stayed the course," Prasanna said. "I managed to get a decent CGPA, graduated from IIT Madras, and got a software job. I took it." But his true love for music was still alive and thriving, prompting him to make his third, intuitive, life-changing decision.

"I wanted to go to Berklee College of Music," he said, "where all these famous musicians went." The same intuition and desire he had when he was just 5 years old, when he decided to learn guitar – the same old fire. There was no reason or any logic behind this decision, but he did go ahead with it. "One evening I came home," Prasanna said, "and told my parents, 'I want to quit my job and go to Berklee within the next six months.' And there I was, in Berklee."

Prasanna's musical journey exemplifies the power of following one's intuition. "I started playing because I felt like playing," he says. "My sister was learning Carnatic vocal, and I was just curious trying it out."

His initial foray into guitar music was heavily influenced by the sounds of Ilayaraja, R.D. Burman, and M.S. Vishwanathan. "Because I was listening to Tamil and Hindi film songs, that's what I started playing on the guitar," Prasanna explains. "Then I started getting into western rock and pop music." Back then, combining Carnatic music with the guitar was an uncommon pairing, but it's become much more prevalent today.

The interest in Carnatic music developed later. "I was just interested in the guitar and what I could do on it," Prasanna says. "Luckily, I didn't have any restrictions, and my parents didn't force me to play a particular style."

He even dabbled in heavy metal. For a 13-year-old, it was unusual to switch between listening to Ilayaraja songs, playing Carnatic kritis by Thyagaraja, and blasting Iron Maiden or Led Zeppelin – all within the same day. "I'd be jamming to Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin at home, and then, you know, learning Endaro Mahanubhavulu," Prasanna says. "This was very different from Ilayaraja, and quite uncommon." The guitar was the unifying element. "It doesn't matter if it's Endaro Mahanubhavulu, Master of Puppets by Metallica, or an Ilayaraja song," he explains. "The guitar is the connection."

He simplified things by following his gut instinct: "I should play guitar. I love playing guitar," he says. This resonates with many of us. When you're driven by passion, there's no time to weigh the pros and cons. You just have to go for it. Unfortunately, many stop even before the journey begins. It's not necessarily giving up; it's simply not taking that first step. We all have ideas, but the real challenge lies in execution – how many ideas do we actually pursue compared to how many just sit there collecting dust?

Prasanna's story serves as a powerful reminder that creativity is not just about technical mastery or following predetermined paths. It is about the willingness to trust your intuition, embrace constraints as catalysts for innovation, and forge your own unique path, even in the face of skepticism and resistance.