1. Why did you take up the mandolin?

My father is a musician and in my early childhood, when we had music sabhas in our house, it was the sound of the mandolin that impressed me the most. Besides, I always wanted to try something new.

2. How did the orthodox school of carnatic music react to your initiative?

When I started playing the instrument everyone discouraged me saying that I had made a wrong choice, and that this instrument had no scope and so I should have opted for something else like the veena. Subsequent to my first public concert at the age of 9, when I received such harsh criticism, I was naturally demoralised. But then I had faith in God and I went on practicing without paying heed to what the critics said. And today everyone asks me How do you manage to play the instrument so well ?

3. Which has been your best concert so far ?

There have been so many concerts... unbelievable... unforgettable ones. The Jazz Festival at Stwal (in West Berlin) in 1983 was very well received by the audience. It was repeated on popular demand and telecast live on their television network.

4. How do you react to your success as a child prodigy being proclaimed the world over?

I am not obsessed with my achievements. I want to learn more and more as there is no end to music. It is like a vast ocean and for me, each concert is a test where I have to prove my mettle as a musician.