Amano Manish is a gifted slide guitar player trained in the Senia Maihar Gharana tradition, which was founded by Acharya Allauddin Khan sahib.
In his early childhood at his hometown Jodhpur in Rajasthan, Manish picked up this unique instrument – the slide guitar – quite naturally after watching his father play popular melodies on it. Later his serious nurturing in Indian classical music started with maestros like Pt. Basant Kabra, an eminent sarod player, and Pt. Brijbhushan Kabra, hailed as the ‘father’ of Indian slide guitar. During this time he also made a documentary film called The Guitar Odyssey for Indian television, depicting the story of how Pt. Kabra came to adapt the guitar for Indian music.
In 1997, after moving to Puné, Manish resumed his musical training with Pt. Shekhar Borkar, a master innovative sarod player from the same Gharana tradition. Pt. Borkar inspired him to bring about many changes in the playing techniques of his instrument, and eventually helped him flower in his own style. His renditions are now enriched with tuneful intricate glides and melodic phrases blended with various staccato patterns.
Manish calls his music a celebration of love and meditation, and aspires to share this quality on all his musical journeys.
