It is always a pleasure to see young people taking an active interest in the arts, like music for instance, but to see a young person transcend the ceiling of being a music enthusiast to becoming an excellent musician using the instrument of their choice is a thing of beauty on its own. Meet Vamsi Krishna, the young guitarist who is making waves across Hyderabad with his guitar playing skills. 

"I started learning when I was in 7th class," says the 16 year old guitarist, "My tutor, Kalyan Biswas, was fantastic and helped me start on this journey." 

Vamsi went on to learn under Nigel Geiles who introduced to him the world of grade exams conducted by Trinity College of London, and currently Vamsi has cleared his Grade 4. He went on to form a band with his school mate Abhyuday (whom we interviewed earlier along with Sri Poornima, which you can check out here).

In his 10th class, he performed at IIT Sarang, the annual cultural fest of IIT Madras along with his band, "It was quite an incredible experience, really. From playing at events in Hyderabad to going and playing at IIT Madras was an amazing experience," says the young man, "we've also participated in many battle of bands here in Hyderabad."

Today, this student of Bhavans Sanikpuri is in a band with Krishna Tejaswi (whom we also interviewed as part of the band Cappricio, which you can check out here).

Vamsi counts guitar legends Steve Vai and Van Halen his biggest inspirations, "I mean who wouldn't be a Steve Vai fan? The way he plays is out of the world, it's inhuman! There really is nobody like him," he says with an excited smile, "and then there's Van Halen! His style is so incredibly powerful."

We asked Vamsi what his message to students who are looking to learning how to play the guitar would be, and he said, "Learning to play the guitar, or any instrument really, requires passion. So one should learn it as a passion and not for showing off. It becomes a deeply personal thing when you're in your zone while you're playing, it's a wonderful experience," he says, and then goes on to talk about how helpful it has been to him and how much it can help others, "Music is a great way to express yourself, and people could do well and learn how to express themselves more, in this day and age where we're becoming confined within ourselves. Music is also a great way to combat depression, and performing music gives you such an incredible rush of joy that more people should realise it's potential."

Catch Vamsi Krishna performing along with his band around the city! We wish him all the best for his future endeavors!