Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has shared online a video of himself learning the sitar from an Indian instructor and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reacted to the video. Wong introduced his instructor as Karthigayan, who taught him about the history of the instrument and that it is a duality of two other instruments—rudra veena and seha taar. He also taught Wong how to sit and hold the instrument and asked him to play the basic three notes, ‘ni’, ‘sa’ and ‘ri’. “Getting a quick intro to the beautiful tunes of the sitar. Karthigayan here has been learning for a while, and he has been very patient in guiding me through the basic techniques. Enjoyed the experience, and the chance to learn more about the rich classical Indian music heritage!” Wong posted on X, formerly Twitter. Watch the video below: Getting a quick intro to the beautiful tunes of the sitar. Karthigayan here has been learning for a while, and he has been very patient in guiding me through the basic techniques. Enjoyed the experience, and the chance to learn more about the rich classical Indian music heritage! pic.twitter.com/yLTFCxEcu1 — Lawrence Wong (@LawrenceWongST) November 12, 2023 Modi reposted the video and wrote, “May your passion for the Sitar continue to grow and inspire others. Best wishes on this melodious endeavour. India’s musical history is a symphony of diversity, echoing through rhythms that have evolved over millennia.” May your passion for the Sitar continue to grow and inspire others. Best wishes on this melodious endeavour. India's musical history is a symphony of diversity, echoing through rhythms that have evolved over millennia. @LawrenceWongST — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 14, 2023 “What an experience sir on Deepavali day. Very nice musical instrument,” an X user commented. “That’s wonderful to hear!” said another. “Lovely attempt. So good to see you’re trying a tough instrument that requires much more practice and focus than a guitar. Way to go!!” wrote a third.
