Brij Khandelwal

Agra, Sep 14 Following his brother's death in 1982, Dinesh Shandilya went through severe depression that led him to attempt suicide. And then, in his darkest hour, he discovered music of the flute in the land of Lord Krishna. Today he finds his name in the record books and is a man at peace with himself.

A retired engineer of the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation, Shandilya holds a world record for making the shortest flute (three inches) and longest flute (5.6 feet).

"After the Limca and Guinness records my sight was set on increasing the length of the flute to 10 feet. And this I finally did. I played on this flute at the Indian Air Force stadium in Subroto Park in Delhi before a select audience," Shandilya said.

Today, thanks to music, Shandilya has found peace, but not many years ago he was a broken man.

Suffering from severe depression following his younger brother's death, Shandilya attempted to commit suicide by throwing himself in front of a speeding truck.

"No medicines or therapy came to my rescue. I tried jumping before a speeding truck, but the vehicle screeched to a halt just in time. This was followed by a stay in the mental asylum and electric shocks," Shandilya said.

"Finally I found solace in Vrindavan where I got inspiration to work on flutes in the service of Radha Krishan. In 1993 my wife and mother also passed away. I turned to music in those days of depression. Then the idea of innovating and developing flutes of different sizes struck me. I began with a three-foot flute, then four-ft and finally a five-ft one," he added.

Shandilya developed flutes of bamboo and later PVC to produce notes of approximately six to five octaves. Playing on flutes so long was not easy.

But he devised new techniques of finger manipulation "suitable for playing different sizes of flutes ranging from the smallest to the longest."

It was a physical deformity of his hands that forced him to work on the unique instruments, Shandilya said.

Shandilya said: "It is a spiritual journey. I play only for Radha Krishan and it gives me immense satisfaction."

Talking about playing the flute on low notes, he said: "Anybody can play the flute but the lower notes, the lowest ones, only I can play."

He said that he has had to practise for hours to master the technique of playing the flute in lower notes. He also said that selection of the bamboo to make the flute was very important.

"I spend a lot of time selecting the bamboos. I select plain bamboos without joints from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh to Assam."

Elaborating on how music has helped heal his wounds, Shandilya said: "From the beginning of this journey I was keen to find out what was in those notes that Sri Krishna played which made the gopis ecstatic."

"Then I realised it was the lower notes that touched the core of your being. The swars have to be pure and unadulterated. The soothing notes create harmony and even nature responds to good music."