This Guy Learned to Play Guitar Again After Losing All Four of His Limbs
Musicians can be some of the biggest complainers out there. My vocals were poorly mixed! My blood sugar is low! This riser is wobbly! The venue booked us with a band that sounds like Nickelback!
But none of that shit matters, really. Because if Ripu Bhatia lost all his limbs to blood poisoning and still figured out how to play guitar again, you can perform without a whiskey onstage with you.
Bhatia, a 22-year-old journalism student from Auckland, New Zealand, didn’t take to guitar easily when he had his limbs, so knows a thing or two about practicing his ass off. And when blood poisoning took his arms and legs (and by the looks of things, his nose as well), he initially resigned himself to never playing again–but then he decided, Fuck that, and learned to pluck strings with his flipped-over phone-holder prosthetic.
According to Bhatia:
“When I initially developed a technique which would allow me to play guitar again, it was more about simply proving to myself that I could do it rather impressing anyone or playing well.
“The satisfaction was instant, and I was really comforted by the fact that despite my situation I was still able to do many things no matter how impossible they initially might have seemed. Over the last few years I grew more confident in my ability and would perform more regularly.
“I gravitated towards blues music, which helped me develop my own style of playing. I enjoyed creating unique arrangement to songs as well as composing music.”
Fucking inspiring. Up there with The Ghost Inside’s ongoing recovery.
Below is video of Bhatia playing blues guitar, and then playing “Sweet Child of Mine” on the piano, which he apparently started learning after he lost his arms. And guitarists, the next time your fingers hurt, just think of it as a reminder that you still have your fucking fingers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X0pCv6FhMA
[via MusicFeeds.com.au]
