My fingers barely touch the neck of my guitar before they leap off and strike elsewhere.

Accompanied by the beat, they traverse the 12 strings with serpentine motion, lingering only long enough to resonate before leaping off elsewhere. In the bright lights of some crowded venue, my father and I are utterly alone. His tabla percussion provides the rhythmic frame to which I ply my craft. The audience is silent before me- their brains absorb the varying frequencies my father and I produce and turn them into music. However, I cannot pause to appreciate this biological phenomenon, for the beat still continues The beat continues to accompany me long after the end of my performance; throughout inanities and important matters with equal gusto. Its in my feet running on the treadmill, the subconscious tapping of a shoe, the drumming of a pencil on a nervous schoolmates desk. The beat is part of me- residing between my lungs, tucked away safely behind my rib cage. The sound of my incessant pulse, literally and figuratively, motivates me to face the toughest challenges. It helps me run that extra mile, get back up after a tough sparring bout, and of course, play my music. Following the beat is not just an empty statement that acknowledges the obvious presence of rhythm in the natural world; it is a mindset, an analytical way of approach based on persistence and determination. Thus, whenever I am faced with an obstacle, I try to emulate a driving rhythmic pattern: determined, unyielding, and indomitable. After 18 years of living with this ideal, the beat has become an integral part of me. Sometimes, when I finish my daily practice regimen for my Indian Classical electric guitar, I consider the peculiar history of what Im doing. There I am, playing a 3,000 year old musical tradition on an 81 year old instrument which my teacher and I have modified severely and played for the past 5 years. At this point, there is an important distinction to make- I do not play fusion music. It isnt a distinct style of music being played with a different instrument. The music I play is something utterly different from the sum of its parts. I believe in melding the past and present to create the future. By doing so, I can create with the best from the past and the present. This belief pervades my personality: I can appreciate Renaissance art and Surrealist art, Indian Classical music and avant-garde electronica, old philosophies and the new. Thus, I try to remain open-minded for everything. The performance is nearly over. Ive finished most of the material I meant to present, and I cycle through the main melody a couple times before ending the composition with a dramatic flourish which my father matches in percussion. However, even though his tabla is silent, the beat still continues between my lungs