My father was a trained accountant, a BCom from Sydenham College

The great conductor Zubin Mehta, son of India and master of orchestras across the world, once spoke of his father’s beginnings with reverence: “My father was a trained accountant, a BCom from Sydenham College and a self-taught violinist. In the 1920s, when he was in his teens, he heard a great violinist, Jascha Heifetz, and he was so inspired listening to him that he bought himself a violin, and with a little help from an Italian teacher, he learned to play it.” Within these words lies a testament to the mystery of inspiration, the dignity of self-teaching, and the power of music to change the destiny of families and nations.

Mehta’s father was not born into privilege, nor trained from childhood in conservatories of Europe. He was a trained accountant, practical, disciplined, a man of numbers and balance sheets. Yet within him stirred another calling—the call of art. This duality of his life reflects a universal truth: that man is not one thing only, but often holds within himself a hidden flame, waiting for the breath of inspiration to awaken it. In this case, the spark came when he heard the genius of Jascha Heifetz, whose bow sang with fire and precision, whose music could move even the most hardened heart.

The moment of hearing Heifetz was no small thing. For the young man of Bombay in the 1920s, it was as though a door had opened into another world. Many hear great art and simply applaud; but some hear it and are transformed. He did not remain a passive listener; he acted. He bought a violin, awkward in his hands at first, but destined to become his companion. With only the guidance of an Italian teacher and his own relentless discipline, he taught himself to play. This is the heroic spirit of the self-taught: to move forward without maps, to learn without masters, to carve beauty out of silence by sheer will.

History is rich with such stories. Abraham Lincoln, born in a log cabin, taught himself law by candlelight and rose to lead a nation. Michael Faraday, the son of a blacksmith, with little formal schooling, devoured books and experiments until he became one of the greatest scientists in history. So too Mehta’s father, without the inheritance of conservatory training, became a violinist, shaping not only his own life but the life of his son, who would go on to command the greatest orchestras of the world. Inspiration, when acted upon, does not end with the inspired—it becomes the inheritance of generations.

The deeper meaning of this story is that inspiration must be met with action. Many hear greatness and sigh, but few are stirred enough to act. Zubin Mehta’s father not only heard Heifetz; he went out, purchased the instrument, and began the lifelong struggle of practice. This act transformed the course of his family. For without that moment, perhaps Zubin himself would never have been raised in a home where music was the breath of life, never nurtured into the great conductor he became. Thus, the destiny of nations may turn on the moment one soul chooses to follow inspiration with action.

The lesson for us is this: never underestimate the power of a single moment of inspiration. When you hear greatness—whether in music, in words, in deeds—do not merely admire it. Let it move you to action. Buy the “violin” in your life, whatever it may be: the book, the tool, the brush, the craft. Do not say, “I was not trained.” Begin where you are, with what you have. For greatness does not belong only to the privileged; it belongs to the daring, the disciplined, and the inspired.

Practically, this means living with openness to beauty and courage in response. Expose yourself to great art, noble deeds, and wise teachers, for these are the sparks. And when the spark comes, act quickly before it fades. Begin learning, begin practicing, begin building. You may not only change your own life, but also plant seeds for those who come after you.

Thus, Zubin Mehta’s words about his father are not just family memory; they are a teaching. An accountant heard music and became a violinist. A violinist raised a son who became a conductor. And the conductor carried the music of India into the concert halls of the world. Such is the chain of inspiration. And if we too dare to act on the moments that stir our souls, we may yet set in motion legacies greater than we can imagine.