It was year 2012. Nirvana Bista, 17, accidentally went to the music room of his school. He saw Naveen John Swyenberg, a music teacher, at St. George’s College in Mussorie, India, giving lessons to his students.

Naveen asked him if he knew how to play guitar.

“I did some chords and then he showed me how to do it the right way and he said ‘you really picked up fast,’” said Bista.

He picked up the guitar so fast that he is now the ‘world’s fastest guitar player’. On May 2nd 2015, The Registry of Official World Records in UK awarded this Nepalese teenager this title. He played ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ at a tempo of 1600 bpm (beats per minute).

Although he is the world’s fastest guitar player, he can’t get his name for Guinness Book of World Records. It’s because Guinness has frozen this section citing it is “impossible to judge the quality of the renditions, even when slowed down.”

“It does pinch you somewhere around the heart but I take it all positively,” he said. “I feel bad about it that I could at least give it a shot (Guinness)… Speed is obviously one part of me but it’s mostly good music that matters.”

The current Guinness World Records holder for fastest guitar playing is John Taylor a.k.a. Dr. Hot Licks, who earned his title playing Bumblebee at 620 bpm in 2012.

Bista comes from a family who has no relation to music at all. His father, Prof. Dr. Prakash Bista is the chief of Department of Neurosurgery in Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, and his mother, Shailee Rana Bista is a fashion designer.

“They have always supported me,” he said.

He dreams of attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, after finishing his 12th standard.

Watch Nirvana Bista’s full interview by Anuz Thapa and Dipika Shrestha.