The journey of music prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram

The winner of CBS’s The World’s Best is the only student of Illayaraja

Lydian Nadaswaram | R.G. Sasthaa Lydian Nadaswaram | R.G. Sasthaa

Lydian Nadhaswaram’s small studio, tucked behind a swanky bungalow in Chennai’s Saligramam, is as lively as his music. As the wooden door swings open, you are met with a picture of Ludwig van Beethoven gazing serenely at the Steinway grand piano in the room. A few string instruments hang on the side wall. A huge teddy bear sits on the grand piano.

Next to the many guitars and violins is a harpejji (an electrical, stringed instrument, which is a combination of a bass guitar and a lead guitar, but it is played like a piano). It was A.R. Rahman’s gift to Lydian. It is from this studio that Lydian recreated Illayaraja’s tough compositions (he is the maestro’s only student), composed his own music and practised for CBS’s The World’s Best, which he won in 2019.

Lydian, 16, is synonymous with music. “I can’t live without it,”he says with a humble smile. “I learn every day. I learn from everyone around me, from every bit of music I hear.”Ask him why he was named Lydian and he replies, “In India, people know the nadhaswaram; it is a wind instrument. Lydian is a Greek word. It is a raga, a mode among the seven modes in music. In Tamil, we have the kalyani raga. My father used to say that Lydian is the kalyani raga. I have always felt proud about being named Lydian.”

When he was a baby, his father, Varshan Satish, would make him listen to the song ‘Kaatril varum geethame’which is in the Lydian raga. The raga would always elicit a smile or chuckle from the toddler.

At the Trinity College of Music, Lydian was the youngest in his batch. And he surprised everyone when he played Chopin’s ‘Petit Chien Valse’.

Lydian began his musical journey at the age of two. When the family was celebrating his elder sister Amrithavarshini’s birthday, Lydian played a beat on the floor with his hands and two xylophone sticks. Amazed, Varshan gave him a makeshift card board box to play the beats. The next day he got Lydian a small Rototoms drum set. Since then, Lydian has been unstoppable.

His father used to take him for every orchestra and light music show after Lydian turned three, where he used to play the drums while watching others sing, play string instruments and the keyboard. Varshan always advised Lydian to be the “world’s best”at whatever he did. “Even if you clean a bathroom, you should be the best at it,”his father told him. It was a piece of advice that Lydian took to heart.

At the age of 10, in 2016, Lydian successfully completed his grade 8 piano examination. At the Trinity College of Music, Lydian was the youngest in his batch. And he surprised everyone when he played Chopin’s ‘Petit Chien Valse’. One of the examiners, upon hearing Lydian play the Chopinesque rubato, wrote in his report that “this was played with both delicacy and gusto”.

Lydian at his studio in Chennai | R.G. Sasthaa Lydian at his studio in Chennai | R.G. Sasthaa

Since then, Lydian has gone on to win many awards like the Cicely Goschen Shield, the Amy De Rozario Cup, the P.P. John Memorial Prize, and the Rajagopal Menon Prize. And now, at the age of 16, he is the youngest in the elite club of musical greats like Illayaraja and A.R. Rahman who have composed for films.

After graduating from Trinity College, he went to A.R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory to learn the Russian way of playing the piano. At the college, when everyone else would get back to their rooms after the day’s learning, Lydian would go around listening to every bit of music played in every other room. Ask him what is the Russian way of playing the piano and he gets into action, sliding his hands in the air gracefully with his elbows up and fingers facing down.

Lydian with Illayaraja Lydian with Illayaraja

He can play both the upright piano and the grand piano. There is an interesting story behind how he got the grand piano. At the age of 10, Lydian was invited for the first TED show in India, which was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and produced by New York-based curator Juliet Blake. The show called TED Talks India Nayi Soch featured many big names. When everyone spoke, Lydian played his notes, impressing Blake. Upon his invitation, Lydian played a fusion piece on his piano along with Los Angeles-based violinist Gingger Shankar and Swiss drummer Carlo Ribaux.

After this, he was invited to be part of NBC’s Spanish-language TV show, Siempre Niños, in Miami in February 2017. When Blake took him to meet one of New York’s most powerful couples, John and Tina Novogratz, Lydian was impressed by the grand piano in their home. He went on to play Mozart, Liszt, Chopin and Beethoven on it, mesmerising everyone. Awed, the family promised to gift him a Steinway, which promptly arrived by the time he got to Chennai.

Rhythm of life: Lydian’s father, Varshan Satish | R.G. Sasthaa Rhythm of life: Lydian’s father, Varshan Satish | R.G. Sasthaa

And then in 2019, he won CBS’s The World’s Best at the age of 13, which came with a prize of $1 million; he played 325 beats per minute. Though he can play the piano, drums, tabla, mridangam, guitar, melodica and the harmonica, he surprises everyone when he plays two pianos simultaneously.

He recently played ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’and ‘Sare Jahan Se Accha’at the same time in two different pianos. In fact, it was this talent of his that impressed television host Ellen DeGeneres when he appeared on her show. Now, he is composing the music for south Indian superstar Mohanlal’s debut directorial, Barroz. He says Mohanlal himself called him after listening to Lydian recreate one of Illayaraja’s hits. He was attracted to the project because it is a children’s film with historical underpinnings.

He first recreated Illayaraja’s ‘Karpoora bommai onru’. For Lydian, recreating is breaking every note of every musical instrument played in it. Lydian himself would play the music while his father and sister would sing. This was followed by ‘Thiruvasagam’and ‘Polla Vinayen’, a long and a tough piece.

Lydian’s ‘Thiruvasagam’came to Illayaraja’s attention when his father posted it on YouTube. That is how he got a call from the maestro himself, thus fulfilling Lydian’s dream of discussing music with him. “Meeting him, I felt the faith and respect I have always had for him,”says Lydian. According to him, since he became Illayaraja’s student, it has been like holding the maestro’s hand while moving forward in his musical journey. And as I walk out of the studio, Beethoven still has his eyes fixed on the Steinway grand piano, watching Lydian being himself.

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