So, by now, the whole world (and certainly all the Indians on the planet) know Lydian Nadhaswaram, the 13-year-old wonder boy from Chennai, who wowed the judges on the “The World’s Best” (reality show on CBS television in the US), by playing the piano at a speed considered not humanly possible.
He is being felicitated by A. R. Rahman and a host of Bollywood celebrities as we speak, and Chennai is justifiably proud. It is coming at the tail-end of a week that Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India, a huge celebratory moment.
I first met Lydian when he was barely six, and used to still astound me with his piano playing. I remember his preference for certain pieces at the time. At a workshop I conducted all those years, I tested him on improvisational skills and was equally stunned. The world is about to see this master musician’s full range of capabilities very soon. I am proud of Lydian as all others are. We must do all we can to support his journey towards musical excellence.
The Lydian phenomenon makes me think of two issues that have cropped up recently. The first is what social psychologist, Robert Cialdini, termed BIRGing (Basking in Reflected Glory).
I have always seen many celebrities rush to declare allegiance to someone, who gets recognised on an international stage (remember when ARR won the Oscars and a certain set of celebrities rushed to the airport to get themselves clicked with the maestro first?)
The problem with this is that there is a tacit assumption, and indeed a truism that an individual is special only when they are conferred international (read American/European) honours.
Why does it take an international honour to cherish and nourish our own? What is this arbitrary value system placed on American awards and honours? Are we still not over the colonial hangover?
Someone told me that it is about mastering a “Western” instrument. The violin, guitar and saxophone are Western instruments. We have not only mastered those but completely adapted them to our own musical styles. I do not think we are awaiting the stamp of approval from our perceived Western “masters!”The other far more pernicious issue surrounds the parents of talented children. Post Lydian’s achievement, I have had calls from parents of talented pianists, asking if their child/ward will be capable of something similar given practice.
There was this one parent, who went to the extent of saying that she was willing to pull the child out of school and move to the U.S. for advanced training if that will get the child to be similarly recognised.
Is a normal childhood so undesirable? There are many child prodigies who rebel later for the push and aggression of their parents at ages where they should have been playing with other children and doing other activities. Pushing talented children beyond what they would normally like to do is also counterproductive to their development, as several studies have shown.
Let us celebrate normalcy. The ordinary life isn’t all that bad. Every child is special regardless of winning contests. An award is replaceable. Childhood is not.
The writer is a well-known pianist and music educator
