Musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram - Striking the right notes

13-year musical prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram recently won the CBS talent show "The World's Best" where he received a million dollar prize money. He played the classical piece "The Flight of the Bumblebee" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in not just the regular speed but in much faster variations as well which left the judges and audiences awe-struck. Known for his extraordinary abilities, he played the composition at 325 beats per minute which is nearly double the speed of a normal piano player!

Lydian who is homeschooled, hails from Chennai. Music runs in his blood. He is the son of music director Varshan Sathish who is credited with composing the music for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha's funeral. Lydian has the unique ability of playing the piano blindfolded as well as playing two different tunes on two pianos, simultaneously. When quizzed on whether he learnt this unusual skill,, he says "No, I have not learnt it. It came naturally to me". He played Mozart blindfolded at the Ellen Degeneres show in front of a mesmerized audience.

Lydian is a student of music composer A.R.Rahman's academy. He credits his father and sister for inspiring him to start learning piano and loves working with "Rahman uncle" with whom, he recently did a composition. Incidentally, he started learning piano only at the age of 9 before which he was a student of mridangam and table. He heard somebody playing Russian piano at the classes and quickly became interested in it. Today, he spends nearly 8 hours a day on practice. When he is not on his piano, he is busy pursuing his other interests. Detailing his hobbies and interests, Lydian says "I love cars and I read as much as I can about them. I am also fascinated by space, environment, and forests. I love watching sports and also listening to motivational speeches like Sadhguru‘s and my friend Sparsh's who is also a musician and motivational speaker".

On winning "The World's Best" title

Lydian says of his win "I felt really happy that I made it and even more happy when I heard that my entire country was celebrating my award. As for the experience, it was fantastic and surely, a memorable one. I love cars and when I saw my favorite car - Bugatti Chiron - from my hotel room and I was super excited. Overall, it was a wonderful experience in LA. Everyone is so kind and they took care of me very well. I will carry these special memories with me all my life". Talking about what he would like to do with the $1 million prize money, he says "No plans as I am too young to know what to do with it! My dad knows better and he will use it in the right way, I know".

On a memorable experience

On a special gift he received, Lydian says "I was so excited and touched to receive a brand new Steinway grand piano which came all the way from New York and was delivered at my doorstep. It was by none other than Michael Novogratz who is the Vice President of the Jazz Foundation. He also organized a concert in the prestigious and historic Apollo Theatre, New York. He is always in my thoughts and I will be forever thankful to him for this precious gift".

Future plans

As a 13-year-old, Lydian has a long way to go. He is in the process of finalizing some assignments in Bollywood, Hollywood and other industries and is also collaborating with A.R. Rahman. He says of his future plans "I don’t know... maybe something amazing, I guess... it could be my composition for a music album, playing the piano for concerts around the globe, composing for animation movies for Hollywood, etc. There are so many things playing in my mind right now".

"I also wish to go to the moon and play music there".

That, I guess, will not be tough for somebody who has already reached the stars.