Lydian Nadhaswaram, as the name suggests, has a strong connection with music. He astounded everyone with his incredible musical abilities. Known for his exceptional piano-playing skills, Lydian can play up to 14 other instruments, including the guitar, tabla and drums. He is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and singer from India.
Family
This musical prodigy was born on 6 September 2005 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu as the second son of Tamil music director Varshan Sathish and Jhansi. He has an elder sister, Amritha Varshini, who is a vocalist and a flutist.
Lydian N Nadhaswaram
Because of his parents’ love for music, he was named “Lydian,” which is the English equivalent of the ‘Kalyani raga’. Also, they incorporated the name of the musical instrument, Nadaswaram, to form the name Lydian n Nadhaswaram.
To be proficient
He started playing the drums when he was two and picked up the piano at eight. Lydian’s father recognised his son’s musical talent at a young age and trained him. Because of his training sessions, he was home-schooled.
He studied under Augustine Paul, the century-old Madras Musical Association Choir’s musical director. Lydian studied for four years at the KM Music Conservatory, a college established in 2008 by the AR Rahman Foundation. Lydian, the youngest student in his batch at Trinity College of Music, took his Grade 8 piano test in 2016 at the age of ten.
TED Show
Lydian was invited to attend India’s first TED event in New York City by Shah Rukh Khan at the age of 10.
India’s Fastest Child Drummer
Lydian was selected as India’s Fastest Child Drummer in 2013 by POGO Channel. According to his reputation as a drummer, he was chosen in 2017 to play a drum solo session at the National Drums Day in Mumbai.
To a broad audience
With the Indian Malayalam fantasy movie Barroz: Guardian of De Gamma, Lydian Nadhaswaram made his film music debut.
Atkan Chatkan
In the musical movie “Atkan Chatkan,” Lydian made his acting debut. The movie was presented by A.R. Rahman, who released it on the online streaming platform. It was a 2020 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film written and directed by Shiv Hare. Lydian won the best actor award at South London Film Festival and Jaipur Film Festival for his role as ‘Guddu’ in the film.
Chromatic Grammatic
‘Chromatic Grammatic’ is the name of his debut jazz album, which he independently released. The album has 12 tracks on it.
Recognition
Lydian Won the CBS talent show “World’s Finest Season 1” and won $1 million in prize money at the age of 14. He also received The ‘Young Indian of the Year award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards 2019. Lydian received numerous honours, including the Cicely Goschen Shield, the Amy De Rozario Cup, Surjyotsna National Music Award, the P.P. John Memorial Prize, and the Rajagopal Menon Prize. Due to Lydian’s fame, he was invited to the Jazz Foundation of America’s annual gala in April 2019 at the Apollo Theatre in New York.
Lydian, the first Indian musician to appear on a Spanish TV show, can play the piano blindfolded. He had performed for the public when called on for ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. He kicked off the 44th Chess Olympiad with this smashing performance. He can play a variety of instruments but would like to have the opportunity to learn and play the harp and nadaswaram. Maestro Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja presented ‘Nadaswaram’ to Lydian and remarked him as his first and only ‘student in experience’. He is currently the youngest member of the elite group of musical legends, including Illayaraja and A.R. Rahman.