#LifeIsMusic: Pianist Naman Upadhyaya is a late beginner but a quick learner

Unlike other contestants on sets, the #LifeIsMusic platform is a series of firsts for the young Mumbai Pianist Naman Upadhyaya. It’s his first music show, his first encounter with a professional television shoot crew, his first interaction with Indian music legends such as Taufiq Qureshi and Louiz Banks, his first experience of playing in a band and his first interview.

He’s visibly shy; bordering on being uncomfortable. Sitting in an enclosed space with just the interviewer and a camera person seems to intimidate him enough to get him to sit on the edge of the couch in his mentor Purbayan Chatterjee’s vanity van, where the interview is being conducted. He seems to be just waiting for a cue to dash out. On the shoot floor and around the set, he almost makes himself invisible; barely uttering a word or socialising with anyone but the contestants.

Less than two years ago, it was likely that you’d find Naman roaming aimlessly with his friends in the sleepy by lanes of Kandivli, a Mumbai suburb. It’s after all what put him on the defaulter’s list in college, which eventually led him to being “thrown out”. In December 2013, his father, who regularly plays the Piano for orchestras and singers such as Kunal Ganjawala, decided to get him enrolled for Western Classical Piano lessons. “My father would play difficult tunes on the Piano and ask me to try playing them. I would manage to play the exact same thing in one go. That’s when he thought that there was some talent in me that could be explored,” Naman says.

One would imagine that Naman would have a fair amount of musical influence and training growing up in a house with a professional Pianist. That, however, wasn’t the case. His focus was on carrom and chess, in which he ranked No. 1 throughout school and college. What happened thereafter? “I got bored (of playing chess and carrom). Or rather, I got more interested in roaming around with friends in college,” he admits. He wouldn’t accompany his father for his shows or show interest in what he played either. “I was never a fan of Hindi film music. So, I didn’t go for the shows or pursue that music. I would always listen to English songs,” he says.

Ever since, however, life has taken a musical turn. In a matter of just one year, Naman has started to learn Jazz Piano, he’s cleared Trinity’s Piano Grade 1 exam by scoring a 98 on 100 and he finds himself on the sets of #LifeIsMusic learning the craft of being a professional musician from his mentor Sitar virtuoso Purbayan Chatterjee and closely interacting and performing with contestants from across India, most of who have been learning, playing and performing music for over a decade.

Ask him how the experience has been and the all he manages to rustle up in response is, “Good.” Probe him a little more and he says, “It’s a different feeling. The vibe here is great. It’s also a little intimidating. Everyone is so accomplished here; so well-trained. There are two members in my band from Kolkata who even have a Masters degree in music. Talking about music all day, living and breathing music, focusing all day, adapting to compositions almost immediately takes a little getting used to.”

But, he’s fully aware that he is lucky to have experienced this, so early in his musical journey, without the copy book struggles that musicians face.

What next, we ask? “I don’t know. I haven’t thought of anything. I want to do some studio work, but that’ll happen later. I need to learn for at least three or four years more before I think I’ll be completely ready,” he says.

Learn about the platform, meet the musicians, catch the webisodes and experience the energy behind #lifeismusic here: www.lifeismusic.in