In his underground world, a flautist plays on

NEW DELHI: Sitting with his flutes in a dingy corner of a busy subway in the Indian capital's central business district, Balbir Kumar looks like any other vendor in the city. But once he blows into his flute, the veil is lifted and his talent lies revealed.

Speaking his heart out through the flute, Kumar is oblivious to the effect that his music creates in his underground world in Connaught Place. "You must have heard other flautists sitting in other subways. They are all very talented," said the 52-year-old Kumar, unfazed by the appreciative glances.

Adjusting his flutes, which are up for sale, he says the subway is his world and he never wants to shift anywhere else. "People hear me play the flute and sometimes ask me to play at parties or small music programmes. Some come to learn from me. Others simply buy flutes from me.

"I would never want to leave this place. All my roads open up from this subway," Kumar told.

Mesmerised by the sweet sounds of his flute, people often come up to him to learn the art. And Kumar obliges, right there, on the steps of the subway.

"I have 10 students. Some are students, some professionals while some like me, illiterate. They come and sit with me here and I teach them. They are dedicated and want to learn and I am eager to teach," he said.

Charging Rs.1,500 for teaching thrice a week for two months, Kumar said the classes don't last for more than half an hour.

Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Kumar has never been to school but is trained in music, specialising in playing the flute.

"I came to Delhi quite by chance. It was in 1982. I was playing the flute at a music function back home when an organiser of the Asiad Games spotted me. He offered me a chance to play with the orchestra for a special programme at the games in Delhi," Kumar told.

For an offer of Rs.2,000 as well as free food and accommodation, Kumar was more than happy to come to Delhi. And after the show, he was thrilled to the core.

"The response was phenomenal. I had never performed for such a big audience before. It was a musical drama specially organised for foreign dignitaries and it was held at the Talkatora Stadium in Delhi," he said.

So impressed were people with the performance that a German couple came up to some of the musicians after the show and offered them a chance to perform at a music festival in their country.

"They arranged everything for us. Our passports and visas, the air tickets, everything. It was a two-week programme. After that we got an offer to be part of an Indian music troupe in Holland.

"Thereon there was no looking back for the next three years. We used to travel and perform in various places. It was a great experience," Kumar beamed.

But then his smile disappears. "Because of some problems I had to come back, never to return. I miss that life," he said without delving into the details.

A little prodding reveals that he got into drugs and ran into a lot of problems. Although he finally kicked the habit, he could never get back the glory of his earlier life.

Even as he narrates his saga, a foreigner comes up to him and places an order for 50 flutes. Trying to communicate with him in broken English, Kumar manages to convince the buyer to come back in an hour.

"These foreigners generally place bulk orders. I am sure that the person who just came wanted flutes for his music school," he said while scratching his head trying to calculate the amount he would get paid after selling 50 flutes.

"You know what my biggest weakness is? I am illiterate. That has punched me time and again," he said rather bitterly.

"But I am managing. I have no complaints with life and I like it in my world here, in the subway."