Blowing your mind

On the one hand we are at the 66th year of our independence, and on the other, our country’s inspiring national anthem has completed its 101 year. The 52 second long ‘Jana Gana Mana...’ originally written in Bengali by Rabindranath Tagore was first sung in the Calcutta Session of the Indian National Congress on December 27, 1911. It was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly as the Indian national anthem on January 24, 1950. There are many versions and styles of the national anthem that we hear. People use different musical instruments too, but has anyone heard it being played with a pen top? Yes, it is unusual to hear, but this final year engineering student of Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) did just that.

Says Madhudev P S, “I was casually sitting and fidgeting with a pen top. Out of fun, I whistled using it and noticed that I could produce different sounds from it by changing the position of my lips and the pen top,” says Madhudev about the eureka moment. This prompted him to try out the musical note: ‘sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa’ with the pen top. “I tried to play the seven swaras first and discovered that it was possible. Then I tried to play different songs. The Indian national anthem was my first choice of song,” says this 22-years-old.

Madhudev who uses cello maxwriter pen’s top to play the songs, says, “Not all songs can be reproduced with the pen top. Only songs that fall in the same octave can be played.” Madhudev knows how to play the flute, but has no classical training as such. “After I finished class X, I went to Guruvayur temple. There I purchased a flute and started practicing on it. I instantly liked the instrument.” Madhudev who has a liking for all the wind instruments also plays mouth organ and gives karaoke flute performances. Madhudev has still to showcase his talent before his parents. He says, “My parents are strict about my studies and for them my passion for music is secondary. Once I settle down with a good job, I will work towards fulfilling my passion as a music director.”

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