Can anyone with two hands play nine percussion instruments at one go and still create melody with it?
Meet Siyaram, a farmer from Chandauli district in UP, who can play nakkara, tabla, jhanjha, dumdum, thali, botal, taiya, drum and naal — all together with a assemblage he has created with steel plates and bottles.
It has taken him 14 years to get the music assemblage right and months of non-stop practice to be able to strike the right notes.
Explaining his musical assemblage, Siyaram says that the nakkara and taiya produces sound like a kettle-drum while the jhanjha resembles the sound of a drum set. The sound of tabla and naal (an instrument made of wood) are quite similar and the dumdum sounds like bongo.
“All the instruments in the assemblage are played with hands and sticks. The sticks used are made of dried wood pieces of a guava tree. They are cut in a special way so that they can produce the desired sound with repeated hits on the instruments,” he adds.
Siyaram often plays his musical assemblage at weddings and other functions and charges nominal fees for the same.
“I can play non-stop for five hours and I take money that is needed to fulfil my needs. I never overcharge even when the demand increases,” he says.
Siyaram’s stage experience dates back to the time when he was merely 12 years old and worked part time in a theatre group. “
It was here that I learnt to identify various sounds and then decided to make my own instrument,” he recalls.
Siyaram’s fans in Chandauli are now coaxing him to participate in talent hunt shows on television so that he can take his talent to the next level.
“If it has to happen, it will happen. Sab naseeb ka khel hai. I am content where I am,” he says wistfully.