Bored With Your Instrument? Try Blowing It With Your Nose!
Back in the day, my parents used to drag me off daily to after-school piano lessons; it was a dreadfully tedious experience! If only they would have allowed me to partake in nose-playing classes instead! For, you see, the human nose is by far the most underrated musical ‘device’ on Earth. You can pick it, blow it, and if you’re especially talented, even use it to blow a harmonica.
Such is the case with Calcutta native Rajeev Kumar, who is known throughout India for blowing his harmonica with his right nostril.
During an interview with BBC News reporter Amarnath Tewar, Rajeev didn’t reveal why he chose nasal harmonica-playing as his trade of choice, but he did explain how he managed to master it: “It took fully six months to blow out a single note of a song through my nose. It was very tough but I did it. I got scratches and swelling in my nose but I never lost heart.”
It was, in fact, probably Rajeev’s heart and passion that originally hooked the attention of local talent recruiters, who were so shocked by his amazing knack for ‘nasal music’, that they helped turn him into a household name.
Nowadays, Rajeev can be found performing in various cities across India, charming his audiences with renditions of classical music and old school Hindi songs.
To maintain this incredible albeit odd talent, Rajeev practices yogic breathing daily. Plus, he squirts two nasal drops in his nostril immediately prior to a performance, and then he goes a step further by applying a tad of lubrication to the end of his nose to ensure that it remains wide open. Hmm…this sounds oddly familiar.
But the most amazing aspect to Rajeev’s story is that he’s taught himself how to play two harmonicas at the same time—one with his nostril and the other with his mouth.
The irony, though, is that he’s still not happy, as he’d love nothing more than to figure out a way to play “more than two harmonicas at the same time.”
Now that, Ladies and Gentleman, is a man of passion!
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By V Saxena on 12-02-2010
