CHENNAI: A music instrument and beat boxing? Did we get that right? We have no such doubts when we listen to Bengaluru boy Sudhir R who has even got his name registered in the Limca Books of Record for having the highest number of fluteboxing performances in India. Having recently participated in Asia’s Got Talent, the fluteboxer recounts that ecstatic feeling of being recognised on an international platform. “When I saw legends like Anggun, David Foster and Jay Park on judge’s seat, I had to take a deep breath before I could start my performance,” says Sudhir, who flew down to Singapore and Malaysia for the auditions.
“When I finished my performance, the audience kept cheering and the judges actually had to ask the crowd to be calm down to give their verdict,” says Sudhir, who made it to the semi-finals of the show.
Sudhir comes from a completely non-musical background and discovered his interest in music in 2012 when he first heard an artiste beatboxing at a college fest. He was so fascinated that he went ahead and taught himself the techniques of beat boxing from videos on the internet. Then, wanting to do something out of the box, Sudhir came across fluteboxing. “One day, I stumbled upon a video of someone fluteboxing and I was taken aback by the way it sounded. I immediately went to the music store to pick up the instrument. But I had only `500 with me and the only flute I could afford was a wooden one with a crack on it,” says the 27-year-old.
With determination and practice, Sudhir mastered this art, although he admits it was difficult. “Fluteboxing is harder than only beat boxing because there is a fraction of a second between the time you stop beat boxing and start playing the flute. That’s the most challenging part but right now it has become a routine for me,” says the young artiste who has also performed on India’s Got Talent 5.
When he lost out in the final rounds of the national show, Sudhir was left heartbroken. But instead of letting it get to him, he started polishing his art form and learning the flute under eminent flautist K Pundalika Shenoy. In the process he never realised that he was slowly getting inclined towards Hindustani classical music. “When I was on Asia’s Got Talent, it was something new that the continent was witnessing. Now, I want the whole world to know how an Indian boy is doing wonders with an Indian instrument,” says Sudhir, who had a tough time convincing his parents about his unusual choice of career. “I still don’t know if my parents have accepted me by choice, they have just given up seeing my persistence,” he says.