Games Sidelights

on the phone all the time. I badly miss my mom, brother and cousins and can’t wait to get back home,” she said.

After stealing CWG show, Keshav went back to bedtime story!

His tabla recital rocked the Commonwealth Games (CWG) opening ceremony, but once seven-year-old prodigy Keshav was away from the spotlight, he went to his hotel room, took a bath and asked for a bedtime story just like any other day! So his mother revealed.

Facing the media at a press conference, the boy from Auroville, Puducherry giggled, laughed and goofed around even as reporters tried their best to make him speak in full sentences.

Asked if he was nervous before going on stage for the opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the boy, who has never had any formal training, said, “I was excited.”

According to his mother Gopika, a singer and a photographer, the aim was to keep the whole act very “spontaneous”.

Was he overwhelmed with all the response after his performance?

Gopika said, “The first thing he said after coming down the stage was ‘Did I play well, mama?’ We left soon after and went to our hotel. The first thing he did was to clean the room - he is finicky about cleanliness - took a bath and asked me to tell him his bedtime story. He was not interested in watching the TV highlights or anything. But later he drew pictures of the stadium.”

How long had he practised for the opening ceremony? Keshav said, “A month!”

Sitting on the edge of his seat to reach the microphone, Keshav looked at his mother each time a question was shot at him.

Gopika said, “He didn’t have any strict schedule of practicing for so many hours a day. He played as and when he liked. I tried to keep the whole act very spontaneous.

“So right up to the time he went up the stage, I was telling him his favourite stories.

All that I told him was there was a big light show and he will be playing with many more drummers.” in Kenya and has defeated the higher ranked compatriot Safina Madhani on more occasions than one.

Born into a family of musicians, Keshav started playing the tabla at the tender age of two. Gopika said he is so natural that he simply watches the fingers of tabla players when they rehearse at home and then imitates it to perfection.

“Keshav has not had any formal training. I am a singer and often practice at home. So he has grown in that atmosphere. We don’t even have a TV at home. So when people said they would watch his performance on television, he was a little confused,” she said. Is there any other instrument he likes to play? “The guitar. I have a blue guitar,” Keshav said.

“I also like cycling and cycle to school every day,” he added, with some prompting from his mom.

The young star inherited the sport from her father Sadri Nimji, who played for the country in international events in the 1990s.

“I started playing when I was five and maybe my dad was also playing at that time,” she guessed.

“I don’t know whether squash is in my blood. All I know is that I love the sport,” she said.

The security for the Games scared her at first as the Village has been turned virtually into a fortress.

“It was crazy when I first landed. I was scared of the cops being everywhere but now I feel much better as I have started liking the Village. Everyone is so friendly here,” she said.

The little wonder that she is, Khaaliqa is sad at not being able to meet her father regularly as only players and officials are allowed to live in the village.

“I have met him only once since I came here. I can’t meet him at will, so I talk to him

A student of Deeparam school in Auroville, Keshav studies in Year 2. Keshav’s elder sister Kamakshi, who is just a few years older than him, plays the piano. Even as comparisons were drawn between Keshav and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, especially as both have curly locks and a similar dressing style, Keshav smiled for photographers, with his sister hugging him.

Bharatbala, the creative director of the opening ceremony of the Games, said:

“I discovered Keshav in Auroville in May and decided instinctively that he should be included in the ceremony. By July, it was confirmed.

“I knew that along with hundreds of drummers, if there is one child prodigy, it will leave a mark. And he performed brilliantly. He totally enjoyed performing.”