Going Viral-- Practice Provides Results

 

There are moments when you see your hard work paying off. There are also moments when you swell with pride because you see someone you love do something hard successfully.  This was both of those moments...and it went viral!

I was so proud of Lucky Dragon and Koala Bear. They have been taking piano lessons the entire time we have been in India. Their teacher is so good with them. He has done a combination of classical piano and fun songs so they stay interested. So they play classic songs and songs from Harry Potter,  Mario, or Imagine Dragons etc. We know it is working because they will stop to play on any piano they see. 

This includes the grand piano at work when they come to eat lunch with us. They would beg to play on the piano. Our colleagues got used to the lunchtime impromptu concerts each day and would notice when the Muggles were back in school because they miss when they were not playing. 

Because of their lunchtime playing the Public Diplomacy team asked if the two of them would learn a patriotic song for a video tribute to India on Indian Independence day. 

We were glad they were willing to do it. They not only learned a song they had never heard (sung in a language they don't speak) in a week and a half, but it was also during our packout so a few days into learning it our piano was packed up! We made frequent trips to practice at the Consulate. Whenever they had a free moment, they were practicing. 

Complicating it a bit was trying to find a way to have them both play. They had to learn the song so perfectly that they could play on the same piano. For those of you that don't play piano...that is a difficult feat. They have to be completely in sync. One small error becomes glaringly obvious.  So they practiced and practiced. 

A photo with their teacher, Nishat. He is truly an amazing person! He developed their skills and perpetuated their love for piano and music in general. Much of the success of this experience goes to him. He wrote an arrangement for them and worked with PD to match their requirements for the video. He spent hours and hours with us during the crazy packout week helping the Muggles progress. 

A photo with us and the film crew for the video. 

The day of the video was intense. There were several cameras wandering around getting different shots. People were watching, and audience was filmed. That meant this two Muggles played their song over and over for almost 4 hours. Different shots had to be taken, changes were made, interruptions had to be corrected. I was so proud of the way they handled it. Even some adults would have cracked under the pressure of it all. But these two stuck with it! (Can you tell that we were so proud of them?)

Links to watch the video here:

X: https://x.com/usandmumbai/status/1823618549312860442?s=46

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-o_bFLOsy7/?igsh=x==

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/CFzCARoGp126JacY/?mibextid=WC7FNe

YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/gwF2U6k--j4?si=i_hHcnhPBmpzZnfE

LinkedIn:

 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/u-s-consulate-general-mumbai_yeh-jo-des-hai-tera-acoustic-cover-by-american-activity-7229357297607598080-Znaf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios

Practicing on our make shift piano section in our empty house!

The end result was amazing! The PD did so well putting it together. They released it on social media outlets (see links above) and it has over 2.5 million hits (as of the time I write this blog). 

So yes, I may be bragging a bit. I am proud of these two for doing something I could not do (their piano skills have far surpassed what I can do). I am proud of them for excelling jn a short time, during a move, and in front of cameras and an audience.