Chennai prodigy Lydian Nadhaswaram is ‘The World’s Best’
As his fingers flew over the keys, it became clear that Lydian Nadhaswaram, the 13-year-old child prodigy from Chennai, was the favourite to win ‘The World’s Best’ global talent contest. On Thursday Lydian was declared the winner, taking home $1 million in prize money.
The Chennai youngster, who spent four years at maestro A.R. Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory and is now tutored by his father Varshan Satish, stunned the judges at the contest by playing 280 beats per minute. He then increased his speed to 325 beats per minute.
“This is genuinely one of the best things I’ve ever seen live,” tweeted James Corden, host of the show.
Lydian also featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show last week after his appearance on the ‘The World’s Best’ contest.
The teenager, who is home schooled, told The Hindu that he spends on an average of six hours a day practising music under the guidance of his father Varshan Satish, a music director.
“I listen to music on YouTube and spend time going through music software. Along with my sister, I experiment a lot and we compose our own music,” said Lydian. The prodigy can play blindfolded, handle two pianos simultaneously, apart from being adept at playing the guitar and mridangam, his mother Jhansi said with legitimate pride.
Currently, he is investing time on the technical side learning skills such as mixing, sound systems.
The lad does not watch much television, but he is a regular on YouTube. “I recently picked up a movie from YouTube, then muted the sound and created my own audio. It was fun,” he said. Citing an example, he said he had tried this experiment with the animation Storks.
His performance has earned him an invite to the Jazz Foundation of America’s annual gala “A Great Night in Harlem” at the Apollo Theatre in New York on April 4.
Lydian says he wants to compose music for Hollywood. “I want to work for an animation film,” he said, adding that he also wants to play the piano on the moon at some point.
Lydian’s father, Varshan, said: “Last year, Micheal Novogratz sent Lydian a Steinway grand piano. Now he has invited him to perform at the concert with some musicians.”
His mother Jhansi proudly said that he also plays the guitar, mridangam among other instruments.
On Thursday afternoon, Oscar winner A R Rahman went to Lydian’s house in Saligramam (Chennai) and appreciated him. Lydian has spent four-years training on a full-scholarship at AR Rahman’s KM Music Conservatory under Surojeet Chatterji in the Russian Piano School.
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India proposes preferential trade agreement with Mexico to deal with high tariffs
New Delhi (PTI): India has proposed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Mexico to help domestic exporters deal with the steep tariffs announced by the South American country, a top government official said on Monday.
Mexico has decided to impose steep import tariffs - ranging from about 5 per cent to as high as 50 per cent on a wide range of goods (about 1,463 tariff lines) from countries that do not have free trade agreements with Mexico, including India, China, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said that India has engaged with the country on the issue.
"Technical level talks are on...The only fast way forward is to try to get a preferential trade agreement (PTA) because an FTA (free trade agreement) will take a lot of time. So we are trying to see what can be a good way forward," he told reporters here.
While in an FTA two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on maximum number of goods traded between them, in a PTA, duties are cut or removed on a limited number of products.
Trading partners of Mexico cannot file a compliant against the decision on imposing high tariffs as they are WTO (World Trade Organisation) compatible.
The duties are within their bound rates, he said, adding that their primary target was not India.
"We have proposed a PTA because its a WTO-compatible way forward... we can do a PTA and try to get concessions that are required for Indian supply chains and similarly offer them concessions where they have export interests in India," Agrawal said.
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Citing support for local production and correction of trade imbalances, Mexico has approved an increase in MFN (most favoured nation) import tariffs (5-50 per cent) with effect from January 1, 2026 on 1,455 tariff lines (or product categories) within the WTO framework, targeting non-FTA partners.
Preliminary estimates suggest that this affects India's around USD 2 billion exports to Mexico particularly -- automobile, two-wheelers, auto parts, textiles, iron and steel, plastics, leather and footwear.
The measure is also aimed at curbing Chinese imports.
India-Mexico merchandise trade totalled USD 8.74 billion in 2024, with exports USD 5.73 billion, imports USD 3.01 billion, and a trade surplus of USD 2.72 billion.
The government has been continuously and comprehensively assessing Mexico's tariff revisions since the issue emerged, engaging stakeholders, safeguarding the interests of Indian exporters, and pursuing constructive dialogue to ensure a stable trade environment benefiting businesses and consumers in both countries.
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Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai has said that Mexico's decision is a matter of concern, particularly for sectors like automobiles and auto components, machinery, electrical and electronics, organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and plastics.
"Such steep duties will erode our competitiveness and risk, disrupting supply chains that have taken years to develop," Sahai said, adding that this development also underlines the little urgency for India and Mexico to fast-track a comprehensive trade agreement.
Domestic auto component manufacturers will face enhanced cost pressures with Mexico hiking duties on Indian imports, according to industry body ACMA.
