Utsav Lal, who will perform in Calcutta on November 17, at the piano

Since then, there has been no looking back for Utsav, now 13. He has performed at prestige venues like India Habitat Centre, Siri Fort Auditorium, Dilli Haat, Anandgram Cultural Centre, and clubs and malls in Gurgaon on occasions like New Year’s Eve and Independence Day.

As recently as November 11, his solo concert at the Habitat Centre, Piano Under The Stars, saw 400-plus jostling for space in the amphitheatre that seats 250.

Now, Calcutta will play proud host to his maiden melody mosaic outside the National Capital Region in the form of a unique piano evening, Tickle The Ivories, at The Ballroom, The Oberoi Grand, November 17, 7.30 pm.

Presented by Showhouse in association with Spandan and Patton and hosted by The Oberoi Grand, the concert will find Utsav playing evergreen Kishore numbers and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay hits, some contemporary Bollywood soundtracks and, of course, his first original composition, Vadiyon Ki Fiza.

“He had this singular ability to pick up melodies and reproduce them accurately from a very early age. To hone his talent, we put him under the tutelage of Brian Silas (considered the king of nostalgic melodies) and he told us, ‘you don’t have to worry about him at all’,” says mother Sangita from the Lals’ Gurgaon home.

Utsav then joined the celebrated Delhi School of Music and learned under its principal John Raphael. He is also training as a western classical pianist and, at 13, is poised for his certification as a Grade 7 pianist from the Trinity College of Music, London.

“He has always got a double-promotion and done in just four years what usually takes eight to 10 years,” says Sangita.

A Class VIII student of Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, Utsav himself is very excited about playing in Calcutta. “This will be the first time I’ll be performing outside my hometown and I’m looking forward to it, since I’ve never been to Calcutta, but heard so much about it,” he says over the phone.

Utsav’s versatility as a pianist is evident from the selection of his renditions. With a range of rhythms from the past and the present in his repertoire, he usually has something for everyone in the audience. “He is almost like a one-man orchestra. While he keeps the main melody of a song intact, he is adept at embellishing it with his own fill-in notes to impart a slightly different flavour,” observes Sangita.

though there are requests from the NRI community for Utsav to play abroad, parents Mohit and Sangita are clear about the need to balance the priorities.

“He happens to be extremely good in academics as well and we want him to focus on studies these two years till he clears school,” they say.

After that, it’s all up to Utsav and his unusual talent.