The piano man

Mumbai-based pianist Schubert Vaz on his journey and surviving 26/11

- Verus Ferreira

Schubert Vaz, a pianist at the Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai vivdly remembers 26/11 as if it happened yesterday.

"That day is etched in my memory forever. It started like any other evening. I was at the piano, playing for guests in the lobby. Within minutes, everything changed. The sounds of music were replaced by chaos. We helped guests take shelter and stayed together, praying it would end soon. It was an experience that shook us all to the core," says Vaz, his voice choking with emotion.

Every evening, as guests glide through the sea facing lobby, the soft strains of the piano fill the air, elegant, timeless, and comforting. Dressed for the evening in a tuxedo, behind the ivory keys on the grand piano sits Schubert Vaz, the resident pianist whose music has been part of the hotel's soul for over four decades, providing the heart of the hotel's rhythm.

Vaz who has been through the Mumbai bomb blasts in 1993, says that the 26/11 night affected him not only personally, but professionally too. "It changed me profoundly. For a while, it was difficult to even sit at the piano again. But music, in its own way, became a form of healing, both for me and for those who returned to the hotel. It reminded me that beauty and resilience often go hand in hand."