Archy is no highlander but she is high on the bagpipe. The Delhi-based Malayali, who mastered the enchanting wind instrument, has been honoured by the Union woman and child development ministry as the first woman bagpiper in India.
Archy, as Archana Jayan is fondly called, is a picture of contrast to the Scottish men in kilts with whom bagpipes are commonly associated. The moment her lips touch the pipe, however, she belongs to the instrument.
High flyer
Born to Indian Air Force officer Jayan Nair from Mavelikkara and Renuka from Palakkad, Archy travelled across the country with her parents during her school years. Her musical journeys were no less eclectic. She started singing when she was just six years old. She was invariably drawn to western music.
Once she earned a degree in mass communication, she joined the business firm run by her brother. The music stayed on. And her world evolved around the pipe. She said her epiphany was in 2012 when she watched a European band on YouTube.
Rogue Saints and after
Archy was part of a Delhi-based band named Rogue Saints. The band, however, disbanded in 2012, leaving the lead singer to pursue her love of the bagpipe.
She browsed YouTube for bagpiper videos. She made contact with bagpipers around the world. Shawn Paulson from the United States was the first to respond. He advised her on how to go about mastering the instrument.
Paulson told Archy that learning the chanter (the pipe of a bagpipe with finger holes) was the best way to get initiated. She practised chanter for more than a year, until she got a bagpipe imported from Germany in 2014. It took her two more years of practice before recording her own music video.
Wind in the sail
Archy became an overnight sensation when she posted her first video on YouTube. Hitherto only her family members and close friends were aware of her unique taste and talent.
The responses encouraged her to master the pipe. She went to Scotland, the mecca of the pipe. She found a bagpiper to teach her.
The piper was impressed by the knowledge of his Indian student. A week later, Archy returned to India triumphantly. She was convinced about her path. She quit her job. More and more music videos were to follow.
Enchanted pipe
Archy named her band The Snake Charmer. The name was apt because her music was an attempt to breath Indian tunes into the pipe. The land of the snake charmer had a definite charm.
Archy’s YouTube channel has thousands of followers. She has done cover versions of several chart-toppers in the western hemisphere. She has performed on several stages overseas and has even been featured on BBC Radio.
The Indian bagpiper is all set to unveil her own album in June. She expects to make the transition from corporate shows to live events. She is also preparing for a global tour in May.
Untrodden path
Archy’s musical journey is unparalleled in India. She has mastered an instrument commonly associated with men. She thanks her family for all the support they offered. Her parents are settled in Delhi ever since her father retired as a wing commander.
Archy said that she was a long way from teaching the instrument to wannabe pipers. She wants to master the nuances of the complicated instrument before teaching it.
The bagpipe has been in existence since at least 1000 BC in various forms around the world but the instrument has become emblematic of Scotland thanks to the Great Highland Bagpipes.
Bagpipes come in different forms. The number of chanters and drones vary from pipe to pipe.
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