Made of a steel shell, hand-hammered into a shallow dome, the handpan produces a sound unlike anything else built by human hands. Warm and layered, each note blooms outward into a cloud of overtones — strike one, and the notes around it hum faintly in sympathy, so even a single tap sounds full. There are no strings, no reeds, no keys — only hands moving across the surface, and whatever they find, the ear accepts. There are no wrong notes here — the instrument has found kinship with meditation and sound healing, where the goal was never mastery, only immersion. It is this quality that sits at the heart of what artist Leya Moonsong brings to Ignite, her upcoming performance. We chat with Leya about her relationship with the instrument and what audiences can expect from the evening.
"It's very melodious and soothing," Lea says. "The handpan is very intuitive — you don't need any kind of musical or technical knowledge to play it," she adds. For Leya, the handpan isn't something to learn so much as something to let through; each sharing carries a specific intention, and for this one, it is joy. "It's about bringing a flame of joyfulness, arising in the people who are listening," she explains, which is where the evening gets its name.
The experience will also differ in its setting. Audiences will sit on the floor, which Leya feels allows them to become more comfortable and involved in the sounds. "They become one with the space and the sound," she says.
Leya's own journey towards the handpan began after a period of deep introspection around 2020. A former Bharatanatyam dancer and contemporary dance artiste, she gradually moved towards singing, toning and sound before finding herself drawn to the handpan. "I have always followed intuitive nudges," she reveals.
Leya hopes the evening encourages audiences to approach sound without the pressure of technique. "We can be more joyful and playful about sound and allow it to flow through us," Leya shares. "Sound is inherent in us," she says. "We don't always need to learn it." For one evening, all you may need to do is sit, and listen.
INR 300. August 21, 6 pm. At Punch - Unpaid Therapist, Alwarpet.
Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.