Watch: Percussionist Sivamani Entertains Passengers Waiting For Bags At Kochi Airport

In recent times, air travellers in India have faced significant disruptions in their plans, with extensive flight delays and cancellations causing widespread chaos. The primary culprit behind this turmoil has been adverse weather conditions, particularly dense fog, leading to over a hundred aircraft facing delays or cancellations due to severely impaired visibility. Amidst the usual frustration accompanying such travel disruptions, passengers at Kochi Airport encountered an unexpected and uplifting surprise. The incident reportedly took place on Wednesday, as passengers eagerly awaited their luggage at the conveyor belt, which had already kept them waiting for 40 minutes without any sign of their bags.

However, this mundane situation took a delightful turn when the renowned Indian percussionist Sivamani, 64, who happened to be a fellow passenger on the same flight, decided to inject a bit of joy into the scene.

Using his drumsticks skillfully on the railings of the metal conveyor belt, Sivamani treated the waiting passengers to a spontaneous performance, playing the beats of AR Rahman’s popular Humma Humma song. A fellow passenger captured the impromptu concert on video and shared it on micro-blogging platform X (formally known as Twitter).

The X user, Sheetal Mehta wrote, ”It’s been 40 minutes since we landed at Kochi airport, and we are still waiting for our bags to come out. Instead of getting agitated, we are getting entertained by a fellow passenger.”

The video quickly went viral. Watch it here:

This sentiment resonated with internet users who watched the video, praising the artist for transforming a mundane airport delay into a memorable and enjoyable experience for his co-passengers.

Online reactions were filled with delight as users commended Sivamani for his humility and talent. Some users even corrected the description of Sivamani as a ”fellow passenger,” emphasising his legendary status as a percussionist.

“That’s Sivamani. You are blessed. Enjoy the delay,” wrote a user.

“That’s DrumsSivaMani. Will never complain even if it’s delayed for 12 hours,” said another one.

More comments flooded in, expressing admiration for Sivamani’s impromptu performance, with one user stating, ”Sivamani playing …if he didn’t stop playing, the bags would never come out….. Cause even the staff would be busy listening! Lucky to witness the legend! No doubt no one’s agitated by the delay lol.”

The appreciation continued, highlighting the positive impact of Sivamani’s unexpected concert on the airport delay. One user remarked, ”If sivamani is playing, I can wait 4 hrs for the bag,” while another exclaimed, ”How do we make sure we also travel with ShivaMani so that these delays are not painful.”

Sivamani, also known by his stage name Drums Sivamani, is an accomplished percussionist. Proficient in playing various instruments, including drums, octoban, darbuka, udukai, ghatam, and kanjira, Sivamani was honoured with the prestigious title of Padma Shri in 2019.