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Ever travelled on a cruise that doubled up as a musical instrument? Well, Punjabi boy Akshai Sarin has turned this vision into a beautiful reality. A path-breaking music artiste, technologist and innovator, Sarin has set the world record for creating the World’s Largest Musical Installation — transforming an entire cruise ship into a breathtaking musical instrument!

Sarin traveled to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand — transforming one of the world’s largest passenger cruise ships — Royal Caribbean Cruises’ Spectrum of the Seas — into a music installation. This mammoth vessel, exceeding 1,100 feet in length, stands as tall as an 18-storey building and weighs a staggering 1,69,379 tonnes.

“I’m supremely excited about creating The World’s Largest Musical Installation. This is a testament to the limitless possibilities of Sonokinesis and its potential,” chirps Akshai. The magic-maker is now flooded with exciting offers to transform iconic international monuments, buildings and even designer stores into musical installations.

Akshai, who started playing the keyboard at age 12, credits his love for music to his genes. “Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers played instruments and sang. My dad also plays guitar and sings.”

Interestingly, it was technology that inspired him to make music. The rise of computers and technology allowed him to record at home (instead of expensive recording studios) and experiment with music. “I used to take apart my Walkman, tape up wires together to make rudimentary samplers, connect them to a toy Casio keyboard (yes, like the one Ross played in Friends) and a computer,” recollects the Bengaluru-based musician, who remembers playing at the Taj Hotel in Chandigarh many years back with Hard Kaur during her debut Ek Glassy tour. Akshai wanted to study Artificial Intelligence and Holography, but ended up doing Liberal Arts at Lawrence University in USA. There he studied Physics of Music, Psychology of Music, joined the Improvisational Music Orchestra and also had the most talented musician-friends.

So, how did he get into converting objects into musical installations? “I got the original idea while tapping a rhythmic pattern with my fingers on the dining table. And thought it would be cool to have music notes come while doing that. So, I started converting small objects like tables and walls.”

Moving ahead, Sarin’s original plan was to convert the Ritz Carlton Hotel building into a music instrument for their 10th anniversary. However, he got tempted by the sheer human imagination and engineering feat behind a cruise ship. “A floating city, 18-storey high, 1,100 feet long, with 5,000 human beings on it? That’s bigger than 10 hotels on land.” Sarin and his team started work on it in April 2023 and went on board three times, did two sailings to understand the dynamics. Throughout the process, he faced a barrage of obstacles — technical glitches, skepticism from industry veterans and the weight of his own expectations.

“Since I had only done this in simulations, there were a lot of variables we had to deal with — strength of the wind out at open sea, vibration of the ship’s engine, even things like the availability of a sound system to transmit the sound.” While testing the equipment at the ship’s poolside, because of the scorching heat, my laptop and equipment would over-heat and hang. The long hours and emotional toll often left me drained.”

The emotional rollercoaster of this high-stakes venture was relentless. Yet, his unwavering passion for pushing the boundaries of art and technology kept him going. “When the project finally came to fruition, the success was not just a professional milestone — it was a profound moment of emotional validation for me.”

Sarin, who has previously converted Armani Exchange’s retail store into a music instrument, has his sights set on performances — converting iconic monuments like Taj Mahal, London Eye and Eiffel Tower into the lead instruments in an orchestra, led by AR Rahman or Hans Zimmer!

Akshai’s journey is a powerful testament to the transformative power of art and the emotional fulfillment that comes from realising a vision against all odds!