In a quiet corner of a bustling Christmas carolling session organised by a member of the Ang Mo Kio Tamil Methodist Church last December, Ashvath Asir Jeyaraj sits behind a keyboard and plays a few bars of a popular Christmas song.
The 14-year-old slouches as his fingers caress the keys and fidgets every few seconds – not quite the posture and motions of an orthodox piano player. But his playing is precise. He never misses a note.
Guests at the HDB flat, numbering almost 20, pause their chatter for a few seconds as Ashvath starts to play, as if to acknowledge that a young musician has just stepped onto a dais. They resume their conversations as the music turns into atmospheric Muzak.
When he finishes two songs, he saunters to a corner of the living room and joins the carolers. He doesn’t speak to them, and as the group begins to sing, he stares out into space.
Ashvath was diagnosed with autism just before he turned two, after his parents noticed some delays in his development as compared to a normal child.
His musical journey began one day when he was eight years old and watched a YouTube video of an orchestra, his father Samraj Asir Jeyaraj, 48, told tabla!
“Moments later, he started playing the keyboard and mimicked the tunes he had just heard. He played the exact same song, note for note.”
Prior to this, Ashvath had no formal musical training. Instead, he taught himself by ear, figuring out not just the keyboard but also the piano, organ, harmonica and pianica.
When told of this the next day, his mother Ajita Merlyn Edward, 45, said she couldn’t quite believe the story.
“I was already asleep the night Ashvath played the keyboard. Luckily, my husband had taken a video capturing the moment. When I saw the video, I was astounded,” she said.
“Though we sing a lot of songs in church and play some music occasionally, none of us are professionally trained musicians in our family.”
Ashvath has undergone speech and occupational therapy, but music has been his way of communicating and it has given him the confidence, said Mr Asir, who works in the marine industry.
He added: “When we first learnt that our son has autism, my wife and I were disheartened. But eventually, we took it positively and did not see it as a flaw.
“Ashvath is our precious son, especially since he was born five years after we got married. We did not plan to have more kids after him; we wanted to focus just on him.”
A student of music himself, Mr Asir used to attend classes at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (Sifas), where he learnt to play the flute. Ashvath used to accompany his father to lessons and was tutored on the side by a music teacher there who saw his talent. The lessons ceased after the teacher returned to India.
Eventually, his parents enrolled him at Methodist School of Music in Bukit Timah, which caters to children with special needs.
Since last July, Ashvath, who attends Lee Kong Chian Gardens, a special education school, has been learning how to compose music.
“You know, there are many things I have learnt from my son,” Mr Asir said. “He has taught me how to accept the ups and downs of life and make the best of everything.
“He doesn’t talk much, but when he plays music, it’s like he is speaking to the world.”
