As sunlight pierces the thick foliage in a remote corner of Goa, 29-year-old Pasha Aeon, a Belarusian musician sits under a banyan tree and drums the OMana handpan. The serene setting complements the rustic rhythm emanating from the UFO-like steel instrument. The performance is part of a YouTube video titled, The Zen In Steel, produced by The Two Room Apartment, a project started in 2014 by city-based music aficionados Sehran Mohsin and Donny Lama. The two-minute video, uploaded two months ago, is part of the producer duo’s series in discovering hidden musical talent while travelling across India. “We met Pasha at a restaurant in Arambol where he was teaching the handpan to students. The idea was to discover the instrument through the eyes of a master player. Pasha knows his music. What impressed us was when we saw him play the 5/4 beat, which, most musicians these days don’t attempt,” shares Mohsin.

Pasha Aeon (centre) with the band, Three Pandas And The Moon