The times they are a' changing. Turn the clock back to the mid-20th century. Peek into a home filled with classical musicians (let's choose tabla maestro Allah Rakha's residence in Mumbai). There, in the late '50s, you would find his baby son Zakir practising religiously day in and day out. That's the sort of catch-them-young-and-watch-them-grow ethos that was prevalent in the world of Indian classical music. And the same often holds true even for western instruments like the guitar and drums. Kids as young as three or four were encouraged to pick them up.

But that was then. It was the analogue era. Now, we have entered a digital age, where the very definition of a "musical instrument" has evolved. Yes, children still pick up sitars and guitars after they have barely learnt to walk. But, some also start toying around with electronic music gadgets like mixers, DJ controls and FX-bars after they have just learned to string sentences together. Take the case of Bengaluru-based Aiyaan aka DJ Atom — purportedly India's youngest DJ — who first started learning how to spin tunes on a turntable when he was all of five years old.