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Pipes for the People: Keshav’s story
How did you get into bagpiping?
I used to go to St. Thomas Episcopal School in Houston who have a world-renowned Scottish Arts department, where they teach bagpipes, drums and Highland dancing. When I was there, we were the third best juvenile piping band in the world. My sister also does Highland dancing and recently visited Edinburgh with my parents to perform in the Tattoo.
I started playing bagpipes in the second grade, when I was eight years old, and even went to Scotland to play at the bagpipe World Championships in Glasgow. I’ve left St. Thomas’ now, and play for a smaller band called the Houston Highlanders to try and keep up my skills.
Bagpiping isn’t a big thing in the US but once you start, you don’t want to give it up. It’s a great skill and it’s something that can be shared with everyone.
When did you realise bagpiping could help people with CF?
In the seventh or eighth grade I got a bit lazy practicing and wasn’t doing it as much as I should have been, and was taking long breaks. I got a respiratory infection and my parents said I should practice pipes to see if it would help. I started coughing, and then my breathing became easier and I realised that it could be useful for people with conditions that affect the lungs, like cystic fibrosis. In the summer of 2024 I set up Pipes for the People.
How does Pipes for the People work?
Pipes for the People offer one-on-one sessions tailored to each student.
We teach the chanter, which is a smaller, beginner version of a pipe, shaped a bit like a flute. It’s also easy to clean, which is important for people with CF. It really helps with breathing capacity and can also help young people gain confidence and learn a new skill as well.
We also have an online community on Discord for young people with CF to connect in a controlled, safe setting. They can share stuff with each other, and they’re from all over the world, so the community bridges big distances.
A lot of the posts have CF-related puns that can take me a minute to get!
Tell us about the Impact Grant you received from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
I volunteered for the CF Foundation before, so knew about the organisation. This year I was lucky enough to received one of their Impact Grants to help fund Pipes for the People and hopefully expand our reach into other places in the world.