... was reading this piece in a news paper. It was about a man found in an inebriated state by a couple of city police constables of London. He had no money on him, no passport, no driving license, no credit card, his clothes were wet and the tag on the shirt, trouser, undergarments and the overcoat was removed. The constables tried to talk to him but he didn’t say anything. They thought something was wrong and took him to the police station. They couldn’t arrest him because he hasn’t committed any crime. They tried to question him but he didn’t utter a single word. He would just sit in a corner and stare into nothingness. He refused to eat food, drink water and talk to anyone. The police officials took his fingerprints and photograph him and did a check with the European databases but to no avail. His identity was still a mystery. His profile didn’t elicit categorical suspicion. He was a white Caucasian male, in early twenties, with short hair and blue eyes.

After a few days he was shifted to a mental health hospital. Now doctors tried to analyze him but instead they had to grapple with a dead end. A week later he drew an elaborate design of a Piano. The doctors thought that the presence of a piano might help understand the condition of the patient better. The hospital administration immediately arranged for a piano.

Everyday he would play some compositions of Mozart and Beethoven, till he would be too tired to do anything. Meanwhile the media got interested in his story. He got global coverage. He came to be known as the piano man. Since the hospital had privacy rules and regulation, the media couldn’t photograph him. Newspaper stories published reams articles/ profiles/snippets describing the piano man in minute detail. The way he walked, ate, his gestures and mannerisms. Few newspapers tried to search for his identity but nothing happened.

Four months after he was admitted in the hospital, one day a nurse looking after him asked desperately, ‘will you talk to us now’, and everyone’s astonishment he said, ‘yes I will’.

It was later found out that he was a German citizen, was working in Paris in a company when he was asked to leave. He became depressed and started wandering on the banks of river Thames.