Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma performs at Marine Drive in Mumbai.

It's not everyday that you get to see a live gig by an acclaimed musician on Mumbai's Marine Drive, that too free-of-cost.

Mumbai residents who were lucky to be strolling around the area on Tuesday evening witnessed an impromptu performance by renowned Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Sitting on the promenade, Yo-Yo Ma -- who is in India as part of The Bach Project and performed at the National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai on Monday -- began playing Bach's Cello Suite No 1, according to a report.

The Bach Project is a concert series in which Mr Ma performs Johann Sebastian Bach's (a German composer and musician of the Baroque period) unaccompanied cello suites in a single sitting.

Even though many passers-by did not recognise the Grammy Award winner, phones and cameras started popping out and recording him as soon as the 63-year-old hit the notes on his cello with the sound of the sea breeze in the background accompanying the music. Many of those videos have now gone viral on social media websites.

An Instagram user, posting a video, wrote: "I had the chance to catch the legend Yo-Yo Ma putting on an impromptu performance for passers by on Marine Drive. Absolutely filled with joy! So so worth all the trouble!"

Born in Paris, Yo-Yo Ma was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He has recorded more than 90 albums and received 18 Grammy Awards.

He performed at a Montreal metro station in Canada for free in December last year in a similar fashion, as part of his "days of action" under the Bach project, according to local reports.

'Days of action' are performed alongside concerts and are designed to use culture - and specifically Bach's music - to bring people together to understand each other and build a stronger society, according to the project's website.

At the end of his 20-minute rendition at the Marine Drive, Mr Ma took a bow, shook hands with everyone and left.

He is scheduled to take part in a panel discussion with actor-director Nandita Das, vocalist TM Krishna and Harvard professor Homi K Bhabha at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Mumbai today.