WriteFluence

My father played Cupid when it came to my romance with music. An avid Kishore Kumar fan, he would play songs on the radio or TV every day. Not a single month of my life has started without having heard the song “Din hai suhana aaj pehli tareekh hai”.

I may have been a toddler when the songs of most Madhubala movies would fall on my ears everyday. Quite a hereditary trait, I picked up the lyrics and tunes quite easily and by the time I was about 6 or 7, each time there was a function where I had the opportunity to sing before a crowd, I would go ballistic over Babaaaa… baabaaaaa as I sang Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo. My father would tease me while responding to that call, “Yes, yes… I’m here!” (Baba = Dad)

Over the years, everyone in the family knew I was musically tuned. My parents tried their best to encourage me into training my voice further but the lazy bum that I am, I lost patience during music classes and discontinued learning. Although I completed a professional diploma in music from the Mumbai University during my college days, little said about that course is better.

My parents bought me a keyboard after I displayed interest in learning it. I took a few classes and the same thing… Learning to play a musical instrument requires a lot of practice, focus and patience, and I have throughout my life been focused on more than one creative thing. I wanted to read more books. I wanted to write more. I wanted everything to happen in days and didn’t have the patience to keep waiting and practicing. Secretly, I wished I was Sabrina the witch. (Harry happened years later!)

When my working parents were away, FM is what came to my rescue. I would literally record and rerecord all songs on blank audio casettes from the radio. I would write down Hindi and Marathi songs in English in my notebook. Play, pause, write, repeat would continue whenever I would discover an unheard solo Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Bhosle song.

My musical journey in school is something that’s absolutely dear to me. Our school choir won interschool music competitions, travelled to another city for national levels… In college, it all began during my first year and I managed bagging not just a place in the college orchestra but also winning the heart of my college sweetheart. With the following heartbreak, a lot of things changed, but life moves on.

When my daughter was born, I knew I wanted to name her something that was related to music. I looked up all the Ragas available over the internet and in a big fat book of music that I still have back at home. Then I came across something on another website and the name mean melodious! So Shravya it was!

When I announced the name to everyone, the happiest were my kin who have been a part of the music industry since years. There’s something about those creative people. Everything about music fascinates them.

We as parents have this tendency to look for our children to achieve what we couldn’t. So, when I discovered karaoke apps and my daughter showed interest… I kept hoping for her to continue singing duets with me, but sigh! Like mother, like daughter. Jack of all trades.

Today, on World Music Day I’m down with a bad throat because I didn’t care for the damage being done when I gulped down Ice-cream buckets in the last few days. That’s not how this works. Music is something that needs years of sacrifice and patience. YouTube tutorials may help you feel, “Oh this looks easy!”

Well, it is easier for them who persevere. The rest like me, continue to bathroom-sing, post karaoke videos apprehensively on social media or simply just write posts that talk about their musical experiences.

Nevertheless, wish all of you a very Happy World Music Day.

Disclaimer: Any opinion expressed in this post are the personal views of the author. They do not reflect the views of WriteFluence.in. Any omissions or errors are the author’s and WriteFluence does not assume any liability or responsibility for them.