A guitar, a stage and a dream come true...

September 28th 2008 - A memorable day of my life

Yesterday was a dream come true. It was my first performance on stage with the guitar, in front of an audience of around 300 people.

Flashback to a day, which I vaguely remember. It was in Army School, Delhi. I was in my 5th standard and it was my music class, that afternoon. The teacher taught us "Jingle Bells" and everyone present in the class was supposed to come forward and sing it. I saw my fellow classmates trying their best to stimulate their vocal chords, and the audience having a real good time ridiculing every effort which the singer made. I too was enjoying the laugh, until that eventful moment, when I was chosen as the next guy to be slaughtered in the class.

Till that day, I had never ever attempted to hum, let alone sing. As I stood in front, I froze. Being the center of attraction of around 35 pairs of eyes, each waiting to pounce upon a single mistake, sent a chill down my spine.

Nevertheless, I gave it a shot. I don't remember the way I sang or the number of "unwanted" improvisations which I made in the song. What I remember is this - Once I was done with it, no one laughed. That was my first achievement ever, in an art which I never knew, would become the soul of my life in the years to come. Next two consecutive years, I participated in the annual singing contest in school; the event which had one member each from four participating teams. I ended up being fourth in the event, both times. Next year, I wasn't selected. No prizes for guessing why. I guess, reputation does matter.

It was an year and a half back when i first learnt to hold the guitar in a proper manner. I clearly remember seeing my teacher's fingers glide along the fretboard effortlessly and also the skepticism it instilled within me, regarding my chances of ever reaching close to that level of perfection. To sing and play along, was a dream which seemed really distant, if not impossible. Days passed, and in the next few months, I improved, learning music one guitar lesson at a time, under his guidance.

Every night, I started enjoying the 2-3 hours I spent with my guitar at home, even if it meant feeling drowsy the next morning at office. The aim was not to be an excellent player, just to have a means to express every emotion I held within my heart. I started singing again, this time not for anyone else, but just for my self. Every emotion I felt, I had a song to sing for it. And for every song, I had my guitar and a smile to go along with it.

It wasn't long before I realized why music had eluded me for so long. It was simple - I tried to find it in a place where it never existed. I tried to find it in the attention everyone gave me while I sang, when it simply and truly existed in my heart all along. I had never taken pains to understand what "music" really signified - the sheer happiness which gets instilled in your heart with every note you sing or play, the joy of having a company in loneliness, the joy of expressing every emotion vividly, sublimely, yet clearly, through a few words and a few musical notes.

Yesterday, on stage, a dream came true - a dream which had me singing, playing the guitar, my friends cheering my name and my parents feeling proud, watching their son being the center of attraction of around 300 pairs of appreciating eyes. When I said a "Thank you" amidst sounds of claps and applause, it wasn't just an expression of acknowledgment. It was in a true sense, the culmination and the beginning of a journey - a journey of realizing that dreams do come true in this world.

The only thing needed is perhaps, an undying desire to discover the "music" within you.