Encounters of the musical kind

My sixth semester exams were going on and I was to have an exam the next day.

I was getting bored of studying (well, I was actually worried about how I was going to complete studying all the units before 10 a.m. the next day, i.e. before the exam starts). So I was watching MTV for sometime.

It was Nikhil Chinnappa’s show going on where he was interviewing a pop singer. The singer sang and played the guitar so beautifully that I too wished I could learn to play it. I was still in the dreamy state when the show was over and I dozed off visualizing myself playing some beautiful music on the guitar on the stage during my college day and basking in the limelight and rejoicing the thunderous applause of the delighted audience.

Trrrrng …Trrrng….

That was my phone ringing … I woke up fearing some friend calling me up asking me how much portions I had completed or asking doubts from those parts of the syllabus which I hadn’t explored yet and me getting embarrassed to face the hard and bitter reality that I had a lot to study.

Me (still dreamy and sleepy): Hello…

Voice: Hello… Naan guitar master paesaren (I am guitar master speaking…)

He was speaking in Tamil. I have the translated version here.

Me (thinking that I’m still dreaming): Hello???

Voice: I am a guitar master. Do you want to learn to play guitar?

Me (pleasantly shocked and unable to believe my ears): Yes!!!

At this point I must mention that I was wide-awake and no… this wasn’t a dream … it was for real!!!

Voice: I am working in a music class here. I can come to your house and teach you to play guitar. The fee is 200 rupees per month and the classes are twice in a week.

Me: Ok…(Wow!!!)

Voice: Have you played a guitar before?

Me: No.

Voice: Then you can start by playing base guitar. Do you play the guitar when you are in a mood…?

Me: Blink! Blink! Uhhh…(Didn’t I say I don’t know to play … and what does that mood mean?) I don’t understand…

Voice: Do you want to take the guitar lessons?

Me: Yea… But I don’t have a guitar…should I buy one?

Voice: No need. I can bring a guitar for you to play during the classes.

Me: Ok. (That’s great!!!)

Voice: Is there anyone else who would be interested in taking these classes in your neighbourhood?

Me: No… no one around here. Maybe my brother would be interested.

Voice: Ok. So when can you start taking the classes?

Me: Actually, my exams are going on now. So can I decide and tell you later? Do you have any contact number?

Voice: I’m calling from outside. Shall I call you after a week?

Me: (Now beginning to think of the possibility of this whole episode being a prank) By the way, how did you get this telephone number?

Voice: We call numbers randomly from the telephone directory.

Me: Oh! (Didn’t quite understand how they could possibly imagine getting students by calling some random telephone numbers). Can you tell me where your music institute is located so that I can join sometime later?

Voice: I’ll call you after some days. Then you can decide and tell me if you are interested in learning to play guitar?

Me: Ok.

And he cut the line.

I was still dazed. I was recollecting the entire telephone conversation again and again in my head. One minute I imagine that this was one God-given chance of making my lifelong dream of learning some musical instrument come true. The other I realize that all this was too good to be true.

Why would someone call people randomly and ask them if they are interested in learning guitar and that too in the very comforts of their home and they need not even buy a guitar…

I couldn’t get back to thinking about my exam. I even had this wild imagination that someone (my ill-wisher) had discovered my secret wish and was trying to distract me from studying thus preventing me from getting the highest score (he need not even had to try such a thing coz I was not planning to get one, anyways).

I was so excited about this that I had to tell someone. I called up my friend. Later, when my mom came home, I told her about the phone conversation. And she was more than happy that she wouldn’t have to buy me a guitar and also not worry about me going some class faraway from my home to learn playing guitar.

Sadly, as expected, the caller never called me back. Either he had forgotten my phone number or got something better to do than calling up people at random.

Learning music has been one of the goals of my life and to think that I am on the right path to achieve want I want makes me feel so proud and confident of myself. I hope, then, that one can understand why I am so excited about my music classes that I keep mentioning about them in every post. Now, when I wish someone ‘May all your dreams come true’ or ‘May all your wishes come true’, I do that sincerely with all my heart.

But, unfortunately, the rosy days now seem so far… I am now suffering from throat infection since my Madurai trip last week (it happens all the time- either cold or fever and sometimes both). And now my throat is in such a horrible condition that only air comes out of my mouth when I try to speak. Looks like ‘nazar lag gayi hai’ or ‘ kannu pattuduchu’ (I don’t know how to put that in English…someone please help out with the English translation).