Go on, sing…

I am feeling very happy today. I finally started music lessons – after years of learning Carnatic music as a kid (as any good Tambram girl of my generation) and then years of never ever singing, followed by years (yeah, I know, that makes me sound so old) of agonizing over resuming music lessons, I finally went ahead and did it today. Sure, I started with Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and will have to keep at it for a few months but it just gives me a happy feeling all over to sing.

When I was in class, little Aditya walked in, all of seven years, hiding behind mother’s pallu. No, he has not learnt music but he sings very well, proud mother said to teacher. Uh, oh! I knew what was coming. Teacher did not.

Oh really? Can you sing Sa Re Ga Ma for me?

No, no, he can sings songs, not Sa Re Ga Ma.

Teacher does a double take and says, ok? what song do you want to sing?

Aditya twists and turns and hides even deeper into mom’s pallu. Go on, beta, sing your favorite song…

Humko maloom hai, ishq masoom hai, dil seeeeee… the tune runs away, boys makes no attempt to catch it and taal, what be it please? but what the heck, he is only seven – but the mom is not – I look at teacher’s face – you just have to imagine this now – there is no way I can describe the look on her face. And the mom says, he sings so well, no? I have not taught him anything – he has learnt everything on his own, only from TV. Good for him.

***
I know kids will be kids and all that but do parents need to be pushy parents? here is Dance baby, dance from long ago… a similar story.

7 comments

  1. Great, Carnatic Music is my passion too. Wish you all the best in your classes. And yes, parents are too pushy these days 🙂
    Sathej

  2. Hi Charu,

    I am a regular reader of your blogs..though never made any effort to comment . Sorry 🙁

    Lovely pics & and fun writing ..keep going ! Hope your back is somewhat alright these days.Good luck with the music lessons too. Someday i hope to be inspired by you and do the same thing . I let go – never sang seriously after so many yrs of lessons.

    This dance kalo bhetha is seriously funny . I live in the US and see a lot of northie parents doing this . (I dont intend to make a random comment and offend anyone but i speak as i find .) Things like diwali mela etc you see about 90% of southie /marathi/bengali kids performing their traditonal music/dance. But most of the hindi speaking junta prefer bollywood aerobics,nach baliye kinds. It pains me to hear words like beedi jalailey from the mouth of a three year old. My 4 yr old daughter usually asks me the meaning of almost every syllable of even a bhajan and I am constantly trying to explain things in kids lingo . I wonder what the parents of curious little ones do when they have to explain what a Sharabhi or an aashiq means. It is very painful to see PT.Bhimjoshi or pt.Balamuralikrishna equated to some remixing technician. 🙁 Some people just kill you with their ignorance .

    Is all this because of the absense of popular children’s music ? I wonder ! sorry for the long comment

  3. Congrats on restarting music, Charu :). Agree with every word of Radha though I am not a parent!

  5. Sathej, thanks! I appreciate your wishes 🙂 – btw, have started learning Hindustani music now…

    Radha, thanks for dropping by… fully agree with what you say… a friend recently went around hunting for Bollywood music because some from the US had asked for it – since her kids went for “bollywood dancing” classes there! and what irks me is the moral stance these same parents take when it comes to other things like say boyfriends – my daughter can dance in front of strangers – to songs with ashiqui and sharaabi and beedi – all in the name of a “contest” – but if I catch her even talking to a boy, I will raise hell?

    ys – long time! thanks…

  6. Good point raised regarding the moral stance. Ridiculous relly – the attitude of parents! And Oh! Hindusthani, good, that’s good too 🙂
    Sathej

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