Warm Christmas

Holiday season started and we wanted to go somewhere. Where? We had lots of places in mind but since it was the Christmas season we wanted to go to a place where we would get the real feel of it. New York City!! What other place can even come close to it when we think of Christmas, I thought! The snow, the cold weather and the decorations everywhere just make it look so glamorous. We had been to the City during the Christmas and holiday season once and it just blew me off. In fact, every time I go there I can not but fall in love with the city. There’s something about it, is it the sensuousness, the glamour, that dizzying array of ambiance or that overwhelming conurbation or something else? Whatever it is, experience of that cannot be duplicated. The uniqueness of the city gives it it’s own unique character. Not a car's natural habitat, Miami Herald columnist and New York State native Dave Barry once joked that the speed limit going North or South in Manhattan is somewhere around 90 MPH, whereas the one for crossing East to West cannot be determined, because no one has ever made the trip.

Well,back to the topic and the big question is still out there. We were also trying to be a little fiscal conscious and decided to rule out the big apple from our list.

Since it was a family vacation with small little kids, the next place I could think of was Orlando, Florida. Orlando, Florida is widely considered the tourism capital of the Southeast United States, and some would say, the entire nation. With the Walt Disney Empire and Universal Studios Florida, Orlando is a hot tourism and vacation destination. My daughter just screamed in excitement the moment she heard of the Disney land and Sea world.

We landed at Orlando, FL at 10.30 am. Wow, is this for real? Its seemed like I hadn’t seen a warm dry weather in a long long time. It was the end of December, and here in mid west, we already had 6 inches of snow coupled with a freezing weather. I have a friend living in one of the southern states and we often talk about the weather. When we are facing a snow storm she calls me up and tells me that they are enjoying a nice warm weather somewhere in 60s and I often joked that I was envious of the situation she was in. But after landing at Florida I wasn't sure, if it evoked the similar feeling in me. There was no feeling of Christmas over there. My daughter started complaining of heat. I thought all these years I had been complaining about the snow and winter, but may be, I like that better than this. I didn’t think I belonged here. The palm trees didn’t look as charming as the Christmas trees and the hot humid weather automatically led me to turn AC on to the full speed. People out side were in their shorts and T shirts and instead of the snow boots, there were flip flops and slippers everywhere. It was amazing. We all know that southern states are hot but seeing it and feeling it would put me in such a different perspective I had never expected.

We had made our plans already and were ready to follow our itinerary. We went to the Disney land first. There were so many fun filled activities to do. One thing after the other, the thrill rides, the water parks and the animal kingdom sent the crowd berserk. Soon I forgot about how I was feeling there and started enjoying the place. After a long tiring day at the park we were driving back to our hotel and I unconsciously found myself lost in the admiration of the city. The wide broad roads and the vast expanse of the city looked beautiful! The city is planned very methodically and decorated very beautifully. The palm trees alongside the roads gave the city an aesthetic look. I found the city extremely pleasant. It was exhilarating yet a little laid back. At the Disney land, in order to create a feeling of Christmas, they were blowing some white fluffy stuff and my daughter was running around to catch it calling “mommy see that’s pretend snow!" :)

4 days passed like a single moment. My daughter who was complaining about the heat in the beginning now wanted to move here. We laughed and joked about how quickly our perspective changes about something.

It was a sad feeling at the airport. So far I had only thought that the best place in the world to see is NYC. Christmas in a hot and humid weather would not be so much fun but things were different now. We wanted to extend our vacation a little bit more but alas, that was not possible. We boarded the flight and with a heavy heart said good bye to Florida.

The pilot announced that the temperature in Indianapolis is 29 deg F. We looked at each other and exchanged a smile. Pulled our jackets and coats out and got ready to face that freezing weather again.

It's been almost 2 days since we are back. Past 2 days, it didn't snow as much but its very very cold here. I woke up in the morning and looked out side. The Christmas lights and decorations were still on at some of the houses in the neighborhood. The bows that we had hung outside were flapping in the brisk air. Suddenly I caught myself smiling. I turned my fireplace on and started enjoying my morning cup of tea.

It felt so much at home..:)

To be happy is to live in the moment ……………….

Reviving the Melody

I found my diary while I was cleaning my cabinets after a busy festival season. That’s my Music Diary I exclaimed in excitement! I was maintaining this diary for an easy reference which contained from the most basic Sa Re Ga Ma to the advance ragas like Bahar, Malkauns all in one place. I was overwhelmed. My eyes moist while looking at it.
Music, ah! Music, that used to be my life. I started learning classical music from the age 7 or 8 I guess until I turned 19. After my regular school hours I would just rush though my homework so that I can sit in front of my harmonium and play music to the contentment of my heart. It was never enough though! I never got tired of it. In Indian Classical music, some of the ragas have their exact particular timings for singing . One raga, Bhairvi if I recall it correctly, should be practiced before dawn in the morning. I remember waking up even as a small girl when everybody was still nicely tucked under their blanket to practice that raga.
At my school or college, I would be asked to sing extempore and I would readily get on the stage and sing without any hesitation and without getting uncomfortable and come back with a huge round of applause. That, however, I never cared for, coz even if I didn’t get that I would still sing as that’s what I loved doing!!
Its been more than 10 years now since my fingers last coaxed a melody from my Harmonium keys or played through the strings of Tanpura (the Indian Classical Instruments). As I started growing older the pressure of studies became heavier. The worst thing about growing up is that we tend to deemphasize what we love doing the most or ignore what happens to be our strengths. We were living in a small town then, and if I didn’t get good grades the chances of getting admission into one of those esteemed institution in a big city would be lost in the thin air. I started spending less time with my music and started getting diverted towards the areas which were not my strengths. “Music should be your leisure time activity, it should not fill out the most of your time as you’ll land yourself nowhere with music” I was told.
At the younger age the psyche of our peers play a major role in affecting our thinking pattern too. I had to go out and prove myself so concentrated more toward my studies and other activities and paid less attention to music that used to be my life. Gradually it reached a point when I never had time to practice music. I still loved it and would sing it pretty often but the dedication and sincerity with which I used to worship it was not there anymore. Once, I remember, at a college function my music teacher told me: “ you sing pretty well” I looked at him in surprise thinking was it a discovery for him? I was known for my singing. It was like a second nature to me. Then I realized that something is changing now.
Life moved on . Marriage , kids career everything became a priority but as time passed by, I started to miss that again. I visited my home last time and saw my Harmonium and Tanpura and got very emotional to see that. I was tempted to play it but was not sure if I remembered everything correctly. I was concerned if my fingers would still run so smoothly and fluidly as it did years ago. That was my pride and I just wanted to treasure it through the rest of my life.
I was waiting for everybody to go back to bed and then I pulled my Harmonium out. Dusted it off and started touching each and every note of it and with each key I touched, it seemed like I am going back into past one year at a time. There was a lot of tuning to do as it’s been so many years now. My mom did try to keep it in good shape though. I walked quietly and secretly to my old bookshelf where I had kept my music diary. I closed the door behind me so that nobody can hear me play that. I sat with it and first savored all the moments gone by and then suddenly something happened. I surprised myself! My fingers were moving effortlessly across the keys and I was playing the raga I loved most. However, while I tried to do the aalap i figured that i was somehow missing the deft and dexterity with which i did that before..........
I loved the movement of my fingers again. I did have some difficulty in catching up with my sargam and taal and I still have a lot of catching up to do. Dadra Thumri require lot of practice but I was still overwhelmed.
Today I have the piano right in front of me and I am playing again. Now this is more a source of great relaxation after a stressful day.
It does make me sad that I couldn't make a career out of it but at least I am complacent about the fact that all these years of devotion and practice didn’t go wasted after all…………….