Sa re ga ma

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Sa Re Ga Ma

Normally, a child by the age of 15 finds his dream but in my case I realized it at the age of mere 10. Music was it. God had already given me a good voice, so I wanted to harness this more. Hi, I am Hridhay Malhar. Since I live in Pune, which is the cultural capital of Maharashtra, so understanding and appreciating my talent wasn’t difficult and I was well accepted in this city. There are many options available here and my parents were equally supportive about my passion so they enrolled me in a class that thought about playing harmonium. There’s a story behind my name, my father is a big fan of Pandit Hridhaynath Mangeshkar hence he kept my name as Hridhay. Hridhay in Marathi stands for heart. As heart has a rhythmic beating of ‘dhak dhak’ hence my name is meaningful taking my passion in consideration.

Since I stay in Kothrud area of Pune and the class was in Kothrud itself near my house so going there alone wasn’t any problem. I used to go there at 4pm and used to come back by 6pm. Like every kid, I too liked to play cricket. I used to play it after coming back from the class. There were two groups that played in our society. One of big boys and other of small boys like me. We were often played with old boys as ‘kaccha limbu’ or as a weak player. Though I hated it but still I liked to play with them.

I was now 12 years old and I graduated from image of small boy to a big boy. I stopped my harmonium tuitions as I now knew to play harmonium well. ‘Hey Hridhay, have you heard of Salil Kulkarni? He’s taking classes of classical music’, Ishant asked. Ishant is of my age, stays in my building and is my best friend. ‘Oh! Are you sure that he takes classes as he’s a big personality in the field of music’, I replied. ‘Yes man, a friend of mine goes to his classes’, Ishant replied. Next day, I went to Salil Kulkarni’s music school in Karve Nagar. Another area that is close to Kothrud.

Salil sir met me and asked, ‘do you know anything about music?’ ‘Yes’, I replied. ‘I sing well and know to play harmonium’, I added. I sang a song accompanied by music from the harmonium which I played. ‘You sing really well, some technical flaws but don’t worry as I will correct it’, Salil sir said. ‘You can join from tomorrow and you need to pay very nominal fees every month, by the way where do you stay?’ He added. ‘Kothrud’, I answered. ‘So that’s very near, come every day at 5pm sharp’, he said.

I went there every day. He taught me from the basic singing, that is ‘suur and taal’. Within few days, I understood music much better and it reflected in my singing. Since, I am alone at that time so Salil sir had his complete attention on me. At times, he corrected me. One day, as I was practicing a young girl came in our class. ‘Hriday, she’s Swarangi, she will come every day at the same time as you do’, Salil sir said. I gave her a brief smile and said, ‘hi’ and shook hands. As I shook hand, I felt that I had seen her somewhere but couldn’t tell as to where. Wheels of my brain started churning as I continued my practice. ‘Eureka!’ I loudly said and looked at Swarangi. ‘Have you joined Joshi sir’s harmonium class too?’ I asked. ‘Yes’, she replied. ‘Hi, I am Hridhay’, I said as I shook my hand. ‘Hi’, she replied with a smile and hand shook my hand with her. ‘I stay in Kothrud, where do you stay?’ I asked. ‘Paud road’, she replied. ‘Oh! That’s very close to my house’, I said. ‘In which standard are you in and in which school do you study?’ I asked. ‘I am in 7^th grade and in G. K. Gurukul school’, she replied. ‘What about you?’ She asked. ‘I am also in 7^th standard and I am in City International School’, I said.

We again started to practice music. Months passed by and we became good friends. Since we studied in same standard so we began to share our study material too. One evening, she came to my house to return back a study material. I was surprised to see her at my house when I opened the door. Fortunately, I was at home that day because it was raining outside. Soft romantic songs were playing on my music player. I invited her in and I introduced her to my mom. ‘Mom, she’s Swarangi, she learns music with me at Salil sir’s music school’, I said. ‘Hridhay, call me ‘Saru’, people close to me call me the same’, she said. ‘Good that your name has some short form as mine don’t’, I said. ‘Mom used to call me ‘chintu’ when I was a kid but I didn’t like that name, so she gave up calling me that’, I said with a rise smile. ‘Buddy, you have given me a point on which I can tease you’, she said with a mischievous smile on her face.

‘Let’s go to my room’, I said. ‘Mom, can you please make some hot bhajiya and thecha (chutney of grounded chilly with some spices)’, I added. I am a neat and clean type of boy, so there wasn’t any question of my room being untidy. There was a sign of ‘No entry’ as seen of road on the door of my room. ‘Chintu, nice sign’, Swarangi blinked her left eye and said. ‘Shut up you chinti’, I said with disgust. ‘Yucks! You wierdo, you gave me such a tacky name’, she said with a vomiting action. ‘Like you sow, so shall you reap’, I said with a smile. ‘By the way, it’s a nice sign’, she said. ‘Yes, it’s a sign for anyone else not to enter in my room’, I said. ‘So, does it mean to me too’, she said. ‘Hey, I have invited you in my room’, I said. She went near the window as the view around my building is very beautiful and on top of that we stay on 7^th floor.

‘Hridhay, that’s awesome view, I can sit here for many hours listening to soft music’, she said. ‘Yah, let’s go to the terrace of our building, you will love it more’, I said. We went to the terrace; it was a typical rainy weather with dark clouds, rains, and greenery everywhere. We stood under the building’s water tank to protect ourselves from the rain. Swarangi then collected the rain water in her palms and splashed water on my face. I then held her hand and we went in the rain. We both got wet in the rain and danced as well. As we danced our eyes met and we looked in each other’s eyes for few seconds. When we realized it, we immediately looked at different directions. We stayed on the terrace for some time and while coming back I asked her, ‘do you feel cold?’ She said ‘no’ by shaking her head. As she shook her head, water from her wet hairs splashed on my face. I wiped it, she purposefully started shaking her head. ‘Saru, this so irritating’, I said but she continued shaking her head to irritate me. So I held her face, suddenly Ishant came to the terrace and as I was very close to her as well so he thought that I was about to kiss her. ‘Sorry guys, you carry on’, he said and turned back. ‘Inho, we aren’t doing what you think’, I said and Ishant came up. ‘She’s my friend from my singing classes, her name is Swarangi and Swarangi, he’s Ishant, my best friend’, I added. ‘Hi’, they said as they shook hands.

On reaching home, I rung the bell. ‘Saru, I bet ‘angry bird’ inside will shout at us’, I said. ‘Stop it’, she said as she widened her eyes and she gave a light tap on my head. As mom opened the door she saw it and said, ‘did he call me ‘angry bird’ again? Chintu, you are hopeless’, mom shouted. ‘Mom, don’t call me chintu’, I yelled. ‘Then stop calling me ‘angry bird’, mom said. ‘Both of you are completely wet’, mom shouted at us. She gave both of us towels to wipe ourselves. Swarangi was looking beautiful as dried her hairs, she looked at the collage of pictures of all prominent names in the field of music pasted on my wall. She looked carefully at each photo and turned back to talk with me. She didn’t realize that I was near and her wet hairs struck my eyes. ‘Yaar’, I screeched. Swarangi then quickly blew air in my eyes with song ‘jo barse sapney boond boond’ from the movie ‘Wake up Sid’ playing in the background. We ate bhajiyas and had hot ginger tea that mom gave us.

Years passed by and we became good friends. I used to talk on any stuff with her like I used to talk with Ishant. We went in a small joint to eat snacks and have some fresh fruit juice as we were very hungry after the music class. The couple at table next to us had a baby, my lord! The baby was very cranky and his crying irritated me. ‘Saru, can we leave as soon as we finish our dosa as that kid’s crying is irritating me’, I said and begun finishing my dosa very fast. ‘Hridhay, do you like kids because I love them? She asked. No, I simply hate them, they are so irritating’, I said with disgust. ‘Chill yaar!’ Swaragi said and laughed.

We didn’t have interest in studies as we had it in music so after our S.S.C we took admission in Ferguson College as that college had lots of cultural events. We were ragged by our seniors and since we were together, so we were dead ducks. They all encircled us in the college campus. ‘Do you know each other?’ Asked one of them. ‘Yes’, I replied. ‘Yes??? Who will say ‘sir’, said one of them. The gang had girls too, should I call them ‘sir’ too, I thought and smiled. ‘Where do you come from?’ One girl among them asked us. ‘Kothrud’, we replied. ‘Bend on one knee and propose her in pure Marathi and you girl, you have to slap him as the answer’, another girl instructed us. ‘Maam, please, I can’t slap him’, Swarangi pleaded. ‘No way babe’, that girl rejected Saru’s plea. I looked at her, closed my eyes and gave her small nod so that no one else could see it. I bent on one knee and proposed Saru in filmy style, obviously in pure Marathi and Saru slapped me and started crying. I hugged her and said, ‘it’s okay’.

In the evening I met Ishant, ‘how was your first day in the college?’ Ishant asked. I raised middle finger and said, ‘fuck all’. ‘Why, what happened?’ Ishant asked. I told him the entire ragging incident and he was in all splits, rolling with laughter. ‘Man, this is unreal, you proposed Swarangi and in reply she slapped you, I can’t control my laughter’, Ishant said. ‘Shut up yaar, poor Saru was shivering later’, I said. ‘Yeah, slapping the man she loves is indeed hard’, Ishant said laughing. ‘Fuck off man’, I said and showed Ishant a middle finger. I and Swarangi enjoyed each other’s company in many places apart from the college, it may be shopping together, roaming in malls, evening time pass at F.C road, watching movies together. We fell in love with each other but neither one of us realized that. Swarangi looked a bit sad from past few. She didn’t have interest in doing anything, I was surprised to see this as the girl who is always bubbly and eager to do things looked flat. ‘Saru, what’s wrong?’ I asked. ‘Nothing’, she replied and changed the topic. I sensed it that something is really wrong in her life. Our college had a cultural festival named ‘Rhythms’, it had singing event too. We both took part in the singing competition.

Swarangi was looking very beautiful on the eve of our competition. ‘You are looking very hot today, you’ll get many friend requests after today on facebook’, I blinked my left and said with a smile. ‘Who cares’, she replied quite blandly. I sung ‘ek kudi jida naam muhobaat, gum hai’ from the film ‘Udta Punjab’ while Swarangi sang ‘tere bina jiya jaye na’ from the film ‘Ghar’. Swarangi won the prize and I didn’t. I was very sad while coming back. Swarangi sensed it and said, ‘Hridhay, your song was good, in fact technically perfect. You sang as sir taught us, that is in perfect ‘sur and taal’ but do you know, what was missing’, she said. ‘What?’ I asked. ‘Emotions’, she replied. ‘You didn’t express that, a girl you love madly is lost and until you express it fully you won’t do well’, she replied. ‘See, I expressed it completely that I can’t survive without my guy, you know any sort of pain inside brings the best emotions out of a singer’, she added. ‘It means that you have a pain, tell me yaar?’ I said. ‘Let it be, you won’t understand’, she replied

Few months passed and Swarangi was gasping for breath after she finished our daily song practice. I found her panting after a small walk in the college. Something is terribly wrong with her. She left coming to our music class and she left coming to the college. So one day, I went to meet her at her house. ‘Saru, tell me what’s the problem, why aren’t you coming to the class or in college?’ I asked with authority and simultaneously with concern. ‘You won’t understand’, she said and got up. I grabbed her hand said, ‘damn it! Tell me you moron’. ‘Hridhay, I have a heart problem and I can’t survive for long’, she said with tears in her eyes. I hugged her and sang ‘ek kudi jida naam muhobbat, gum hai’. Swarangi looked at me and said, ‘perfect expression of the emotion in your song’. ‘Saru, didn’t you realize what me to express it’, I said. ‘It’s you, my girl’, I added and hugged her tightly. ‘I also can’t be yours in this life is my biggest pain’, she said.

Weeks passed and her health got worse she was admitted in Dinanath Mangeshkar hospital and that too in I.C.U. I met her there and couldn’t see her die, I cried keeping my head on her stomach. ‘Don’t get sad chintu, ‘ye marne ka time nahi hai, jeene ka time hai’, she said. ‘Shut up you chinti’, I said and hugged her tightly. Few days later Swarangi died. Salil sir launched me as a singer in one of his film and as time passed I became the new singing sensation of the country. Everyone around me were very happy to see me grow but I know the main reason behind that was the pain that I am going through as I have lost the girl whom I loved the most.