Passing Thoughts

1. Somewhere in July 2009 :

I was in a speedy autorickshaw at Paud road, Pune, when this conversation happened. I was with my grandmother, and it was just three weeks before I left for the United States for my masters degree education. My grandmother had been to the United States, as her son i.e my uncle was working there. So, we were talking in general about the life in the United States and the education over there as a whole. Suddenly, I spoke something ....something which strikes you at the spur of the moment...and you express it. I said to her, that when I land up in a US university, the first thing I would do is to collaborate with the Music Department over there. I would share something I know about Indian Classical Music, and would get to know something their music has to offer. It would be exciting, I said to her. If that was not enough, I said to her, that I would like to give a seminar on the same topic, to a music class. Not knowing, what lies ahead of me, I began to dream about me giving a seminar about this great music of ours.

2. August 2009:
I am at my new university in the United States. There is a welcome week going on and we are busy interacting with the new students. But within all these proceedings, I have one thought in my mind.....the one I spoke to my grandmother in that autorickshaw. Suddenly, I get charged up....with some hope in my mind of me getting set in the university...in the city. I ask the student ambassador about the university having a Music Department of its own.....but....the answer is NO! Aaahhhhhhh....there my hopes go dashing, and I am, for a moment left thinking that my time in this university would hardly go nice. Intuitions! Can't help it...! But then, suddenly I am told that there is a Piano in the University, and I am contented, playing it for the rest of the semester.

3. Spring Semester 2010:
I see the Arts Building every time I pass by it, while going to the Science Building. It is, I guess the same feeling, a mother has for her child when she leaves for work. Science is my job, whereas Arts is my love! As simple as that...:) But, due to the new semester, new university, new job....I find it difficult to adjust my timings, and go towards my passion. I make an unsuccessful attempt of going to the music department and asking for the piano to play. They are curt enough to reply me that it is only for the Music Majors. After the semester, I am in India in the summer and return some weeks before the Fall Semester begins.

4. Fall Semester 2010:
I grab a job in the university bookstore and meet a guy over there, who becomes a good friend. I also call up Mr. Madan Oak.....a santoor player from California....who is involved in a lot of music activities over there. I met Madan ji on Orkut, a social networking site, way back in 2008, when I was in India. I asked for his telephone number, one fine afternoon as I wanted to know what should I do to arrange a marathi drama at Houston. That telephone conversation turned out to be an eye-opener for many issues...and I began to understand and dream about the various things I could do about music in San Antonio. I began to search for Music teachers, teaching Indian Music in San Antonio.....and yeah...I did find one! His name was Mr. Rick Henderson! I was overjoyed to the core and began to get some more information about him. I found that he was the student of the Great Ustad Ali Akbar Khan...one of my Heroes! Everything was fitting like a jigsaw puzzle! One fine day, after giving a call to Rick ji....he agreed to meet me in one of the Starbucks shops at Bandera Road....and that was a great meet...! I could discuss a lot about Indian Classical Music with him...core issues, which I could never perhaps discuss with anybody else! We decided to do something in Indian Classical Music on the UTSA campus....and he was very kind to help me in this. I was fired up and spent that day building castles in the air.
A section of the jigsaw puzzle was still remaining though! I was wondering how to get to the Music Department...and then this happened! I was working in the bookstore and I came across this guy, whom I have mentioned in the previous paragraph. In a casual conversation, he mentioned me that he was a music student! The jigsaw was complete!

September 2010:
I am sitting in the office of the Music Department. The guy in the bookstore...my colleague has taken me to the department. The lady is kind enough to give me the e-mail address of one Dr. Mark Brill....a professor of World Music at UTSA. I e-mail him and schedule an appointment with him and on the day of the meeting I announce ' Biotechnology is my Livlihood, but Music is my life! '....he seems convinced! I introduce the name of Mr. Henderson to him...and we discuss a lot of issue about Music on-campus. Finally I ask him about me participating in the Music Department activities as a voluntary artist...to which he replies in the affirmative. He asks me to do something in the First week of November...when they would be covering Indian Music...and with no hesitation I agree. Finally, on the 3rd of November, came the day when I gave a 25 minutes performance on an afternoon raag and gave a small Lecture/Demo on Indian Instruments and Music Patterns to those Music Students. The entire thing lasted for an hour, to which there was an amazing response! With this,.....what I told my grandmother last year, in that autorickshaw at Paud Road....came out to be successful!