I guess its time I wrote about one of my love affairs..i.e. with music. I think I was 14 when my mother sent me to vocal/veena classes at Kala Mandhir (now known as TFA). It was a major struggle to get her to send me there as my parents had this belief that I will neglect my studies if I got involved in these kind of activities.

Well anyways, somehow I was enrolled in TFA and in many ways, TFA became a huge part of my life. Apart from regular classes, I slowly got involved in the orchestra and in the Youth group. I can say that my major formative years were spent at TFA. I remember days when we used to have orchestra practices and I used to leave home early in the morning and go back past midnight, and the next day back to TFA for another round of rigorous practices.

TFA thought me many things. Apart from veena and vocal, I gained a lot of know-hows about religion and prayers which I would have not known otherwise. There were many things I did at TFA, from putting rangoli for programs to serving food, to wiping the glass walls at Kanagasabai, to tieing flowers for prayers and many many more. Those days TFA was more like my family. I spent all my free time there and used to eat there do my homework there. Every moment in TFA was filled with music, laughter and happiness.

It might have been out of my crazed love and thirst for music that I did all those things. I was like a sponge those days, practically soaking up everything I could.

Performances, be it whether I was a participant or one in the audience, never failed to leave me spellbound. TFA performances had this special magic for being able to leave people spellbound and entranced. It captivated and enriched my soul and left me yearning for more.

I cannot possibly dictate every magical experience i have had with TFA, but I know that those moments are always highly cherished. These days, life has taken its toll and I havent been attending classes for 2 years now. Somedays, when I pass by City Hall area, I feel a pang of longing deep inside me. I miss TFA. God willing, I am planning to get started on my classes next January when I settle my other issues.

I might not have become a great singer or a great veena player, although I yearn to be able to sing and play the veena well, but it makes me happy to sing/play the veena. My journey with music will continue...soon.