YOU ARE MUSIC TO ME

  The rhythmic strokes of the spade creating ripples,

The setting sun spreading its golden hue,

The cool alluring breeze caressing our souls,

And his music!!….

Some bubbles in my stomach,

Gentle holding of hands with love,

Nakki lake and the intoxicating Abu air,

And his music!!......

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta

I didn’t know when my eye lids had embraced my eyes and deep felt emotions had surrounded my inner being. I wanted to let loose and feel every passing moment without an iota of negativity. Such moments of ecstasy are rare, magical and breathe life into existence.

I always wanted a fairytale life and though reality is not always like my imagination, life is kind enough to bestow with some fairy tale moments.

Mount Abu was our second trip together after tying the knot. Romance and ecstasy was in the air of the little hill station at the foot of the Aravalli. They say that the Maharajas of Rajasthan would come to Abu during summer to get respite from the scorching desert sun. 

The hill station is indeed blessed with a beautiful landscape, the charm of which is quite a contradiction to the desert. The Aravalli hills are rocky at one point and green at the other. Colours play hide seek under the vastness of the clear March sky. Surrounded by the hills in the vicinity was the magnificent Nakki Lake, a famous tourist attraction.

The lake with its surroundings was captivating in ways more than one. The sedate blueness, the happy faces and the colourful dressing of the local people made the area so full of colour as if it represented life. Street shopping couldn’t be more soulful than this. The market area with the signature merchandise of Rajasthan like bangles, Rajasthani dresses and turbans looked like the master stroke of a skillful painter.

It was our last day in Abu and we decided to spend it just the right way. Strolling lazily by the colourful lakeside we felt each other’s presence deep within. The sun was setting in full glory painting the sky red while the couples painted Abu red with romance. The soothing cool breeze, the multitude of hues above and our sudden discovery of getting late, was the beautiful evening going to end so soon? I just hoped not.

As we walked past the park around the lake, we noticed a blind man, silently playing a famous Rajasthani musical instrument called “Ravanhatta”. The tune was mesmerizing and we went to praise him for his skills. Immediately he said “babu if you pay me, I will come to play my instrument with you, on your boat ride”!!!

We were late, but not late enough to let go an experience of a lifetime. The boat moved lovingly fondling the lake water, it was dusk and the sun was bestowing its last beauty before going to sleep, we sat hand in hand and he played and played and played… Tunes, which have remained with me! We paid him, may be more than he had expected but what he gave us was priceless and timeless to me. He gave me my share of fairy tale, my musical…

Music was the tune of Ravanhatta, the rippling water, the movement of the spade fondling the waters of Nakki Lake. Music was the purity with which he played for us. After that day I had been to live concerts of many famous singers, listened to different hues of music. But even today, if someone asks me what comes in my mind when I think of music “ It is that blind man, the Ravanhatta and Nakki Lake in a beautiful crimson dusk.”

YOU ARE MUSIC TO ME

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta