My music story : #1 Beginnings : Aji chechi

I don’t remember the lullabies sung to me, but I remember how the rough dining floor at my mother’s family home felt under my feet, where I was nudged to sing to guests. I was shy, didn’t like to sing, but when someone else sang and got recognized, I felt left out! I was an attention whore. I noticed early, that people who are funny got all the attention, but they ended up offending someone in the process. I was at the butt of jokes sometimes too, but always found a rhetoric comeback, My dad encouraged comical arguments but I was also stared down when it got out of hand. He was strict, at the same time very funny. 

Not everyone enjoyed our humour. (I would say dad’s but I enjoyed it with him so I’m in it too). So, singing it was! I sang to be cute. Everyone loved my cute little voice. 

I still remember, my older cousin, Aji Chechi (Sebin’s mom) teaching me a Malayalam song. Aadukal noorullorattidayan, a song about a shepherd who had 100 sheep and went out to look for that one lost sheep. The song was on a minor key, and the lyrics highlighted the shepherd’s sadness losing one sheep. I didn’t understand the lyrics! But I understood that this was a sad song, and the notes made me melancholic. 

Everyone encouraged me to sing this song and I was asked to perform this song to every guest that showed up! I could see all my relatives listening intently, pin drop silence, encouraging, cheering me on. I was a star! I’m not sure how, I was pushed to sing it in my church competition, I won! Then the church sent me to a district level competition, I won again! This was a first for my church. I was given a small trophy in front of everyone during a Sunday mass. 

Then they sent me to compete at the diocesan level, I was nervous and as I sang I lost breath and lost my timing! I lost. My mom hugged me and told me it’s ok. I noticed only mom was there when you failed! 

I learnt to fail but was not sad that I didn’t win. I was sad because I couldn’t perform well.  

I consider  Aji chechi as my first music teacher, she was a great singer and sounded great always. My first guru. It may have been my mom or dad, but what I consider my first lesson was from her.