From sa ri ga ma to hotel california .......music learning

She was crying ... As a 10 year old i was confused whats the matter for crying .. Of course it was a beginning class of my classical harmonium and we had given her the customary betel leaf as dakshina . An ancient indian practice of respecting the guru and she was overwhelmed when we had given her the dakshina .

For me it was my first proper music lessons and mornings i was enthusiastic to go to her class where she taught me sa re ga ma along with harmonium . The divine atmosphere as well as the music kept me away from the fatal attraction . Since our all boys school didnt have music classes i went for the music classes to the nearby girls school at alleppey with special permission .

When i was in trivandrum this music study stopped except for the one day one hour music session as part of school curriculum . That was interesting not only because we could sing in that class but he used to tell us movie stories . Maybe the lack of time i used to look longingly at the guitar and drums kept in the music class .

Years passed and then i joined for guitar classes . I learnt the basic notation and nursery rhymes under that guru . But to tell frankly i stopped learning because of mosquito bite . Maybe my lack of commitment or the number and intensity of mosquito bites i quit after 2 months .

Years passed and i got a new guitar master . This time he was very good . Learnt the basics of classical music in guitar western style . When i think of him i could think not only for his great classes with full commitment but also of his punctuality . For an owl like me to wake up at 5 am was a problem . But he was so strict that he wanted me at his door exactly at 6 am . Not 5 minutes late or even 5 minutes early . Tried both :) He is no more now and i still remember him when i play the notations on guitar .

Years passed again actually a decade . Hearing the wail of the electric guitar in my favourite songs be it bohemian rhapsody by queen or hotel california by eagles never thought once again i will start learning the guitar .

As they say .... right time has come once again for my left hand to feel the sweet pain of the guitar strings and right hand strumming away ...This time an awesome teacher who is as inspiring as the previous but who belongs to the pop and soft rock genre .. He was a performer during his younger days with these very same songs ... So once again started learning ....

You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave .. (hotel california ) feeling excited and humbled at the same time learning music