With greetings, we meet Vinita in the sixth video on ‘Spinning into a Career’
During vacant hours, Ruchi goes to a nearby park that is more of a forest than a park. They go into the interior jungle. They sit on a rock. A big and tall mountain confronts them. There are trees and miscellaneous dense vegetation. Insects hum and whine, and birds tweet, breaking the silence of the forest.
Ruchi sonorously sings a bhajan by Meera, ” Mara re Giridhar Gopal……” The sound reverberates. Vinita is mesmerized by it. She urges Ruchi to sing. She talks to Ruchi fondly because Ruchi’s face resembles a friend of hers in Nepal. They frequent the forest . They sit on the rock silently for hours. Vinita says casually, “Ruchi, why don’t you go for modelling? You have a good photogenic face. Ruchi smiles and keeps quiet. The visit to a beach in Kaveri with Vinita is a memorable one. It is twilight. Vinita and Ruchi sit on the beach, listening to the breakers on the shore. The waters radiate the variant colors of the setting rays of the sun. The marvelous canvas of nature engrosses them. Vinita does not have much time for Iman Khan. Her father gets transferred to Orissa. The family moves there. Vinita’s mother thanks Ruchi.
A sardar from Iran named Harpreet Singh is a close friend of Ruchi’s dad. He is a member of the railway library. He gets some books for Ruchi to read. He has a special interest in Humor. He has a big surprise for Ruchi on a Sunday. He opens his beard and turban. His beard is too long. It touches the floor and extends further. The man is six feet tall. Ruchi is taken aback. He looks at Ruchi and says. “Itni baddi lambi daddi dekhi hai?” which means “Have you seen such a long beard?” Ruchi has an expression of wonder on her face. Harpreet Singh is generous. He helps Ruchi’s father in whatever way he can. He has two sons, Teetu and Beetu. Teetu has diabetes since the age of ten. He learns to take insulin injection on his own. He does not live to see the age of twenty.
We begin with the second chapter of the story.
Travelling by slow local from Bhimpoli to Chirgaon is a quotidian reality for Ruchi. She gets well acquainted with the Chirgaon station. If one stands on the railway platform facing the railway tracks, one can see a big bus depot at the back, on the right hand side where the platform ends. On the left hand side, behind the platform is Chandanwala theatre. One can see people coming out of the theatre after the end of the show.
As fate has it, Ruchi meets one miss Parande, who is sitting opposite to her in the train. Ruchi overhears miss Parande talking to her friend. “My father is a music teacher. You can join our music class. My father teaches students three days a week.” Ruchi asks Kirti Parande, ” Which music does he teach?” “Hindustani classical music”, miss kirti replies. ” I want to join a class for classical music. Where is your class?” Kirti says, ” It is in Krishna Nagar to the East of Bhimpoli station. If you are willing to join, I ‘ll take you to my home right now!” Ruchi agrees. The house is just a humble hut. N.L.Parande asks Ruchi to sing. She sings a devotional song. The music teacher tells her that her voice sounds like that of a maestro. Music class starts with rag Bhoop. It is a walk of an hour and thirty minutes to the class and back home.
She tries to practice music at home. Her voice is loud and shrill which proves to be abnoxious for her family members at home. Her brother plays tape at high decibel so that it can muffle her voice and harmonium.
Thank you for listening. We shall know more about the Parande family and music in the next video. Till then goodbye!
Video can be viewed on You Tube by typing , Spinning into a Career by Usha Raman.
