Isn’t it strange how you associate certain memories with certain smells, or sounds? Like the smell of jasmine flowers reminds me of my grandma’s home in Kerala where there is a huge jasmine creeper. Every evening she would sit with a mound of jasmine flowers and knit them into little fragrant strings for all her granddaughters to adorn in their hair…

Anyways…I’m side tracking…yesterday I was walking past a music school and heard some fantastic guitaring and then the mind went on a flash back overdrive. Memories of another day came flooding…

I guess this incident must have taken place almost 10 years ago when I was in Muscat. At that time Close Up Antakshari was at its peak. Those days the show was being hosted by the inevitable Anu Kapoor and Pallavi Joshi. When they announced that they were auditioning in the Middle East, it created such a furor. EVERYONE wanted to audition. Trust me at every get together playing a game of Antakshari was mandatory! All bathroom singers were looked upon with awe. I had played so much of antakshari that my repertoire of songs was amazing! People were afraid to compete with me (LOL). So when auditions were announced, some friends gave my name. I was appalled for I'm really a bad singer! And protested profusely – but all to no avail. I was bullied endlessly and in the end I shrugged my shoulders and said – well, why not!

At the audition, we were supposed to sing with music. Of course no one in our group of friends could play any sort of musical instrument. After days of arguments and serious consideration, friends finally arrived at a song for me to sing and I meekly agreed. We had serious practice sessions. Someone would go “toi toi toi toi toi toi” – a guitar imitation and then I had to start on the right note! One friend played guitar, the other keyboard and another tabla and so on…Practice sessions were absolutely hilarious with various mouth instruments! I think I laughed more than I ever sang.

The D Day dawned!

And we found ourselves amidst a thousand other aspirants. Hooo boy…it was a mad circus out there – and I remember it like it happened yesterday! I was given a token no. ‘Participant number 526’! Me and friends twiddled our thumbs and waited there for over 5 hours. Finally, 500’s were called. I went into the room and sat there in front along with other nervous participants. My friends sat in the audience section behind me. Number 515 was singing when I went in. Guitaring started and 515 enthusiastically croaked “Chura liya hai tumne jo dil ko…” like a choked frog. Anu Kapoor’s wife was the judge and she grimaced as the person sang! After two lines the participant was asked to go off. And so it went 516, 517...and they all went “chura liya hai…” in various forms of bad singing (frog, donkey, owl, dog, hyena…) much to my horror.

At last they called No. 526. I go up, my legs feeling all rubbery. There in the centre of the stage I stood with mike in hand. I looked at my friends, they all grinned widely and did a thumbs up sign. I was already feeling like a choked frog. I thought no sound would come out of me. Then the guitaring started “Toi Toi to doi doi da toi toi” I was supposed to sing…and right on cue I started laughing! I laughed so much until tears flowed for I too was going to sing “chura liya hai…!!!”

Oh lord how did everyone end up choosing the same song?!!!!!!!!&^%$

Of course no one else amongst the judges, the musicians or the audience was amused – they all glared at me. It was just me laughing like a nut into the mike. Loud and clear! The judges waited impatiently for my amusement to die down. I think I got hysterical and could not stop laughing. I just walked off the stage. My friends followed like a bunch of zombies. We got out and I was like “Chura liya ney chura liya mera chance!” And we all laughed there like fools amongst the thousand serious aspirants who looked at us crossly!

Ah what a lovely memory…:-)