Riyaaz, Singing ... I miss you!

My mind is being pulled for last several months towards my passion for Music or singing to be precise. Recently I have started looking for possibilities of 'beginning to learn' to sing again!

I began my lessons in Music (Indian/Hindustaani Classical Singing)at the age of 6 at a place in Vile Parle, Mumbai. It was a music class run by Mrs Vyas. Mrs Vyas was a very nice lady and used to train me in her style which was more for those who wanted to appear for the Gandharva Mahaviddyalay exams. As I grew up. I found that I was not liking the exam oriented/bound approach. I shifted to another music class named Uday Sangeet Viddyalay run by one very old Mr Desai. Desaiguruji was much advanced and would train me about many more things that I found advanced and challenging at that age. But I had this strange fobia of his house. It was not well-kept. I used to leave my home in all spirit and energy for the music class and would not dare climb the satirs to his flat and may be come back or go to one of my freind who played table and we would sit together and I would sing for hours. My mother felt I was in the class studying music ... :) .. This happened for years .. may be 5-6 of them and there was this change in my voice that was about to strike me .. My school music teacher Mrs Varsha Ambekar, who is entirely to be thanked for all that is inside me for music, told me that I should be going to someone who can help me retain my voice qualities through this inevitable years of change .. and I met another gentleman Pt Ramkrishna Patwardhan.

I was in 8th standard, and went to his music class with a notion in mind that I am going to learn something more adavnced .. and what happened was so different! I was told to sing only three notes Sa -- Pa and Saa ... and back and so on .. for months I was left doing only this. Strangely enough, however, I did not develop any kind of phobia or dislike for all that .. I kept doing what he told me .. and here I am .. even after not persuing music for years .. my voice is still in a good condition.

I am so grateful to Mrs Ambekar and Pt Patwardhan for building the basic strength in me. Mrs Ambekar gave me vision and corrected my apptitude for arts in general and Pt Patwardhan gave me strength.

Later I had an opportunity to learn a few things from Pt Ajay Pohankar and Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar ..

And ..

Now, I am looking forward to my studies in Music .. singing ... I am looking forward to be a good singer, like I was in my childhood.