It’s Tuesday again! Damn! I hope he doesn’t come today. Oh God, please make him sick today. Please! š
I used to take music lessons when I was in middle school. Every Tuesday morning my tabla-teacher used to come to my house. I had to practice 6-8 songs a week along with tabla, so that my beats were correct. Mehra uncle was very strict and punctual, he hardly took a day off. I absolutely hated it.
On every Wednesday I had music classes where I learnt new songs. That class was in the evening at my home. I was always very ordinary in this regard. Half of the year I used to have cough and cold which was an absolute enemy of singing.
Pity on my neighbourhood who had to bear with my shrill and disgusting vocal exercises on regular basis. I used to practice songs daily. I had a diary where all the lyrics and notes were there. I had to practice 5-6 songs everyday. Some songs were very easy, some were difficult. Difficult notes and difficult beat. I wanted to skip the parts where my voice couldn’t reach the higher notes. Despite all my effort and practice, I was never good enough in singing, neither it had my love. I did it because my parents wanted me to do so.
I quit singing in 9th standard, when I was not being able to maintain balance between my studies and singing.
Not only my parents, at my place almost every other parents send their kids to music/art/dance classes at a very young age. There is no question to encourage passion or creativity. Lucky are those kids who end up with finding their passion in the class they were sent to.
As a kid, I liked to draw. That’s not a unique thing in kids. But I always had a drawing book and some drawing supplies to draw in my spare time. I never had a chance to take classes for it. There was one day when I sat with my drawing book and a pencil in my hand but my mind was absolutely blank. I tried so hard but couldn’t think about a single thing that I could draw. My imagination was an absolute empty canvas. The thought that I couldn’t embrace what I actually loved broke my heart. It felt like losing something that was so dear to me. I tried quite a few times after that but art had abandoned me for my negligence.
Parents always want the best for their children. But sometimes their wish to do everything right stifles the natural blooming of a kid’s creativity. Let your kid explore things. Most likely, they will eventually figure out what entice them. Even if they don’t find anything, there will be no guilt of working so hard for something they didn’t like than following their heart’s desire.
