Flashback

"Hey! You're again doing all that rubbish? I have told you before that we cannot afford singing lessons. It's a tough world out there. You'll never earn much as a singer. So stop dreaming about impossible things and wasting your time. Study. Get a secure job, and a secure life," mom shouted. It was for the hundredth time that she told Ritu to stop "fooling around" and study.

Ritu closed her eyes. She was used to this. She was waiting for her mom to get out of her room. She would then study for a few hours. But after that she would again lock herself in her room and sing. Her mom would again scold her and the cycle would be repeated.

Ritu was okay with that. She liked music way too much to not sing, even if it was just for a day. Whenever she sang, she felt happy. She felt as if she could sense the music not with her ears but her heart, the tunes spoke to her in a language only they could understand, it took away all her sorrow and problems. Ritu knew she could never live without music. She wasn't very good at it but that was probably because she did not learn music and also did not get much time to practice.

Ritu's mom had gone out of the room and she had opened her geography text book. As she read about minerals, where they were found and how they were extracted, her mind wandered to something else. She had an audition the next day. It was for the school band. Although it was actually a small thing, to Ritu it seemed like the world was dependent on it. What would happen if she was selected? How would she attend the rehearsals? Her mother would definitely not allow her to go.

Ritu was sitting on a bench when the guitarist of the school band, Preening came up to her. "You're up," She said casually. Ritu was as nervous as she could possibly be. Would they like her? Her palms were sweaty, cheeks the colour of ripe tomatoes and her legs trembled slightly when she tried to stand up. "I have to do it," She said to herself, "I can't back out now." Slowly she walked inside. The lead singer and two girls from chorus were sitting on chairs with the music teacher. Ritu dared not look anyone in the eye. "So, what's your name?" the music teacher asked in a serene voice. "R-Ritu," Ritu replied. "I haven't seen you before. Do you really sing? Don't waste our time if you're not good," the lead singer said. The teacher glared at her. So she look down and stopped speaking. "Don't be nervous dear," the music teacher said, smiling, "now come on, let us hear your piece." Ritu took the bottle of water from the table in front of the teacher and drank some water. She took a deep breath. She felt her throat drying up but nevertheless, she sang.

After she had finished singing, the teacher was looking at her patiently, "I'm sorry but I don't think you have what it takes to be in this band, dear." The chorus girls had started giggling. "Have you ever considered singing lessons? You will do well with some of them, I think. You really need them I'm afraid," the teacher said slowly. Ritu knew she was trying to be supportive. So she smiled, "yes ma'am." "Thank you for you time," the lead singer said in a monotonous voice as if she knew this would happen. "Thank you," Ritu looked at her right in the eye before walking out calmly and confidently. She was past caring.

Thankfully, that was in the last period. Ritu walked home as fast as she could and locked herself in her room. And cried. For hours. Her mother had been right all along. She felt stupid that she had actually believed that she could sing. She felt small and useless. As if she could never make a difference. As I'd she did not matter.

Singing was for those who could afford it. Not for people like her.

Eleven years later

The crowd was going wild as Ritu walked on the stage. The black mic sparkled in her hands. She was confident. "Hello people!" she shouted, "are you ready?" The crowd screamed back, "yes." The lights changed to a bright blue. The screen behind her showed the night sky. Ritu looked at the guitarist to her right. He held up his thumb. It meant she was good to go. She fitted the mic to a stand in one swift motion and started singing, effortlessly. The crowd joined her. She started dancing. No one could imagine that this was the girl who had once been rejected in a school band audition.

After Ritu graduated from school, she got into a medical college. She had always been a bright student. She started tutoring children. She used the money that she earned to enroll herself in a music school and to buy equipments. It wasn't easy to manage medical college and music school at the same time. Ritu felt like quitting several times. But she did not. She graduated from the college and auditioned for a music reality show. She was selected. With tremendous amount of practice, she even managed to win the show. She won many shows after that and soon got selected for an upcoming bollywood song. Her song was a hit and she became one of the most popular singers. There was no looking back after that. She sang numerous other songs, received many prizes and proving her mother wrong, earned a lot of money.

Sometimes Ritu looked back at the 15 year old herself and saw her smiling happily. Ritu had not let her down. She had not given up. And she was glad that she hadn't.