My addiction

Hindi Words of the Week:

तबला Tabla (ta-bla) – drums

गाना Gana (gaa-na) – song/music

My addiction is a serious one, and I don’t care how distracting it can be. It is possibly the most wonderful thing in the world. I am not addicted to something that breaks apart families and friends but rather to something that unifies the people of the world. It can communicate ideas and emotions; it can cross barriers of all kinds… it is music.

Drums beating, the sound of my heart. Music rules my world—it offers unity, protection, and therapy. This addiction has gotten to the point where just walking outside is beautiful. The cry of a bird, a child’s laughter, a basketball hitting the ground, the stomp of my feet as I walk—each is its own beat. All the beats combine to make the beautiful music that fills our world. It is these sounds that great composers like Bach and Beethoven tried to capture. However, they could only capture part of the symphony, for it is impossible to capture it in entirety. The world changes as time goes by, and people do not live forever.

This symphony of life is amazing and it gives me immeasurable joy to know that I am a part of it. It grants me confidence, it takes away the butterflies that appear in my stomach when I need to perform. I play the Tabla. Two drums that play high and low pitches—these are the extensions of my body, soul and mind. The drums, my tabla set; it is an extension of me—raw. All my unfinished sentences and all my unexpressed emotions.

There is, however, one little problem with being a part of this symphony—the fact that I will not live to hear the end. This symphony, the great symphony of life is never ending. Therefore, I am resigned. I will live my time in the symphony with great joy, and I will contribute as much as I can. I will practice when I can, perform when I can and hope that I make the music a little more interesting. Montgomery College has a talent show and the auditions for this years show may be over, but you can still show up and be a part of the audience. Sometimes it is as much fun to watch as it is to perform. The talent show this year will be March 23, you can find out more details about it here. Maybe next year you’ll be inspired to share your talent, whatever it may be.