Midnight music parties

There were few midnight music parties at VKV, which were lots of fun. I brought my fiddle (which was constantly being changed between Carnatic and western tuning), Leah and Charlotte brought guitars and a whole group of us sat on balconies and roofs and played music. It all began on Bella’s birthday when Leah and I gave Bella “musical presents”. I played an Irish set and the Monti Czardas and Leah sang a folk song and played guitar. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that the following night we gathered at Chloe and Bella’s house to celebrate the full moon. Drinks and snacks were bought, candles were lit, and we sat around for hours talking and playing and singing and writing songs. I even climbed a ladder at one point so I could be “the fiddler on the roof” (It was a more or less flat roof, unlike in the movie). So everyone joined me and we lay on the roof and looked at the moon and the stars. The experience was repeated two more times, and each of them was magical. It’s amazing how a bond can be formed with someone overnight, because of music and starlight and candles and an openness to the cozy feelings of camaraderie.

I mentioned that we even wrote a few songs. First was The Dhoti Song. Charlotte and Chloe decided that dhotis were very nice and they wanted to buy one each and wear them. (I was a bit dubious, but it actually looked really good on them because they have straight figures.) Anyway, in honor of their fashion statement, the dhoti song was written. We even performed it at dinner, complete with melodramatic violin solo and fake mustache. It was a great hit among the tourists, but the Indians at the table looked more confused than anything. After our first somewhat successful song-writing venture, we wrote a song for Ravi, the security guard. To understand the song, one must know Ravi. He is quite shy and doesn’t say much, but he takes his job very seriously. Whenever we stay out past the 10:00 curfew, he checks up on us and walks us home when we’re ready to get some sleep. He also has a very sweet smile, which somehow perfects him. So we wrote him a song and sang it to him when he came to check on us. He had vacated the building by the time the first verse was finished. We all had a good, but entirely friendly, laugh about this and admitted that if any one of us had walked into a room full of single men who were serenading us we would probably feel less than comfortable. But Bella and Chloe had no pity and when he escorted them home they walked on either side of his bike and sang the entire thing to him – more than once. And he couldn’t leave because he felt responsible for them. Fortunately, he didn’t seem at all traumatized by the experience and smiled at us all, especially Bella, more than ever.

Our final song was written for Bala, the manager at VKV. Bala is an amazing person. He works constantly to make sure everyone has an enjoyable time, arranges class schedules, Ayurvedic massages, astrology appointments, rickshaw driving lessons, etc. He makes sure that everything runs smoothly at VKV, and he does an excellent job. And yet, even though you know he must be constantly busy, he is always more than happy to take the time to talk to students, ask how classes are going, find out if you went to afternoon tea, and just chat if that’s what a person wants to do. So we wrote him a (richly-deserved) song and performed it on the last day. Of our core rooftop-music-party-gang only Leah is left. Bella and Chloe were only at VKV for 3 weeks and Charlotte, Sae-jean, and I left after a month. So it was a very bitter-sweet performance and when it was finished, Bala had over-bright eyes. My memories of VKV will certainly be cherished forever. Even though I hope to go back, and some other people want to have a reunion in a few years, I strongly suspect that it won’t be quite the same. Just as good, I hope, but different. I suppose that is life, and that it is the changes, the differences that make the journey through life so interesting; but there are moments when you wish you could just freeze time and stay in one place for a while.