Memories under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Ch 16 Learning to play..

Nymm and Jack enjoyed classical music and tried their best to include it as part of family time..They had a gramaphone and an ancient piano handed down from ancestors and Sunday afternoons were often dedicated to music, fun and games..

The children always looked forward to these fun times and once Singto was adopted he was also included in anything the family did..

Kit and Kat could sing extremely well while King played the piano..They would sit and sing the songs they knew or make up funny ones about each other..they even played games like guess the tune by splitting up into teams..Singto who wasn't tat involved in music in the orphanage, started liking it in the Rojnapat house..

He memorised classics and how to use the gramaphone..and many times when he felt lonely he would find himself in the study playing the old records..Jack and Nymm had always given him freedom and encouraged him to pursue his interests..So when he said he wanted to learn to play the piano, Nymm excitedly got him a tutor...

Playing with proper piano technique is not just about pushing the right keys. Everything from the way you sit to how you drop your fingers onto the keyboard will affect the sound of the piano.

It was a tough job and Singto wanted to quit it many times, but P'Kit used to sit with him after the tutor hours and guide him while practicing..

"U need to practice Singtuan..for the piano, practice is everything..don't give up..someday I want to see you play for me..and i will be very proud of you then." he had always said to encourage the younger boy..

Both of them used to sit on the piano bench..the elder's fingers on the younger's correcting mistakes, showing him the right amount of pressure to put on each key and teaching him to listen for the nuances in each piece of music they played, P'Kit was like his second tutor, making Singto fall in love with the piano..

And so he had pushed on learning..though it was a struggle for him, he had wanted to make his P'Kit proud of him someday..he diligently learnt how to play for 4 years till the day he left the Rojnapat family..he could say that if he hadn't quit then he would have become quite a prodigy, according to his tutor..

One day as they were practicing Singto had asked, "P'Kit which is your favorite song to play in the piano??"

And Kit had played 'Twinkle Twinkle little star'..

Singto was surprised that he had chosen a nursery rhyme.."Why??" He questioned..."It reminds me of the joyful days when I was a kid, and this was the first song Mae taught me when I wanted to learn to play..." he said smiling softly.."Do you want to learn to play it backwards??"he had asked smiling and Singto had nodded vigorously...

Sometimes P'King joined in on these practices and then it was all discipline and proper etiquette, cause anything to do with the piano had to be done right...

Sometimes when Singto played, P'Kit would get carried away and sing or hum the lyrics..such moments made it a cherished time for Singto as Kit's voice was heavenly. U could listen to it for hours and not tire of hearing it....

Often those days, Singto had thanked God for giving him this lovely family and all the love in the world though he was born without it...

Little did he know then that happiness in life was always short lived and that sorrow always lurked in the fringes ....had he known, he would have guarded his heart better...