AFICIONADO

Record 3: Piano

Aditya walked out of the church and took fast strides towards his bike. He couldn't believe that his company had sent another person to find him. He was done with it all. He didn't want to return to the stage. He didn't want to listen to the fan chants. He just wanted to escape from everything. He didn't want to remember anything. His nightmares had stopped only recently. He wanted peace. Just a bit of it.

Aditya was about to get on his bike when someone caught his hand and pulled him back. He turned around, ready to hit the person. Then he found that it was the same girl he saw inside the church, and he calmed down. He pressed his fingernails in to his own flesh closing his fist. He was getting tensed and his heart started beating fast. This was the fourteenth place he was changing in the last decade. But they have found a way towards him again. He didnt want to be found. He wanted to be left alone.
Ridhi was tensed, scared and excited and she had to make sure that none of her emotions were showing on her face. She kept her emotionless face intact and tried her best to control her tears. Aditya had changed a lot. If she wasn't his die hard fan it would have been tough for her to even recognize him. But his face and his voice lived in her heart. How can she not recognize him?
Ridhi took a deep breath and spoke.
'Sir, please hear me out.'
Aditya was looking at her with piercing gaze. Ridhi felt as though she was melting in a volcano. This was not what she had expected. This is not the Aditya she had known. Aditya was kindness embodied. He always did whatever he wanted to do but when it came to treating people, he was always sweet and kind or was it just for the camera? Ridhi felt a knot in her heart. It wasn't fair. This can't be him.

Aditya calmed himself sensing that the girl was going to cry. He has seen people being tensed and scared because of him but tears, they were new. Aditya softened his demeanour and spoke.
'I am not interested to come back. I have left the celebrity space a long time ago. I don't want to sing in front of people or release an album. Please understand and leave me alone. I am happy here.
Aditya didnt wait for an answer and walked away. He got on his old bike and drove past Ridhi.

*****

There were so many people at the audition centre. Aditya stood there with his uncle. He was scared for the first time in his life. He was always proud of his skills and never trembled in any competition. But this was different. There were about 2000 candidates and the fourteen year old Aditya was just one of them. Aditya's knees started trembling. His uncle noticed it. He smiled.
'Adh, it's okay. Don't be nervous. Just do the best you can and that's enough. We have nothing to prove here. If not JG, then another company. If not this year, maybe next. You will definitely make it with or without passing this audition.'
Aditya took a deep breathe.
'I know uncle, I will try my best.'
He smiled.

Aditya waited for a few more hours until his name was called. He walked towards the room without looking back. His heart was beating so fast. Aditya has been practicing to sing since he was three. His uncle was a musician. Aditya took lessons in various genres from different teachers. He was also studying dancing and acting. He grew up in such a circle. His whole family was full of singers, dancers, artists and actors. Family means the friends of his uncle. They were not rich but they were happy doing what they loved to do. His uncle was all Aditya had. He was still not sure if they were blood related. But Mr. Hridhay Sen was the only family he knew. And that man defined the word family the best way possible.
Aditya looked at the panel of judges and recruiters. They were waiting for him to sing. He had exactly 50 seconds in his hands. Aditya couldn't mess up.

One of the judges, a lady smiled at Aditya and asked him to start. Aditya smiled back and thought about the songs he had practiced and sang. He sang for 2 minutes and no one asked him to stop. Then he realised that he had exceeded his time limit and he stopped. He looked at the judges fearing that he had messed up. Then he saw one of the judges standing up.
'Do you dance too? Can we see?
Aditya didnt wait. He took out the music player in his pocket and placed it on the floor and played a hip hop and modern dance number that he was practicing since a few years. When he finished the judges clapped together and called him and gave him the pass for the final round. Aditya couldn't believe his eyes. He knew that he was talented and good looking but a few would get the direct pass for the finals. Aditya thanked the judges and walked towards his uncle. He couldn't wait to share his joy. That day with 2000 contestants, only four got selected and only Aditya passed the finals which was held a week after that. He was a rare gem. Everyone knew that but the records he broke and the awards he won and the huge fan following he got, no one could predict that then.

*****

Aditya sat in his garage working on his bike. He had developed a love for buying old bikes and working on them to make new models. That was his new craze. He was working on a bullet. Sometimes the designs were good, sometimes bad but nevertheless he rode all of them.
Aditya was lost in thoughts when he heard a voice calling him.
'Adh Sir, we are here.'
Aditya woke up as though from a dream.
'Oh, I am sorry. You all have come already. I didnt notice. Have you practiced or do you need punishment like the previous times?'
Lilly laughed and said 'We have all practiced, Sir.'
Aditya raised his eyebrows.
'That's new. Go to the practice area, I am coming in a few minutes.'
The children walked towards the practice area and Aditya went to wash up. When he came back he saw a big child along with all the little children. He frowned.
'What are you doing here?'
Ridhi stood up and smiled innocently.
'I want to join the classes too.'
Aditya was at his wits end but he was naturally patient while with children and he couldn't shout in front of them. That would be a bad example for them.
'I politely asked you to leave me alone, ma'am. If you want me to be impolite, I can do that too.'
Ridhi smiled.
'I just want to get music lessons. I am not going to talk about anything else. Trust me.
Ridhi smiled innocently again. Aditya narrowed his eyes. He knew what she wanted but he didnt want to get angry in front to children and kind of they seemed to like the new girl. She has done something wicked for sure. Maybe she is the forest witch, who knows.
Aditya took a deep breathe and started with the Carnatic music lessons. Tuesdays were for Carnatic music. He gave free lessons to the children in the village everyday in singing, dancing, acting and various artworks. It was satisfying to see the children learning something new everyday. That even kept his heart at peace and then JG company started sending people to him. Usually, he would leave the place and move to another isolated location when that happened but he was done running away now. He wanted to stay. He needed a home, a purpose. He didnt want to wander off. Music was his passion, he wanted to sing but not for the stage and definitely not for fame.
Aditya sang first and the children followed. Ridhi sang along with them. She loved music but she had never got any music lessons and her voice cracked everywhere and that made Aditya frown. He was so done with life and decided to interrupt the singing.
'Your voice is cracking so much. Have you ever sung before? Why are you troubling the kids? What do you even want?'
Ridhi didnt want to lie to Aditya. She said the truth.
'My name is Ridhima. I just want to listen to you sing. If I am causing any trouble, I wont open my mouth again. I wont make a single noise. I just want to sit here and listen to your voice. I am so tired of all the running.'
Aditya had no idea what she was saying but he felt as though she would cry and he didnt like the idea of that. She looked like a 24 or 25 year old girl but she was acting like a teenager in front of him which was strange. Everyone that he had met before were all very professional and straightforward. But she was different. He couldn't figure out what she wanted. He knew that she had a mission but somehow what she said seemed sincere. He didn't want to say anything more. He continued with his lessons. He saw her sitting in the back seat and smiling at him all the while without speaking a word with teary eyes and a red nose.
Sometimes you ride your bike in the rain not to enjoy it but to escape, to disappear and then you see a rainbow at a distance in the sky and you just want to stop and see the colours and then the journey is no longer about running away from your fears but chasing that rainbow.
That is exactly what Aditya felt at that moment. There was this beautiful rainbow at the end of the road and the rain was no longer hurting, the journey was no longer wary. And he didnt know why he felt that way. Who was this girl? And why does she make him feel so comfortable, so loved and wanted? Not for what he was or how much sales or promotions he could give but for the person he is. He felt like that seventeen year old teenager who had come for his first recording. Whose only dream was to let the world listen to his music, nothing more.

Amrutha

*****

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