The Holes in a Flute

The sweet sounds floated in through the open window. It had been a while since

I had heard it. About a year and a half to be precise. A period during which most of us learned to appreciate peace and quiet.

As the outside world eases into normalcy, the silence has started to melt into harsh everyday sounds, most of which we would like to wish away. It also brought with it, some of the old delightful ones. The sounds that assure us that life is pulsating on cheerfully despite the cruelties inflicted by the Covid 19 pandemic.

Sometime in 2018 I had written about a flute seller - An artist by instinct. It was a tribute to a flute seller who inspired me with his joyful music inspite of knowing that it wouldn’t earn him much.

That faceless musician’s melody of perseverance and hope has returned to our lives. He continues walking the streets in his slow pace, I guess it helps him keep the gentleness in his tunes. The sounds from his flute are loud and clear and yet soft and whisper-like.

This man has been playing the flute on our street for more than a decade. I have seen people living around here buying flutes from him. This locality should ideally be a musical heaven by now. But no, I haven’t heard anyone in the neighbourhood play the flute, not even for fun.

I wouldn’t say people bought his flutes in sympathy. More likely out of respect for his unrecognised talent and hard-work. To make his day.

His trials and tribulations teach us something. That merit lies not in the grappling for name and fame. It lies in the layers of satisfaction that he feels as he whistles into the thin, hollow wooden pipe. The sound of his music carries that feeling.

His lilting tunes are heard in the higher floors of skyscrapers with as much clarity as to those walking the street alongside him. They hear it and listen not at the time of their choice but when he wants them to! With the notes from his flute he reaches far higher than his position on the street below. He probably carries the hope that maybe in this manner his talent will be discovered.

I paint. I deal, on and off, with this feeling of ‘what’s the point of doing this?’, as probably you do too, in whatever is your endeavour. I have noticed that this despondency happens when I face a challenge, an inability to get the result I want. I have to remind myself that after all, it is because of the holes in the flute that the music comes through!

Note to self - Just paint whatever you feel like and enjoy it. Follow the direction that comes to you naturally. The sincerity and the genuineness of the effort will shine through. It has to. Merit lies in the focus of doing what the heart says.

In the course of trying to convince myself, dear fellow artists, I hope to inspire you to follow your dreams too.

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This article was published in Colour Canvas issue of 15 - 30 Sept 2021.