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Monday 20 April 2009

WHY I ALWAYS LOVED PLAYING FOR WEDDINGS?

As a child, I always felt that I was deprived of a fair share of weddings.
For someone who grew up seeing her parents wedding cassette almost every week, reel life weddings were almost an aberration from the real ones.
I saw weddings in movies, in photo albums, on television....well almost everywhere.
However, since my family lived in Muscat, far from home... I did not get to see a single wedding until I was 11. And probably at the time, I was anxiously waiting to be part of a Catholic wedding. Then, finally one day i got to see my first catholic wedding. I was part of the Children's choir in Church and the couple wanted us to sing.I remember sitting for the practices, my choir trainer was teaching us this beautiful hymn called, "Set me like a seal"...it was a solo and the moment I heard the song I hoped that she'd invite me to sing a solo for her.
The next day while we were practising, she asked those interested in singing the song to come forward. For the first time in my life, I took some courage to raise my hand.
What followed was beautiful... I got to sing that song from one wedding to the other. So much so that when I came to Mumbai, and started training with this small youth choir...I taught them the song too.
The most beautiful part of Christian weddings has always been the choir, the music and the energy which helps brings two people in unision.
Now, after singing for over 15 weddings and playing the keyboard for over eight weddings... I have always wondered how many more in the kitty
Another interesting thing about my life is that everytime, I hear a good piece of music... I keep it aside...probably wondering if I can use it for my own and then another wedding party approaches and I push the piece ahead so that theirs only becomes special.

Because what keeps my love for weddings alive is the aile, the wedding couple, the bride shimmering in white, the congregation, the instruments, the music and the wedding choir.
I recently played for a wedding of two couples and I think the choir was just close to perfection...and yes, Set me like a seal..was still one of my favourite hymns there