81. Practice in the Music Room

As the announcement for an upcoming Interschool Competition was made, students from different classes jumped in to register for auditions. Bikram, Koushik, and Rishi had decided to audition for the music competition under the classical and folk music category. Since the day of announcement, they were all busy practising in the Music Room from the first period to the last along with several others, before the auditions began. The competition was based on traditional songs and musical instruments of different states.

On the day of auditions, Bikram was the first to arrive among the three and he was greeted at the doorstep by the most melodious violin he has ever heard. As he stood there looking around for its source, a girl having oculocutaneous albanism sitting in a corner with a violin came to his notice. She had taken off her coat and her full-sleeve, black, high-neck shirt contrasted with her hair that looked like the mane of a white lion. Although it was braided neatly, several small strands hung over her forehead.

Bikram quietly sat on a nearby chair and watched as the girl's fingers played with the strings with profuse mastery. He was so engrossed in the music that he did not notice when the other participants had arrived and stood in their places equally mesmerized. No one made a sound. They even tried to breathe as lightly as possible. The slow yet strong and captivating tune seemed to draw them like a magnet attracting iron. A few minutes later, the tune slowed down and finally stopped. There was pin-drop silence. Then everyone started clapping.

Ritutandra placed the violin aside and said with a little bow, "Thank you. Please sit down."

They greeted her and took their seats.

"So, let me give you a brief description of what's going to happen in the competition. There will be one group performance and one solo from each school. The maximum number of participants is twelve. Our group performance will be a fusion of Marathi and Telugu folk songs and for the solo performance, we will be combining Rajasthani and Bengali classical music. Five instruments will be played for the folk song and three for the classical one. Now, we have to decide on the final singers and instrumentalists. I've received the shortlisted audition recordings but I wish to personally listen to you before selecting the final twelve. As your names are called out you'll have to come up and present a vocal or a music piece. Is it clear?" She looked at everyone before her.

"Yes, VC." Their voice echoed.

Bikram stared at Ritutandra's face nervously as she read out the names from the holographic screen above her watch. He had auditioned for instruments. Only twenty were to be shortlisted from the thirty people present in the room who were selected out of about a hundred. She had already called out the names of eighteen people. Only two were left. Bikram knitted his eyebrows and gulped. His hand tightened around the guitar on his lap.

"The next is..." Ritutandra read out another girl's name.

Bikram could hear his own heartbeat. He really wanted to play alongside the second musician who made him feel this level admiration towards them besides his idol Raaz. The relief he felt seeing his name among the top thirty was out of the world. Time seemed to have slowed down and the name of the last person was yet to be called out.

"Up next, Bikram Sen."

Bikram jumped up.

Realising how awkward it was, he cleared his throat and said, "Thank you for choosing me."

Ritutandra wiggled her hand motioning him to sit, "What are you talking about? You aren't finalized yet. Wait for everyone to vote,"

He sat down with his back straight and looked at the nineteen shortlisted students, who came up to play one by one, with a serious look. He had to give his best. Those who did not make it to the finals, when saw Bikram's expression, became speechless.

Are you kidding me? You're one of the members of India's famous boy band, for God's sake! But looking at your face, it seems like you're hoping to get lady luck's favour and just pass the test! Bro, you can be considered one of the best instrumentalists present in this room if we don't count the VC, okay? was what they all thought.

When it was his turn to perform, Bikram stiffly went to the centre and held the guitar, closing his eyes for a moment. As soon as he started playing, the room was filled with wows and woahs. When the sound gradually subsided, clapping sounds thundered in the room. The loudest ones were obviously his fans. Bikram thanked his audience with a polite nod and turned to Ritutandra, staring at her intently.

She said to him raising eyebrow, "The piece you played, who composed it?"

Meanwhile her hands were busy tuning the violin on her lap.

"Original composition was by me..."

Gasps and praises were heard across the room.

"But it was modified into the final piece that I just played by the head music composer of our company," Bikram answered.

"Play an original composition," Ritutandra said.

Bikram nodded as a slight nervousness enveloped him. Breathing out a deep sigh, he started playing. After it was over, everyone nervously waited for Ritutandra's verdict. Just like before, if she said the performer was eligible to pass, the audience voted whether to keep her or not. In all earlier cases, she either dismissed the performer or gave a pass. This was the only exception. Everyone anxiously looked at Ritutandra who was now busy inspecting her flute's health conditions.

"I'll give you a piece and you'll have to play it in ten minutes. You can modify it but the original should remain the base or you can just play the original piece directly. Now go there and do what you need to. Remember, you'll be judged on how well you play and not how long. So, use your ten minutes wisely." Saying that, she motioned towards a little room at the end of the music room.

It was not much spacious since it was only meant for individual practice. If someone needed to brush their skills, they went there to practice so as not to interrupt the rest.