It was New year’s eve, a breezy cold night when, like everyone else, I was scribbling down my resolutions which usually only last till mid-February. I was jotting down the same five points that I make every year - exercise every day, wake up early, get more consistent, practice more, finish that animation sketching that I planned years ago, when I heard a voice. 

A very familiar voice…

“Hello!”, it said.

The voice came from the corner where I keep my keyboard. It was a birthday gift from my parents when I turned sixteen, back when I was passionate and consistent. Three years later, the passion grows while consistency has gone down.

“Keyboard? Is that you?”, I asked hesitantly.

No answer.

It was 11:50 pm, almost midnight and my sleepless mind might have been hallucinating, I thought, when I heard the voice again.

“Of course it’s me! You have written your resolutions but what about mine?”

My pen dropped on the floor and I stood up.

“You…you can talk?”, I asked curiously.

“Of course I can”, it said, lifting up its keys as if trying to make a point.

“But how?”, I asked, pulling my chair near it.

“Before you ask me a question, answer mine! What about my resolutions I repeat”, it said in a sarcastic tone, sounding like Rāga Sumanēśarañjanī.

“Valid, what about your resolutions”, I answered, looking at it as though it was a magical being.

“First off”, it started, “I would like to explore my harmonium feature and learn Indian classical music. You brought me home promising that you would master Rāga-s and learn to play Kṛti-s with me. But all you do is try to play superhero theme songs WITHOUT CHORDS, on the most basic setting!”

I couldn’t argue, all I played was random five-note theme songs and a failed attempt at the Spiderman intro. The only time I try out Rāga-s is every Vijayadaśami.

“Okay, we will surely explore your harmonium. What else?”, I asked with a sigh.

“Secondly”, it continued, “I would like to at least be ‘seen’”.

“What do you mean?”

“As soon as you finish your homework, you put all those rough sheets and scrap paper on me. I am a musical instrument, not a storeroom table!”

“Fair enough”, I said with an apologetic smile. Sometimes, I forget that I own a keyboard with the amount of scrap I put on it!

“Good”, it exclaimed. “And also, I love it when your little cousins and friends come home because they are the ones who actually ‘play’ me.”

“But it will be nice if my power switch is turned off when they finish”, it said dramatically, slowly changing its tone to Candrakauns Rāga.

“You always forget to switch me off, and I have to lie there, sleepless, for WEEKS TOGETHER! You know how idle it is to stay idle? For weeks?”

“Okay keyboard, we’ll remember to turn you off from now on. Anything else?”

“Oh yes, there’s more! I have composed a poem on this matter. You have plenty of time for stuff like these when you have to stay idle for days and…”

“Okay, I think you’ve made your point. Now go on with your poem”, I said, rolling my eyes and laughing.

“Here’s my poem”, it coughed and cleared its throat.

I couldn’t help but notice that its tone was shifting to Hindōḷam Rāga.

“My owner doesn’t keep me clean

She’s so careless, she’s so mean

So irresponsible, I am keen

World’s most inconsistent teen

Not one soul like this I’ve seen”

“Okay okay, enough about me! Weren’t we supposed to talk about ‘your’ resolutions?”, I interrupted, hands in the air.

“Well, you are the significant part of it”, it said, lowering its keys as if giving a smirk.

“I want you to give me some respect. I want to be more clean this year and I can’t achieve that without you dusting me often.”

“Fair enough. I shall take better care of you and put a dust cover when you are not in use.”

“Lastly”, it said, shifting its keys to Rāga Sindubhairavī. “I want to spend more time with you, Sathvika. I was as excited as you when I came home and I know that you do enjoy playing me.”

“That is so sweet of you, keyboard! We will definitely spend more time together”, I said with a soft smile.

“Now that we have heard your resolutions, can we hear mine”, I said.

There was a pause. 

“I thought you already jotted down yours in that notebook.”

“There’s more.”

“Go on.”

“I want to be more consistent in the things I do. I know that I have the passion, but to master my skills I need to be hardworking.”

“Good, what else?”

“I want to actually learn harmonium, and this time no more Youtube tutorials. Maybe, I’ll learn from a teacher.”

“Haha! We all know how distracted you can get with those tutorials. You’d search up Vasantā Rāga tutorial and end up watching ‘How to make pizza on Dōsa tawa’!”

“Yes”, I laughed, “and that’s why learning from an expert will give me discipline. Also, harmonium tutorials on Youtube are super limited.”

“And you thought you’d be a self-learned artist! Haha!”

“Well, we are all learning. I want to stop procrastinating. I will start practising ‘today’, not ‘tomorrow’. Can we do that together?”

“Sure”, it cackled with something that sounded suspiciously like laughter. “We know that I won’t be the one procrastinating. We’ll do this together, Sathvika!”

“Here’s to a year of more practice, more consistency.”

“And less tea spills on me!”

“Haha, and less tea spills on you”, I laughed as the clock struck twelve. The kids outside screamed ‘Happy new year!’

I stared down at my keyboard, closed my eyes and began to play a Rāga that I usually sing but never tried on keyboard - Bāgēśrī.

I let my fingers flow. It did not sound bad for the first time.

“How was that, keyboard?”

No answer.

“Keyboard?”

I took my hands off. Was this all an imagination? Even if it was, it was worth it. It gave me all the hopes for this year. I smiled to myself when the keyboard started playing “Bāgēśrī” on its own. And it ended at Ṣaḍja - NDṠ, as if giving me my answer.

And thus we began our journey of learning together, as we started our new year. Let’s see how long it lasts.