Delhizen is my young blogger buddy who is full of life and cheer. I call her ‘Sunshine Girl’, since her 1000 w smile has the power to light up my any room she enters. It used to light up my blog whenever she left a comment too, but sadly she has changed her profile picture now.
In her comment on my post Song of Silence, which talked about school bands, she had reminisced about her school days. I could gather that she had something interesting to share and invited her to write a guest post about it. I was so right, wasn’t I? The young girl in the post learnt so much joining the school band as a drummer.
Ta… da…presenting Delhizen aka Sunshine Girl’s guest post!
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Visiting her grandparents’ house in old Delhi, was exciting for the young girl. One of the reasons was that it was bang on the route of the Republic Day Parade. Watching the parade go past her house was one of the most awaited annual affairs and meant staying for extra two days in Delhi. Every time she saw the officers take a step with the beat, she looked up at her dad and said, ‘One day I too will wear a uniform and participate in the parade with my head-up.’ Everyone smiled. No one took her seriously!
And now, the story of the little girl…
School life in D.A.V. Ambala was far from exciting especially for a girl who found arts and crafts a waste of time and couldn’t sing or dance in the name of extra curricular activities. To top it all I had an elder sister in the same school who was a topper in studies and a shining star in Kathak.
Everyone expected her to follow the elder sister’s steps. She might have said, ‘I am meant for something different, to be something different’, but she didn’t know it herself. Life was slow, predictable and boring till one fine day the selections for school band were announced. Suddenly she remembered the crisp uniforms of the Republic Day marchers and the sound of the band and above all the promise she had made to her father…She took a chance and to her joy, found a place for herself in the training academy for the band! She was to play the side drums.
It certainly was not easy. It meant skipping lunch break, coming an hour early in the morning and staying back after school. Her folks at home indulged her. ‘At least she is happy doing her own thing,’ they thought and allowed it. Boy, was it fun? She didn’t think of the things she was giving up for the practice sessions, only the joy of being part of the band.
Then the day of the final selection came. It was going to be tough. But she had practised with her heart and soul. Her moment of glory came when she was finally selected from a group of 40 as one of the 10 to join the band, to wear a uniform of crisp white shirt, red-black checked skirt and play the side drums. Their teacher was a retired Army Jawan who first taught the basics and then ‘Sarey Jahan Sey Accha’ followed by the National Anthem. The timing was of crucial importance – the anthem was without the vocals and to be played in exactly 52 seconds.
D.A.V was the only school in Ambala back in the 1990s to have a band. The girls became famous when they became the only school band to participate in the district’s Republic Day Parade. They practiced for days and hours at a stretch till the police contingent was in sync with the beats.
It was then the 14-year-old me realized that giving an enthusiastic performance every time to an audience whether of two or two hundred without getting tired was a duty towards the school, city, state and country…
As we prepared for the annual events practicing for hours, I felt it was my responsibility and not a hard task or a boring job. It was fun and more importantly it taught me the meaning of teamwork and the fruits of labour. At the end of all it was a matter of pride and honour!
The Cybernag 
Thanks Nuttie Natters for liking the post and the smile
And I like your name 🙂
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Very nice post delhizen and i agree with Z about ur 1000 Watt smile 🙂
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That was a very sweet post. I agree with the many comments above, school / college days are the best, the ones on which you go nostalgic over and over again.
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A-kay: School/college days are the most cherished time in every person’s life!
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Hey, that was sweet Dehlizen!
@ Zephyr – just visit my blog when u get time. regards.
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Thanks… Restless!
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feels nice that my little story is inspirational 🙂
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wow Delhizen…isn’t it an amazing feeling to see your long awaited dreams come true…this post looked something like “chak de india” .Very Inspirational.
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Delhizen, pass on that 1000W smile to Yuvraj Singh! He needs something like that much more than Revital he keeps selling on TV
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Don’t you think his expressions resemble that of a boxer… Grrrrowling.
I have never seen one with a smile if you have then I can give it a try 😉
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Lovely heartwarming post !
And I agree with the 1000W smile effect !
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Thanks Chits. and since you liked the smile here one just for you 🙂
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A real nostalgic post. We hardly get to hear the sound of drums in school any more except a few elite ones.
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You are right Mr. Iyengar. I think kids now days have other things to interest them. I wish schools take this activity more seriously
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You are right Mr. Ayyangar. I think kids now days have other things to interest them. I wish schools take this activity more seriously
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What an apt name: Sunshine girl…You are an inspiration to ppl around with.
Being part of the school band is cool!!! B-) that too for National Anthem in sync and exactly 52 seconds. Awesome
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*around you
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yeah we practiced a lot to get the timing right.
you right we draw inspiration from those around us. And you are one of the first few who have always been around me :)..mutual love, I say!
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mmmm… the good old school days … made me nostalgic 🙂
P.S To Pal and Zephyr. Did you meet up for lunch? What did zephyr cook for you instead of Kothu parotta ? 😛
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LR, how about writing a post on your school days? it should be nice to get nostalgic over a cuppa of steaming ginger chai 🙂
And the meeting is yet to happen. Details of the conversation and menu shall be shared with all in a post! 🙂
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Nostalgic post ..lovely. keep drumming…oops keep blogging.
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@ Alka: you bet! I shall keep drumming out new post after post 😉
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Lovely post, Delhizen! And yes, Zephyr is quite right about your 1000W smile!
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Oh my! I am flattered 🙂
Thank you! Thank you!
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heartwarming tale Delhizen.We all must discover our sweet spots in life.
Zephyr sorry life has been too hectic and my blogfriends are getting neglected but guest posts are a lovely idea !
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Now that you mentioned about everyone discovering their sweet spots in life. How about all of you who have commented here share one such anecdote from the days gone by? That should be fun and interactive too.. What say?
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that was a beautiful drumming walk down memory lane!
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@Magiceye: Yep, made me nostalgic too 🙂
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Great post, i could actually feel your emotions… what a moment it must have been for you, since i felt a sense of pride myself just reading it 🙂
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When I started to write this post then I realized there can never be anything like the school and college days
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Loved this post and tok me back memory lane.
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Thank you for the appreciation :).
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well you see Vineet I too made it to the school band because it did not require any vocals 😉
And next time when you are Delhi we shall have a concert by you.. its time everyone takes notice of this unique talent of yrs! and we shall be a good audience the only condition being good food to last us till your song and beyond 🙂 🙂
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Just tell me if I would be doing the cooking as one sings and the other listens 😛
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Finally a guest post! Its time, you started having more of these! 🙂 Wonderful post, and took me back to my school days too! Back when I was too trying for the school choir but I was banned from all practice sessions. I had the unique ability to sing like a crow; which till date has gone unnoticed. Those who did, usually threw stones at me 😦
Happy Womens Day!
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Thanks again for inviting me to write a guest post for ‘the cyber nag’!! And just for you the 1000W smile picture is back 🙂
@ Readers: hope you enjoy reading a small yet significant chapter from my school days
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See what a little bit of nagging does? I got the smile from you back, didn’t I? 😀
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you did! 🙂 🙂
I tell you, never could I think that someone could love my smile so much! 🙂
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I do, I do. 🙂
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An apt post for Women’s Day….Pals the rockstar drummer!
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The post gave me a happy feeling, looked back and realized I too have some achievements to my credit.
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That was a perfect walk down memory lane, Delhizen. I could feel your excitement and felt happy when you proudly played the drum for the Police to march to. What a great way of fulfilling a promise you made your dad!
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