Somehow I always thought she is immortal.
I joined class at age 10, learnt my first sa ri ga mas from my lovely teacher and slowly progressed into her class. Slowly the class dwindled to less than 10 people. But it was truly an enjoyable class. We learnt the best songs and I feel we got the best of teacher.
The little old lady was ALWAYS ready at 4pm in front of her harmonium every Sunday. And when we walk in at 4.15 or god forbid, 4.30, we get a ‘look’ and a glance at her watch. OK OK we’re late. we got it. We have shared some emotional moments in class, especially when we forget a piece she had taught us painstakingly. She will start a lecture on how difficult it was during her time. How much trouble she took to learn up the pieces. Most of the difficult ones, like the Navavarnam, she learnt through tape. She told us that the tape was worn out by her constant rewinding and forwarding. No one to guide her, no one to explain the nitty details of the nuances. Tears will come out from her eyes. She will pick up her hanky from her lap and dab her eyes. And then she says, ‘okay, let’s carry on. where were we?’
And we had it so easy. She repeats it a hundred times if she needs to, until we get it. She used to share with us her experiences with her master, how he will get annoyed if a dog barks during their class. He will just get up and walk away, and the class for that day is done. But all through our classes, we heard dogs (old neighbour’s house) and cars and after she moved to ang seng, the occasional passing of trains.
She was always talking about maintaining the songs in the way she has taught it. Its coming down in a lineage system, and we don’t have the rights to change it as we like. Certain things have to be kept the same. When we pass it on, make sure we pass on the exact thing which was taught.
She never said no to people who requested for her performance. Such was the magnitude of her heart, she will say YES and then crack her head in class.
I miss you teacher...:(
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