They say that the desire to live a dream can make one go places. My dream was to be a drummer wanting to express my emotions through cymbals and tombs, and do everything, which probably musicians do both on and off stage. But coming from a small town in
Assam, it didn’t take me long to realise the need to venture out of my homeland, someplace which is bigger, friendlier and has more opportunities for a budding musician. And my parents’ plan to send me to Delhi to study Law after my Class 12 exams came as a blessing in disguise.
I came to Delhi, and as I couldn’t clear my Delhi Law Faculty entrance (thankfully), I enrolled myself in the Jagannath Institute of Management and Sciences, in a management course.
I started as a drummer for my college band, but after a few months I quit as it was getting me nowhere near my dream. The silver lining in the cloud came when I got an opportunity to play at the IIT music festival. Our band didn’t do well, but I was lucky to be spotted by a few guys, who were good at what they did, and above all practice the same kind of genre as me, rock ‘n’ roll.
I started jamming with them thrice a week. Simultaneously, the city too became friendly as I made new friends, and started to enjoy my new-found freedom keeping my dream alive. After playing in a number of college gigs and various malls (thanks to a guy called Stanley), my understanding of the craft grew for good, and somehow I knew there is something more challenging waiting for me.
Today, I have my own band called 256 BC. Though my dream of being the ultimate “rock star” is yet to be fulfilled, I’m quite optimistic. Here I remember what Thomas Alva Edison once said, “Good fortune is what happens when opportunity meets good planning.”
Kuldeep,
College student
The writer is a third year management student of JIMS
