Sarayu

Chapter 2

It is Saturday.

Ah, we're here, after two weeks, when I can see Sarayu again. I saw her once in my life, and her face has been etched into my memory, which is ridiculous, because I'm the type of person who'd forget my favorite drums music sheet on the sofa where I keep my backpack near. I quietly sit and eat my masala dosa quickly, for the first time in my life I should say.

Akshara came up, curious and shocked. "Dude, what happened"

"What happened?"

"Why are you eating like that?"

I have important works. "Aren't you the person who complains that I should eat fast? First sit and eat, Akshara."

She rolled her eyes and sat at the dining table. Subbu came running with the masala dosa on "fire".

"Why can't you take the dosa normally," dad asks.

"I'll tell you later, let them eat!"

I rush to the sink after I finish my dosas, and I stop and take a deep breath and think for a second: what is so special about Sarayu?

But the. I continue: I'll find out now.

I enter the car, but my heart beats at a speed faster than our car, and it was beating so hard, so hard like the loud sound of a big rock being hit to the ground from above.

And we arrive.

I leave my shoes outside of the house, and I enter the house. Mrs. Malini was waiting for the rest of the class. There were 2 girls and there was 1 boy in the class. "We'll start the class in 5 minutes."

Meanwhile, I hear the veena playing a song familiar to me. Then I hear two veenas playing the same part at once. "Here, let me sing it."

Sarayu.

"Anthanintha gollethala, aracheti manikyamu." She plays it on the veena. And the students repeat.

She goes near them, and all I could see on the side was her dupatta. A yellow one. "Yes, that's how we do it. Here's the next line: pantham aade, kamsuni-"

"Okay guys, everyone's here, let's warm up." Darn.

"Let's warm up with an upper sthayi varasai, the fourth one. We'll go one at a time. Abhi, have you learned these?"

I nod my head, up and down.

"Okay, sing."

I sang, going from the very lows to the very highs. I even coughed at the high "Ma".

"Good job Abhi! The cough is fine, I know it is getting cold outside. Sahana, your turn."

I avoided listening to Sahana, but instead started listening to Sarayu. "Chenthala maalonunna chinni krishnudu, chenthala maalonunna chinni krishnudu, chenthala maalonunna chinni krishnudu. It repeats three times, but with different tunes."

"Good job Sahana! Ram, your turn."

I never knew the veena sounded this good, until I heard Sarayu play it. Her soothing melody reminded me of Subbu's lullubys which she still sings when I can't sleep at night.

"Good job Ram, one more volunteer, we'll take Amulya."

"Good job! And you know the pallavi, right? 'Muddugare yashoda, mungita muthyamu veeru, diddarani, mahimaala, devaki suthudu, muddugare yashoda.'"

My dad's favorite song. "Muddugare yashoda."

"Great Amulya, you did an awesome job. We will now go onto the swarajathi, 'rara venu gopabala'"

What a coincidence, Lord Krishna is everywhere.

We all sang along with her, and Sarayu's students were leaving to their cars. I saw her, for the second time in my life. She wore a yellow chudidar, just as I imagined. She looked at us, and smiled, and she looked at me, and smiled. It sounds lame and routine, right? Even I didn't like those types of Indian movies before, but after seeing Sarayu, I didn't mind being wrong. That feeling one-sided lovers get when they see their crush is unexplainable.

Wait, so she's my crush now?

As I was thinking, Mrs. Malini called, "Sarayu, bring your veena here."

Sarayu went and got her veena, a different one from two weeks ago, with Saraswathi Devi carved on it this time. "Sarayu, play 'rarara venu gopabala' as I sing."

Although Mrs. Malini was pretty herself and her voice was really good, Sarayu's veena caught my attention. Her fingers were on fire, going so fast, and I was legit praying to God that her fingers won't cut.

"Rara venu gopabala, raajitha sadguna jayasheela, saara sakshat neram emi, maaru bada, korvalera..."

I randomly start clapping right when she stopped, and luckily, everyone clapped along with me (or it would've been embarrassing).

Sarayu left, and we sang along with Mrs. Malini. I kept looking to the back of the room once in a while, but she didn't come, but my parents came from the main door when class ended.

"Hello Mr. Arjun!"

"Hi Mrs. Malini! How are you? How's your family?"

"We're doing good, thanks for asking!"

"Is my son doing good in class?"

"He is doing really good! His..."

I looked towards the back, to see her one more time before I left. Sarayu, where are you?

There she came, to get the Shruthi box. She saw me and smiled, again. Her smile was enough for my life. That was how pretty her smile was.