Part 3

On the way he gave me a run down on who I would be meeting this afternoon. “First” he said “there is the band. There is Husnia, Jenianna, Kajari and Tavleen. They are all in their twenties and you should fit in well. Then there will be my daughter Grette, well named as she is a pearl among the stones. My wife is Birgitta and my mother is Aganee. Her name means fire and it does fit well as she can turn the blowtorch on us with her scorn if we do wrong.”

I tried to set these in my mind so that I would not call any of them by the wrong name. He then said “I will leave you with the women. My family have been told who you really are but the band just knows that I have found a replacement percussionist. If you can get through the afternoon without them finding out you will be well on your way. My mother has the final say on your employment as she and my wife are organising the sangeet.”

We arrived at his mansion in the best part of the town and I was led in to meet the family first. A maid took my kit away to where-ever the practise was to take place. I was on my best behaviour when I met the three women. Grette was one of the most exquisite girls I have ever met but greeted me in a down-to-earth way that belied her looks. Birgitta looked as if she was just putting up with another of her husbands’ strange ideas while I could certainly see the fire in Aganee.

She looked at me and said “When my son announced last night that he had found a possible replacement for one of the girls in the band but that it was a boy, I almost fainted. However, with a bit of preparation you would go a long way to filling the shoes. All you need to do now is show us how you can play.” Guptar excused himself and I was left with the three women to lead me to a music room where four other girls were waiting for me, idly playing snippets of a raga as we walked in.

Aganee took the lead and introduced me as Geet, who she had been told was going to try out this afternoon. The shehnai player, Tavleen, was the leader of the group and she asked me how much grounding I had in the music and we decided to start by playing a standard raga. The three judges went to the back of the room and sat down. Because the room only contained women now I took off my chunni to let my hair flow free. My dholaks had been set up so I played a few notes to make sure they had stayed in tune.

Husnia started with a simple melody on the sarod and Jenianna took it up with the tanpura. I followed on with a steady beat and then the other two came in with the wind playing. As we got used to each other we started to complicate the melody and, after about fifteen minutes, we were going along like a relentless wind. The bride and her mother were up and dancing and the grandmother sat there tapping her feet.

Playing along with a tanpura was like a rock band suddenly getting a rhythm player as far as I could see; it was great and allowed me to stray from just a steady beat because the two of us laid down a foundation that the others could build on. The tune turned into a song that I had played with the other band and Husnia started singing it. I couldn’t help myself as I joined her in a duet and then I was out there singing it alone.

When we finished there was polite applause from my judges and the girls all smiled while Kajari and Tavleen came over to me to give me a hug. Tavleen said that we needed to see how I went on the sangreet music so we played a few standard songs for genteel company. Tavleen asked me if I knew any of the more special ones and I said that I had learned one just this morning that had brought tears to my eyes and told her the name. She said that it was one that was hard to play properly and none of them had the voice for it so, if we did it, I would have to be the lead singer.

It started with all of us playing for about thirty seconds and then I could stop playing as Jenianna held the beat. I sang it in my quieter voice which Guptar had labelled fado style. It was a lovely song and I just closed my eyes and put my heart and soul into my delivery. When we finished I opened my eyes to find a room with seven females crying and Aganee came over to me and hugged me closely. “That was played at my own sangeet in the old country” she said “It was not a patch on what I have just heard.”

We then worked on a number of melodies and, if I had not heard them before, I latched on and did my best. After about an hour and a half Aganee clapped her hands and said “Chunnis on girls, it is time we let Guptar know what we have decided. I know what I think, what about the rest of you?” It was all nodding and smiles and I was serially hugged. We went back into the corridor to a lounge area and Guptar was sitting at a small desk with some account books open in front of him. “So, ladies, what is your decision?” he asked with a look of hope on his face.

Grette spoke first. “All those in favour of Geet being the new band member, put your hand up now” and seven hands went up. Well, I couldn’t vote for myself, could I? We sat and discussed the future. I was told that there was a spare room in the house if I wanted it until after the event and that the other band members would be staying here for the two weeks before the wedding to perfect the performance. It was good for me as I needed to be at work for the week so said that I could move over next weekend. I was sure that my payment would be enough to cover the cost of my room for a few weeks even if I wasn’t sleeping there.

The band needed to be away but, before they left, Tavleen said that she wanted to say something. “I don’t want this to sound like criticism but you are a bit plain, Geet, and I noticed that you are a bit flat-chested. We have an engagement on the weekend before the wedding and our manager will want to know if we can now fulfil our promises. When we play we are dressed to the nines and all look a million dollars. Will you be happy going along with that or shall we stop now?” I was quiet but Aganee spoke up “Geet looks a bit like a tomboy now but Birgitta and I will take her under our wing and when you see her next weekend she will fit your standards, depend on it. I will send you a list of her measurements by email if you can organise a stage costume for her for the show.”

That being said the die was cast and everyone was happy, except me, who was now very unsure of what I was doing. Guptar said that he would take me home but first I was welcome to stay for dinner. Birgitta said that they did not dress up for dinner so I was all right as I was. She then took me into her bedroom and told me to strip so that she could measure me. Aganee came in with a pencil and paper and a tape measure and I was measured in more places than I had ever been measured before. The only one they didn’t bother with was the inside leg.

When I had redressed, Birgitta told me that she had a chain of beauty salons and that she would pick me up at the block on Friday evening. She would take me to one where her staff was very discrete and I would be given a full make-over. She told me not to bother packing anything as everything I needed would be supplied when I came back to their house. She said she was now fully behind Guptars’ plan and that her credibility also depended on the wedding going off well.

The four of us had a very nice meal and then Birgitta drove me home. We left my dholaks at the house as I would not need them during the week. Luckily I was able to get inside my room without being seen and I just sat down on my bed and thought about the day and the consequences. There was a line in the song I had sung about being sure that you know the consequences of your decisions. It referred to the agreement of marriage but to me, just now, it spoke to me of what I had done today and what could happen to me over the next few weeks. I am not a brave person and the thought of being ridiculed was almost too much to bear. I hoped that what the family did will not make me look like a painted doll. At least, when it was all over I could go back to being hippy me. But then there was full-time work with the band. Those girls would be devastated when they find out I am a guy!

I sat there for a while before I realised that I was quietly sobbing. What on earth am I doing here with tears in my eyes? OK, if I back out and stayed as Gavin I would be poor and probably on the streets inside a month. If I went into the thing as Geet I would have to make myself the best Geet there is. There was no rock or hard place, just reality. However, tomorrow was back into the city for my last week in the office and that was enough reality for anyone.

Marianne G 2021