Part 21
On Monday I had a call from Gaurav who wanted me to meet him in town at lunch time. We met and he took me for a nice meal and then we went to a jewellry shop where he wanted me to choose an engagement ring. It was about time he had got around to it!
He kept pointing out very expensive diamonds but I settled on a plain platinum band with the snake eating its tail engraved into it. He did look disappointed that I had not gone flashy so I pointed out to him that I had to live in the real world until we were married and did not live like a princess. I think he was mollified when the jeweller told him that the design depicted undying love, rather than ‘look at me’.
He drove me back to my rooms where we cuddled some and I relieved his tensions. I was getting better because of the time we had spent at this, and managed to get most of him in my throat. Of course, like a good girl I kept my clothes on. When he went back to work with a smile on his face I started looking through all of the sheet music that I had collected to see what I had not sung with the Four Winds. I found a couple that could work and hoped that Adam had rustled up some himself.
Tuesday evening I turned up at the studio and found the band chatting with Janet and Tom. Janet had a new contract for me to sign as a part-time singer with the band on a pay as you sing rate. When I asked about the songs they wanted to put on the next album I was surprised when I was told that it was planned to be something totally different but could be in the can inside four sessions. They wanted me to sing fado numbers with Chico being the lead instrument on guitar and the other three just in the background. This could prove interesting!
That evening we got two tracks down and it was certainly different and exciting to explore the genuine material. It did fit my huskier voice but I thought that there would come a time when the hormones would lift me up into the wrong pitch. After the session Janet took me home and came in for a cuppa. She told me that the sangeet had created so much damage after we had left the whole party had been banned from the pub. She said that she was truly amazed at how low some women could go and she told me that Balnoor would be getting an extra bonus for ‘service above and beyond’.
She then broached the subject that I could see had been worrying her. “Damini, the girl that you replaced is ready to re-join the band and I cannot say no. We are going to have to re-organise how we do things. I am not sure if you would be happy just singing but your voice is now an integral part of things. We certainly do not need two dholak players.” I thought about it and then said “You know this can make things easier. If you tear up my old contract and write one similar to the one I signed tonight, but with a base pay rate, I can sing when wanted and you can promote the Dhawanees in the same way as the Four Winds; as a straight six piece or as a seven at a premium.”
She thought about it for a few seconds and said that it would be brilliant as I could concentrate on the singing and could dress to stand out from either band. “The more I think about it, the better it sounds” she said “and you would get a share of any recordings on top.” Now that sounded good to me. She said that I could have a bit of a rest as she would organise Tavleen and the band to practise as the new line-up for a couple of weeks while I concentrated on the fado album.
We did have about four receptions already on the books over the next six weeks so we decided that we would do those as booked but as a seven piece. She told me that the Four Winds had three booked and all could be done as a four piece but she would be contacting the customers to see if they would pay a little extra to get a singer. “Those guys were just cruising along” she said “they all have day jobs so the band thing had not been that important until you came along. Alan has already gone part-time so that he can investigate new songs; I think he said that he has a friend who writes. Jack has already put his hand up to underwrite a tour of either band if we get to that point.”
So that set the tone for the next couple of months. I sat in on Dhawanee practise sessions and did a bit of singing after they had done the usual show songs. Damini was a pretty good singer but her dholak playing was ordinary. I can’t complain, though, I did have the bongo experience that I brought to the instrument. She was very happy that I had stepped in and was amazed at how the band had changed. She fitted right back in and the receptions I did sing at went down a treat, the customers really getting used to the different line-up. I ended up doing two of the Four Winds shows with them and they went very well. I went out front for the second half and we brought the house down.
On the recording side we had been given the Dhawanee CD to listen to and we all loved it. I hoped that listeners would not be upset seeing us live as the dholak sounded different now. Damini actually took her copy and the next time we practised she had started to alter her playing to sound like mine so it will be only slightly different. The fado album was, to me, an absolute winner. I took my copy and played it at home and did my housework singing along with it. Jack organised national distribution of both it and the earlier blues album and Sheila gave them both good reviews in the paper. Gaurav now had three CDs that he could put over his loudspeakers as he added the Dhawanee one as well. I did some singing in the store with Balnoor on violin and Gaurav reported that his sales had jumped those days.
We were now coming up to Christmas and there would be a bit of a break for us and I was looking forward to my first one as Gayle. I had embraced my Anglo self for general living and, with Birgitta helping, had spent some time at the front section of the dress shop. I slowly learned how to move in a dress that showed my legs and was attending regular sessions at the salon to make sure my arms and legs looked good. Gaurav and I had attended quite a few parties and receptions together and it was getting well known that I was the next Mrs Hidjeet. Actually, I was getting very settled with my new life as a singer, girlfriend and a lady who lunched a lot; mainly with Birgitta and Aganee but also with Janet or the odd band member and, increasingly, with Gaurav.
Late December two things happened that would alter my path through life. The first was that the surgeon rang and said that they had a cancellation and offered me my operation in the middle of January. I snapped it up and rang my doctor to tell her the news. I was called in to have a check-up and give blood and a week later I was cleared to have the operation.
The second thing was that Janet got the whole Dhawanee band together and told us that Anudeep would be coming to tour with us as backing and it would be from May through to early July so she had made sure we had no receptions booked during that period. She told us that Salman had been left out of the loop and that Jack was the promotor of the tour. His agent would be with him and, so she had learned, had not been able to find a band that brought the same newness to traditional music that we had.
The kicker was that Jack had organised to gain control of the Anudeep masters and the first one with us backing would be out before Christmas with the second coming out before the tour. It would mean that Balnoor and Damini would need to learn the two albums as soon as they could. The other kicker was that the Four Winds would open the show and that I was told that I would need to sing with them in an Anglo dress and then come on stage during the second half to sing my duets with Anudeep in an Indian dress. It was hoped that they could make me look very different and Birgitta had been brought on board to make the transformation.
I spent my Christmas with the Hidjeet family, staying with them for a week. During that time we had a family discussion and it was decided that I was to be an Easter Bride. This made Gaurav very happy and I think the others were happy too. This would give me time to get my recovery in. I had advised Janet of my new time to be off and she said that it didn’t cause a lot of problems as the January to February period was usually a bit slow. Aganee and Birgitta had organised my time in the clinic and insisted that I come to live at the house when I came out. I had no family to worry about so it sounded like a good deal. Gaurav would be moving to his apartment full time so that he would be out of the house.
With that decided, I spoke to Tavleen and Balnoor about my rooms and Balnoor jumped at the chance to move out of my old ‘box’. So the first week of January saw me move all of my stuff to the Hidjeet mansion and we moved Balnoor in. Janet took care of all the paperwork and I got my bond back. After being alone again for a while I was back in with the family and I thought that I had better get used to it as I would be living with Gaurav after the wedding.
So it came about that Birgitta drove me to the clinic and held my hand as I went under. I was going to make the final step from which there was no turning back. I had become certain that I would make Gaurav happy once we were in his apartment and I had visions of me on stage with Anudeep and singing. I had one of his love songs running through my head as I slipped into a deep sleep.
Marianne G 2021
