Three flutes, loads of air and a beginner!

Seems a pretty straightforward title doesn't it? The story of the efforts of a normal guy on a flute and the interesting parts in between ...blah blah blah . The title's quite revealing right? In fact, why read further? So what (you might say) I had the same experience when I was trying to learn the piano or the bagpipes or the violin (piano is the most common one), In fact, mine was better , much better - an incident that is fit to get 10 million views on youtube had I the sense to press the record button on the camcorder that I had so foolishly placed on the table! It was hilarious (you insist) and it went like this ....... After you have narrated the whole incident to me  twice (Yes sir!! you repeated that chicken soup part and even enacted it the second time!) .You deny. I mime your act.You look subdued (I am a horrible mime!!) and say that it is time that I divulge my tale and not waste any more of your time.(##@%$^& I mutter!!) . Well, here it is then.......
I am still not certain as to why I had decided that I would learn how to play the flute.I have always (to the best of my knowledge) been a santoor player. I was introduced to the santoor nine years back and have since then played the same. It is not that I am bored . I still love the sound of the wood striking the string. Here is a picture of a santoor for those who are still trying to figure out what it actually is (see I knew it!)

So, back to where we were now....my logical insights a.k.a the inner eye tells me that the reason I have decided to undertake the task of learning the flute is based on my personal discomfort at the failure of never having been able to play any wind or reed instrument. I feel its time that this problem was handled in a proper manner.
I have duly shared my desire (note it wasn't and still is not a 'burning' desire) with friends, parents , casual acquaintances and every second passer-by. Some of them have tried to talk me out of it (the people who know me better) and this has strengthened my resolve (I say no to their every yes and yes to well, all NOs) , some even supported me. One of my friends has even gifted me a flute that is not of conventional origin (read  un-Indian).

The next logical step for me would be to find a suitable tutor. I have successfully completed the 'find' and have failed on the 'tutor' part. Whenever I think of this, I picture my mother saying "गुरु बिन ज्ञान नहीं ...." (  English : No knowledge without a teacher)to which I have always retaliated with the story of Eklavya (One of the most inspiring tales in Indian culture!) and so following the footsteps of Eklavya have declared Youtube my tutor ( technologically advanced... I know!!) . I would be doing injustice if I do not mention the contribution of my uncle here , for, if someday , some scribe decides to pen my life and make millions out of doing so, it would only be just if people remembered my Uncle and said that "He was the one who stoked the fire..." It was my Uncle who taught me the first basic steps to hold the flute (stress on basic) and the fact that we live far apart and meet once in a year means that I'll learn the ascension and descent of notes next June !! My patience forbids me to wait so long and hence here I am , an Eklavya in my own right.

Confident that I could hold a flute right and blow I went and purchased a flute. My first efforts at getting it to 'blow' music were horrible and still remain just passable. I ran out of breath by the time I came down three notes on the scale and had to wait for a at least 10-seconds before I could start again. I went  sa... ni... dha.. breath over!! (  I said it aloud! ). My mom teases me with the fact that since I cannot even whistle ( Yes I cannot ...so what?) it will be next to impossible to get that controlled flow of breath for the flute. (I shall even learn how to whistle now). Yet, I have persisted with my efforts. Twice , I have gone up and down the  sargam  in the past thirteen days. I mostly give up on the fifth note now (five is better than three) .I run out of breath easily.It is tough. I blow, and blow really hard ,but all I hear is air swishing through the hollow tube.I adjust and re-adjust , focus and re-focus and yet fail to produce a good sound for half and hour and when I finally get the orientation right, I am out of breath again!!

The Thai flute (the unconventional one) looks easier but is still a bigger mystery to me. 

I had yet to conquer these two when my Aunt (hearing of my so-called 'zealous' efforts)gifted me the Indonesian variant ( A south-east Asian flute collection...Yippee!!) . Now I have three. Three different instruments to learn - three different worlds to conquer.Even Eklavya couldn't have managed archery , sword-fighting and spear-throwing all at once! 

Look at them three , mocking me together.Knowing that I stand helpless now and that they shall be the toughest instruments I have faced so far.

I on my part shall continue to strive to try and master these three little warriors of the music world.I promise them that no matter if I fall short of breath , or come to my wits' end trying to grasp the technique soon I shall conquer and they shall submit! "Corruetis, et dominabitur"

Between languages

As soon as I entered this world (they say ) they realised that I was going to be one of the shy kind - the soft spoken introvert . Many still believe that I am and would swear by the most occult of things that they believe that I will always remain so. This is not the case with the few who know me well and can essentially classify me as a 'chatterbox' . I am a good listener , I agree but am an even better speaker (quantitatively for sure! ) . I can go on and on for hours given the freedom and the attention which people usually give me for the first fifteen minutes .( they have learned over time :P )
Now this longing to speak has always been matched by my interest to learn new languages and though  I have now lived for 19-odd years I can only manage English (As you might notice) and Hindi (my mother still doubts this) properly . Mind you , I certainly have put in the efforts ( worth questioning )  and yet have not even been remotely successful.

We were introduced to ' sanskrit' the ' mother of all languages' (as it is known) in grade 5. Try as hard as I did , I could never grasp the language. Our teacher always stressed on perfecting our handwriting and so grammar always took a backseat during sanskrit lessons .The efforts continued for the next three years with small yet keen efforts on both the part of the teacher and me but it was all in vain . The only thing I remember from my sanskrit lessons at school is that च the sanskrit equivalent for 'and' comes at the end of the sentence . What logic compels it to do so is still a big mystery to me . :/

I ceased all efforts for a few years and indulged in my course more than anything else for the next four years. After a hectic and nervous two months last year , that included biggies like IITJEE and AIEEE, life suddenly became very slow . The wait for the results and allotment of colleges was long and boring. As life dragged along I found myself intrigued by the wonders of the language of  the French. Efforts ensued thereafter. I looked up friends and acquaintances who had ever been in touch with the language. Searched for resources online.Got an entire 250-page book printed by my father so that I could use it to learn French. Yet again all of this was fruitless as my interest wore off as quickly as it had grown and I found myself tucking the 250-page print out behind a lot of books in my shelf. So much for learning French!!

An year passed and I sat for JEE and AIEEE again after giving up my entire second semester for competition preparation. The cycle clicked in and it was time to be bored (or rather patient) for the results. So , I tried my luck once again. This time with one of the most colourful languages of the European mainland - Spanish. As luck would have it , my initial efforts were bad. I could not find a single suitable (read as free) podcast to tutor myself. The only free podcast I found was taught me how to compliment a woman! (I am yet to try that...let me find a spanish girl first) . The subsequent efforts were very bad and at present I have progressed no further. But this time it is bound to be better for I have started using the spanish learning series on youtube .I just hope that I can learn this language.

Well, that is it. My language scorecard reads as such :

Wonder how this will look on my CV??