And in imperfection lies beauty- Aug 23rd 2025

There is a beautiful saying in my office as I enter the floor where I work. It reads "There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in"

Its a wonderful reminder that nothing need be perfect...nothing is and only then one shines..

This weekend was mine...for my art..for my interest ..in the perfect place I find peace and happiness in...Mumbai Music Mridangam and Me. wow. 4Ms....seems like I have found my zen of life.

I posted about this on LinkedIn and bringing the same goodness here....after all its my experience right :) 

This week has been a magical one. It had 3 of the 4Ms that define my passion :) Mumbai, Music, Mridangam [the 4th M -Marghazhi season in Chennai!]. In a day filled with demands of work and home responsibilities, these passion areas add the much needed zing to keep the rest going. Music has always been my go to and more so Carnatic Classical, which I always fallback on for energy.

One of the more important accompaniments to a Carnatic vocal concert, the mridangam has been my favourite given my love for beats and rhythm. Aside from being my birthplace, Mumbai holds a special place in my heart with Mridangam. To channel my interest I (re)started learning this art form online from my Guru Rohit Prasad, based in Mumbai, during Covid in 2020. Learning a percussion instrument online isn't easy and more so maybe not the recommended way too. But then we can't always seek an ideal route to make things happen.

Its been close to 5 years now and this August marked 25 years of my Guru’s and his peer’s journey in this art form and we celebrated it with

hashtag

#mridangarpanam. I had the honor of playing along with 23 other students in the famed halls of Shanmukhananda Sabha in Mumbai. While it was a 20 min collective rendering, it was a moment that filled my heart and is here to stay.

Why do I post this here? Well no good reason, but maybe gratitude? Maybe because there are many reasons behind why ‘we show up’ daily and to pay it back with a huge thanks to my Guru Rohit Prasad for enabling this one.

For, giving me an opportunity to play live on stage right in the front row, very well knowing it was my 1st time, having played online the last 5 yrs

For, that word of encouragement every other weekend when I attend classes without practice after a long exhausting week, telling me “ Don't worry- the fact that you turn up for class is good enough” or “Your finger placements have improved” or “Ho jayega, tension math lo”

Thank you sir 🙏 and to my family Mala Raj CLMP Raj Raman @Jaya who were part of my moment. And to Harish Krishnan, for encouraging Mumbai rain updates and tips to conquer imperfections while playing :)

The icing on the cake was a photograph with Carnatic stalwarts Malladi Brothers and a compliment on how I played.These memories make it all worthwhile!

A snippet https://lnkd.in/gwdjV-MX

Coverage in Mumbai’s Local news channel https://lnkd.in/gDxKiQwP