MUSIC

Two years passed. While Iqbal grew from strength to strength, he also

became completely dependent on Sehmat for his day-to-day functioning.

The father-in-law too found Sehmat indispensable and earned many

brownie points from divisional headquarters by sharing operational

details with his daughter-in-law.

In order to be appreciated amongst the socially relevant, the crème de

la crème of the Pakistani society, Sehmat convinced her family to let her

teach music in a reputed school. ‘This would keep me productively

busy,’ she stressed. Since taking up jobs by women from high-profile

families was not considered very dignified, Brigadier Sayeed took time

to relent, but gave in after his son started lobbying for his wife.

Sehmat took time to shortlist the schools suited for her. She realized

that there wasn’t much choice when it came to providing quality

education in music to children in upmarket schools. She settled for one

that had the right mix of students from both rich and powerful families.

Getting a job was not difficult as music teachers were not easy to come

by. The principal was only too happy to accommodate her. Sehmat went

through the records of past music teachers and was surprised to observe

that no one had lasted for more than six months at a single stretch. She

was determined to be different.

The following week, Sehmat found herself standing in front of a

bunch of pupils belonging to the high and mighty, who had opted for

music only because their parents wanted them to. When she entered the

classroom, accompanied by the school administrator, she noticed that

instead of rehearsing, the students were busy fighting over chocolates.

Seeing a new teacher amidst them, the children stopped briefly but soonresumed their squabble without even acknowledging her presence.

Sehmat hesitated but then reached for the big bowl of chocolates and

pulled it away. There was firmness in her action, forcing the rich brats to

retract. She placed the bowl gently on the shelf, turned towards them and

without even introducing herself, began addressing them.

‘Music comes from deep within. It opens the walls of the mind and

helps in removing mental blocks. It’s a great stepping stone to inner

peace. It can help you attain name and fame and make your parents and

country proud of you. If you want to be sincere about your goals, you

will first have to lift yourself from small attachments and greed. Only

then will you realize the innate strength of music.’

The class was stunned into silence. These students belonged to the

most affluent part of society. More importantly, they knew the strength of

their influence and many were not averse to using it to their advantage.

The administrator too was stunned. He was an old hand and knew his

limitations well as also the fact that no one had survived in the school by

being strict with the students.

She added, ‘Anybody can play the violin but only those succeed who

free their minds from the greed of the surrounding materialistic world.’

Having made a lasting impression, she left the classroom for the day.

The students remained in deep silence, pondering over the strong

message. While locking the doors at the end of the day, the peon was

amazed to find the half-filled chocolate bowl. He looked around, his face

filled with surprise and disbelief, before stuffing his pockets with the

booty.

Sehmat carefully scanned the list of her students as well as their kith

and kin over the next week. She was good with children and knew that

they had fragile egos. Her soft, mellow voice and tender mannerisms

were in stark contrast to the previous music teacher who was mostly

disliked. She shortlisted a young boy, Anwar Khan, to be groomed as the

leader of the group. Much younger than most students, Anwar neither

possessed natural talents nor had the ability to pick up the finer aspects

of music.

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