Sangeet Akademi, an inspiring journey!

When I was in 5th standard, my favorite school teacher received the prestigious Presidency National Award and he shared this experience with us through some photographs. We even managed to catch the video clip on Doordarshan news. We were very young and were amazed by the extravagant event and general aura around it. I later understood that the government awards people who have achieved commendable reputation in their specialization field, once every two years with the Padma awards. I once told my parents that I too want a National Award. Instead of laughing it off; they confidently said "Yes, why not? You will definitely get it one day, BUT...". I couldn't understand the latter part of the conversation and was not ready to listen either. I was enamored by the idea of honor and grandeur of that event.
Recently, I got the chance to attend a official ceremony. The occasion was the investiture of the Sangeet Akademi fellowship and awards. My maternal uncle (Mama) Pandit Vidyadhar Vyas was one of its recipients. I was naturally excited to attend this event. The prospect of seeing the honorable president in person and meeting my mama after a very long time was an exciting one. The event being a well planned and managed one, followed the schedule strictly.
A total of 34 nominees were invited and they flown in from various parts of India. After reading the synopsis, one could comprehend the depth of their contribution towards their own field. Naturally, most of them had crossed their fifties and some of them needed an aid to walk. Some were unable to shake their hands and greet, while some couldn't even receive their own trophy themselves. The struggle through their past decades was reflecting in their wrinkles. But their proud expressions told a happier story. They spent their lives serving the love of music, dance, theatre and performing arts. Their efforts worked towards helping India preserve its precious culture and tradition. Most of them took to teaching and spread their own learning to the younger generations. They focused their entire life on one purpose and are still passionately driving the endeavor.
Cribbers like us, who have all kinds of luxury and get paid well for our work; still have a lack of any sign of satisfaction. Every day, we wake up with a new menu to grill and run after checking our materialistic wish list. Unfortunately, we feel happy about it and celebrate the day's achievement only to get ready for the same chores the next day.
I guess this was the part after that "BUT,..", which my parents tried to teach me and I ignored it completely.
To find out more details about Sangeet Natak visit–http://www.sangeetnatak.org/

I know; this post is bit off-track from what the blog’s objective, but still this post and experience and my ‘visit’ to the event teaches great lesson of life.