She waltzed to the front of the stage.

A vision of grace and dignity, her bright yellow dress sparkled against the dark backdrop of the stage. The audience so captivated by her voice, demanded once more! once more!

The show lasted 3 hours. 3 hours of continuous singing, yet not a note amiss. That’s why she was counted a top notch singer in the country, a customary figure at all major music events.

But when she was preparing to leave the stage after the performance, her beautiful forehead was creased with lines of worry. She shook hands with her admirers, posed for a few photographs and walked to the changing room in a daze.

The grandeur of her attire now dwarfed her sprightly spirit.

She had landed in the city that morning. The rehearsals that started after half an hour of her arrival came to an end only when she took the stage for performance. The group of  musicians who supported her on stage, were meeting her for the first time that morning. All that bonhomie, that camaraderie evident on stage was a result of 8 hours of working together. 8 hours of working together to make the evening a success. The sponsors were powerful and cash laden, she had been told.

The effort of explaining the inexplicable was evident in her voice.What kept her in it then, a good 20 years later when as a qualified chartered accountant she could have a secure job and a guaranteed income every month? Brightening up suddenly, she said, I love the stage, the lights,my own voice,the travel,the adulation, almost everything about this. I am happy here,in this space.