SATYAN 2
-3. Grand Finale

It was the love for his friend that prompted Vasudev to make his presence felt in the first round of the competition where several participants had come over to sing before Neelkant.  All the royal guests were expected only during the third round of the finals. 

The participants had come over the earlier day itself and camped in a special chamber which the King had allotted for them.  They could stay there for the next three weeks of this competition.  This was done to avoid traveling for especially those contestants who came from far-off places.  However, those who felt like going back to their homes were free to do so and return for the next round.

Vasudev greeted Queen Chitralekha who had also come over to watch the proceedings especially to see if there were any female contestants.  Thereby, he took his seat in the audience section.  The Queen appeared quite pleased to see that there were quite a few young girls who had come to perform in this event. 

Vasudev was not sure whether Shiva would make it for the competition after what transpired in their conversation.  But soon, Shiva turned up and saw Vasudev sitting lonely in the row meant for the audience.  Vasudev smiled at Shiva who reciprocated only with a faint grin.  The pleasure of seeing his friend was outsmarted by the anger that was brewing in the heart of Shiva for Vasudev had not paid heed to his request.

 In the premier round, contestants were asked to sing two songs of their choice and only if Neelkant was displeased with their performances in both the songs were they rejected.  Quite a few participants were turned down for not performing well.   Soon, it was Shiva’s turn to sing.  What would be his fate?  Vasudev closed his eyes and invoked Lord Krishna in his mind.  As he opened his eyes, he found Shiva climbing the steps to reach the marble platform.  He, then, folded his hands and bowed low before Neelkant just like his companions had done so far.  The palace singer smiled at him and asked him to sing any two songs of his liking.  Shiva sang with confidence and after he had finished he observed the face of Neelkant who appeared to be quite impressed with his performance!  Like he had done for the other participants, Neelkant enquired about the source of his education and appeared pleased to know that Shiva had learnt singing under a reputed guru.  Meanwhile, Vasudev’s heart was pounding.  He just wanted this moment of anticipation to pass and learn as to what was going on in Neelkant’s mind. 

Shiva, too, was waiting anxiously for the outcome. Although he knew that he had sung well, he was feeling the jitters!  Finally, Neelkant gave his verdict which was in Shiva’s favour!  Vasudev was beset with joy and thanked his Lord for listening to his prayers.  Shiva punched the air and expressed his gratitude to Neelkant.  While coming back to his seat, he just glanced at Vasudev with an impassive expression. 

The competition went for well over an hour in which only a few could make it to the next level.    Towards the end, Neelkant gave them an idea about the next round that was to be held in the week to come so as to enable the singers to prepare themselves accordingly for the upcoming test.  This practice was to be followed even in the next round.

Shiva left the venue without meeting his friend.  Vasudev could have taken Shiva’s hostile attitude towards him to heart but in all his generosity did not do so and only prayed for his success. 

Shiva was among the few participants who, despite staying afar, preferred to go home and return for the next round.

Queen Chitralekha was also pleased with the proceedings and felt proud that some girls had succeeded in getting nominated for the upcoming round.

Later, Bharadwaj – who was busy with the kingdom affairs –  learnt about all that had transpired in the contest from his Queen and was happy to learn that Vasudev’s friend had made it to the next round.  “Is he the best?” he later asked his favourite minister.  “One among the best!”  Vasudev replied promptly.

In the penultimate round, Neelkant asked the contenders to sing three songs which contained the ragas that he wanted.   To get selected, they had to sing all the songs to his satisfaction. Those who did not have a profound knowledge of ragas were incapable of doing well in this round and faced the axe!  Shiva once again gave an impressive performance and he was one among the ten contestants who were choosen for the final!  They were also two girls in this elite list.  Both the Queen and Vasudev, who were once again witness to this event, felt delighted!   After this competition concluded, Shiva, yet again departed without meeting Vasudev. 

The final was to be conducted a week hence, which finally arrived!  At the appointed time, everyone including the competitors, Bharadwaj, Chitralekha, the King’s courtiers, ministers that included Vasudev, and many among the general public including Sridhar and Hari assembled in the royal hall.  There appeared to be only nine contestants instead of ten which was a matter of speculation among everyone.

 The palace singer got the event started by singing a beautiful bhajan of Lord Ganesha which mesmerized everyone.  Thereby, he made an announcement, “Actually I had choosen ten singers for this event but you can see only nine.  This is because one of them, Mukund, is unwell which was conveyed to me by his friend Shiva.  This is unfortunate but then the show has to go on!”

Vasudev was disappointed to hear this.  He had heard Mukund sing in the earlier rounds and found him to be an excellent singer who had the potential to compete for the top slot.  Vasudev knew that Mukund was Shiva’s friend.  In the very first round, Mukund had apprised Neelkant that he was Shiva’s friend as they studied under the guidance of the same guru. 

The contest began!  The final comprised of two rounds where the contestants were allowed, yet again, to sing songs as they wished but which were composed in the ragas of Neelkant’s choice.  In the first round, the ragas that Neelkant asked them to sing in were of a very advanced state and intricate where the singers had to make variations in their tone and pitch that made it a very difficult yet interesting contest.  The second round was even more challenging where the singers had to sing songs that had a variety of complicated ragas woven in one song! 

(To Continue)