619. An Unexpected Opportunity

Bhupathy, along with five of his friends, started a music troupe called 'Live with Music' 

After starting the group, the friends approached a number of music forums and clubs that claimed to be dedicated to the cause of music, requesting for an opportunity to perform in the music events organized by them. But, no one came forward to provide an opportunity to them.

Though the friends who started the troupe with a lot of excitement, were discouraged by their failure to get a chance to perform in any event, they decided to pursue their activity, adopting another course. 

They book concert halls for an evening and conducted music programs, that could be watched people free of cost. 

They also invited people running music clubs, music critics, film music artists and the media, for these programs. But, there was not much of a response to those invitations. 

Though the programs were offered free of cost to the public, they didn't attract a sizeable audience, since the troupe could not spend much for advertising the programs.

Bhupathy and his friends did experience some proud moments, when people who attended a program applauded their performance, with some people even coming to the stage, after the program was over and conveying their appreciation to the troupe. But these appreciations did not translate into any gain to the troupe.

Once, a review about one of their programs was published in an obscure journal. Its circulation being limited, not many people could have read that review. The review was profusely appreciative of the program. 

Bhupathy himself came to know about the review, only after the reviewer called him up and told him about it. Bhupathy procured a copy of the journal which was not sold in popular newsstands, with great difficulty and read the review. 

That review didn't create any tangible impact, since it did not come to the notice of a large number of people.

The energy and the enthusiasm the friends had had, when they started the troupe five years back, were fading gradually.

It was at a time Bhupathy and others were thinking about winding up that activity and focusing on something else, that an unexpected opportunity came their way.

Bhupathy received a phone call from the secretary of 'Deva Gana Sabha*,' one of the leading music forums of the city.

The secretary said that he had attended one of their programs recently and that impressed by the quality of their output, he wanted to give them a chance to perform in his Sabha. He proposed a date for the concert, which Bhupathy readily accepted.

The very next day, Bhupathy received a confirmation email from the Sabha, giving details of the date of the program, the remuneration that would be paid to them and other terms.

The friends were awestruck when they looked at the figure mentioned as remuneration. They never expected to receive such a large sum as remuneration for a two hour performance.

"After so many years, we have received such a wonderful opportunity. If we make the best use of this, we can expect to get more such opportunities" said Bhupathy.

"Our program being held in the prestigious Deva Gana Sabha is a good publicity, by itself. We will become known to a wide circle of people" said Bhaskar, one of the other five members of the troupe.

"We have two months' time. We should do a vigorous rehearsal and present a stunning performance" said Bhupathy.

The very next day, they started the rehearsal.

A week before the program was scheduled, Bhupathy received an email from Deva Gana Sabha. It carried a terse message:

'Due to unexpected reasons, your program scheduled to take place on xx-xx-xxxx has been cancelled.'

Upset by the email, Bhupathy immediately went to the office of Deva Gana Sabha, taking Bhaskar with him. 

A number of people were waiting outside the president's room to meet him.

The secretary was not in his room. Bhupathy presumed that the secretary could be sitting with the president, in the latter's room.

One by one, the visitors went into the president's room and came back after a few minutes. The face expression of the people who came out of the president's room was gloomy.

Bhupathy and Bhaskar went into the president's room, when their turn came.

"The person who was holding the office of the secretary of this Sabha has committed some financial irregularities. He is now under suspension. The programs fixed by him have all been cancelled, pending a detailed enquiry into the fraud committed by him. We have given a complaint to the police. Only after the police enquiry is completed, will we be able to resume our activities. We don't know how many months it will take. I am sorry for the inconvenience" said the president.

"Sir! You can't trivialize this as an inconvenience! You confirmed our program through email. Only after getting your confirmation, we started our rehearsal. We have worked very hard during the last two months. For every rehearsal, we have paid rent for the place and remuneration to the instrument players. We also had to pay for transporting the instruments from the players' homes to the place where rehearsals were held and back. Apart from spending a considerable amount of money, we have also invested our time and toiled hard. How can you go back on your commitment and just say sorry?" asked Bhupathy, indignantly

The president smiled and said, "There is a sentence in the email stating that the program can be cancelled any time without assigning any reason and that no compensation will be paid in the event of cancellation. Did you not read it? We are acting as per the advice of our lawyer. I won't be able to help you."

"This is a bog blow to us. We have never rehearsed so vigorously for any of our programs in the past. It is depressing that all our efforts have become wasted" said Bhaskar, unable to stomach the disappointment.

"What can we do? This is the way our luck works. Or, call it fate, if you want. It appears that none of us have been blessed with good luck!" said Bhupathy.

Bhupathy's mobile phone rang.

"Yes...Please tell me. Oh, really? Which date?... No, that is not a problem. We can make it. Thanks a lot."

"Who was on the phone? Is Deva Gana Sabha offering to have our program on a different date?" asked Bhaskar. mockingly.

"Not exactly. But something similar to that! The person who called me is the secretary of the Youth Literary Association. It seems he has seen us when we were in Deva Gana Sabha. He had booked the Sabha's hall for a program and his booking has been cancelled. He has now booked another hall for his program. He asked me whether we can present an one hour music program at the end of his association's program. He said that he would be able to offer us only a small amount as remuneration. I think it would cover the expenses we have incurred for our rehearsal. But, there will be a large audience for their program. So, that will give us good publicity, which may help us in future. I have accepted his offer" said Bhupathy, beaming.

"Oh, what a relief! Though we may not get any profit from this program, we will at least be able to recover the amount spent by us. Though our efforts have not been rewarded, they have not been wasted. And, as you say, our performance in front of a large audience may bring us popularity and recognition, which in turn may bring us more opportunities in future" said Bhaskar, sharing the enthusiasm of his friend.

*Sabha - a concert hall

Thirukkural
Section 2

Materialism

Chapter 62
Perseverance

Verse 619 (in Tamil):
deyvaththAn AgAdhu eninum muyaRchi than
mey varuththak kUli tharum.

Meaning:

Even if efforts don't bring in the expected results because of God's will, perseverance will pay the wages for one’s efforts.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'thAnAga vandha vAyppu' by the same author.) 

Verse 620 (soon)
Verse 618