My Favorite Things

When I was in Class VIII, in St. Mary's School, Mumbai, I figured I could sing. This realization led me to register in the school's music day competition. My song would be "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music. Strangely, my mother encouraged me. I practiced long and hard. My music teacher, Ms. Lobo, would play the piano while I sang. She would keep reminding me to get the pitch right. Of course, I had no clue what she was talking about. Eventually, after 30 days of practice, the big day came. Ms. Lobo told all of us to line up. She then announced that she wanted us to sing one last time before we went up on stage. To this day I think she suspected I hadn't improved a bit. All of us sang, one after the other. After I finished croaking, she told me gently that I had better wait for next year.

That is how my first and last tryst with music ended. Well no, I was on stage the next year, playing Papa Kehte Hain on the synthesizer (although I really wanted to play Unterlanders Heimweh, the teacher decided I had a better sense of music with Papa Kehte Hain).

I still remember "My Favorite Things," and on a good day, if you're really insistent, I wouldn't mind croaking it for you. To give you a sense of how complex this really is, here are the words:


Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woollen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple stoodles
Doorbells and steighbells and snitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with a moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel... so baaaaddd..