From Kindergarten Singer to Music Maestro

Night two - the final performance

Previously you read about IW and AM's exciting adventures in teaching songs to Kindergarten children. About 5 weeks ago IW was approached by the teacher in charge of the orchestra (Hereafter known as TIC) who has absolutely no musical knowledge, to assist in the preparation of the orchestra for the school Awards Night on 28 July. IW accepted this offer not really knowing what it involved.

We will now relate how this kind offer from TIC turned into an immense challenge for IW. You see in India, assist means - you do all the work, but TIC steps in when she wants to and arbitrarily changes things. The basic request was for 30 minutes (or 6 songs) singing prior to the commencement of the evening program and 2 items during the program.

TIC sent 2 of the "orchestra" girls to work with IW to select the songs for the evening. At this point in time perhaps we should define the word "orchestra". In actual fact this was a group of 16 girls, ranging in age from 12 - 16, with minimal musical experience. There were 3 keyboard players. 2 violinists, 2 guitarists, 2 drummers (but only one drum set) and 5 vocalists. It was what we in Oz would call a school band.

IW worked with the 2 girls and sorted out a range of songs that would be suitable and relatively easy to perform given the short time available to practice before the performance. The girls took this list to TIC to inform her of what the orchestra would be performing.

As stated above TIC decided that she didn't like our selection and suggested some others. Most of you know IW fairly well and can imagine her "frustration" at this point, having spent a couple of hours in the selection process with the girls. IW was fairly outspoken in her objections to TIC's request. It was at this point that we think TIC realised that IW was a force to be reckoned with.

IW, the girls and TIC resolved the song list and practice began. At our first practice it became obvious that we needed to separate singers from instrumentalists as there was a lot of work to be done with both groups. Another interesting point surfaced at our first practice - TIC informed us that the Awards Night would be on the 22nd not the 28th and that we would also being doing a dress rehearsal on the 21st which was a minor presentation evening.

WOW! With a short statement from TIC, one week of practice just vanished before our eyes. This left us two weeks preparation to learn 8 songs with children with minimal singing and instrumental experience. Fortunately, "nothing is impossible for God" which is what IW kept reinforcing to the girls.

The first part of God's provision was the presence of IW's sister Kath (Hereafter known as GMP - God's Magnificent Provision). The decision was made that GMP would work with the singers which she did brilliantly and IW would use all of her "orchestra experience" to turn the novices into a well oiled machine.

The orchestra

Practice continued with GMP working with the singers and IW with the musos for the first half of the practice, then all coming together for the second half. For the first week we practiced every afternoon for about 3 hours and in the week prior to the performance about 4 -5 hours (mostly during school time). As there was no place on the school premises for them to practice our lounge room was transformed into the orchestra "pit".

Another thing to note about Indian schools is that the Principal is the final arbiter on all things that occur. This is especially important to note when talking about Awards Night which is the premier event in the school calendar. What we discovered was that every item that was to be performed on the night had to be critiqued and approved by the Principal beforehand.

For the orchestra this meant that she visited the orchestra pit (AKA our lounge room) to listen to the two item songs. She approved them and "encouraged" the girls with the words "I'm sure you'll be better on the night" and then left. IW was flabbergasted!! but the girls didn't seem to mind so we just went with the flow.

Having thought we were over the critiquing hurdle we continued to practice. Much to our surprise TIC informed us that we had to be critiqued, along with all the other items, by the Principal, on the stage that was constructed in the dirt, for the Awards Night. This was an ordeal! We had to carry, 3 keyboards and stands, 1 drum kit, 2 guitars, 2 violins down to set up on the stage in the midday sun and stand for at least an hour being berated by the Principal for taking so long to set up when in actual fact the sound people were holding up the proceeds because they were still sorting out microphones.

The result of this "practice" was demoralising for the girls, with the Principal telling them their performance was substandard. IW was very angry. The sound quality was pathetic - all sound unbalanced - singers were made to stand behind the band because there is an unwritten requirement in India that all girls' parents must be able to see their children.

Did we say before that IW was angry! Yes she was! and made it very clear that it was impossible for the singers to stand behind the band as they couldn't hear any music. Drr! The Deputy Principal who was running the "show" knew by one look at IW's face that this was not going to be an acceptable solution to the "girls not being seen" problem and promptly suggested that we put desks on the dirt in front of the stage for the singers to stand on, which is what we did.

However, one of the things this practice did highlight for IW was that a couple of the singers couldn't sing in tune and as each of the singers had a microphone this was highlighted fairly badly. This was another problem IW had to think about. She decided that although GMP had taught harmony parts to these girls, in the open air with individual microphones, this would not work and tactfully suggested this to the girls involved. They understood the wisdom of this and we think were a little relieved. Their only concern was that GMP would be disappointed but IW pointed out that GMP would understand.

Needless to say we regrouped in the orchestra pit and went about rectifying the damage done to the girls' self-esteem. IW worked hard to try to remain positive and focussed.

We have noticed that all events staged in the school grounds (ie capping, weddings, etc) the rule of sound is that everything is turned up as loud as possible. We had a hurdle to overcome with the sound people to enable the individual instruments and vocalists to be balanced. IW worked hard with them to help them understand the needs of the orchestra and by the time of the second performce the sound was reasonable and the girls did a great job. However even on this night there was no foldback for the singers no matter how many times IW explained how difficult this was for them.

The girls at prayer before night one

There were a lot of positive comments from the hostel girls and parents and Bishop gave IW the "thumbs up". The girls were all happy and we celebrated with them on the following Sunday at our favourite coffee haunt.

Again it was reinforced to IW and AM that delegation is non-existent in India and when you think you are asked to manage a task, you need to understand that the person who delegates the task still exercises their right to change things as they see fit.

The grounds after the event - but this is another story!

Question 11

agr's question: "What is the nicest thing we have seen in Australia?"

This is a repeat of Question 9 but referring to Australia rather than India.

For the first part, the beaches and the bush. It is a very relaxing place and very easy to get away and find space to think.

The second part is the opportunity there is to discover what to do with the riches that we have been given. If you put your mind to it you can do whatever you want. Mixing that opportunity into your life is a fantastic thing.

Question 10

agr's question: "Describe your life before you accepted Jesus and after - what changed?"

Before I accepted Jesus I was rich, famous, had lots of friends and could do what I wanted. Now I am living in the dirt in India a million miles from my friends.

OOPS sorry, mind wandered - getting ready to come home in a few weeks.

From my perspective the change has been in my thoughts and understanding of my purpose. I think of others a lot more now. I try to see how I fit into the bigger picture of life rather than think about my own situation alone.

In a nutshell, I still do much the same things but it is the reason that I do things now that is different.

Discoveries in Sport

Being a keen sports observer only now days AM is always on the lookout for new sports to watch. During our time here we have discovered three worth commenting on. They are

1. Kho Kho
2. Kabaddi
3. Ball Badminton

AM will leave it up to you to discover video footage of these games but will offer some of his thoughts. The first two games are played with no equipment except the players and a marked court and the third is played with rackets and a small woollen ball. We saw all three games played in actual competition over the last two days at the Zone Sports.

Seeing them played in competition stirred all sorts of emotions in AM as he saw the 'real Indian parent' in action plus a magnificent performance by a 'cheating coach'.

Kho Kho

We first saw this being played by the girls of the hostel and all three age group teams of the school are made up exclusively by hostel girls. It is basically a tag and chase game and our girls are exceptional at it and AM loves it. You must be fit and be able to think strategically to be good at it. Basically it is a game of two halves with your team having to chase and catch for one and be chased in the other.

The strategies involved are great so watching is most enjoyable. Naturally it is played on dirt so blisters and gravel rash are predominant for the participants. AM likes it because when you get your strategies right you can completely frustrate the opposition.

Our Senior team was so dominant that in the final they chased first and caught all twelve girls on the opposition team then when they ran they used up all the allotted time with not one runner being caught.

Our Intermediate team was 'robbed' by the opposing cheating coach. We chased first and caught four, then they chased and also caught four. I have no idea what the tie breaker is as 'the cheat' engaged in an angry debate with the umpire saying that we only caught three. We all knew we caught four, his girls knew that four were caught, the score book (a piece of paper filled out by two independent scorers) confirmed that we caught four but his 15 minute tirade of shouting somehow convinced all umpires to award his team the match. Our girls were devastated and so was AM who told 'the cheat' so in his best Aussie accent.

Our poor teacher tried to engage in some sensible discussion referring to the score sheet but 'the cheat' was not letting any facts get in the way. I believe that in true Indian fashion the umpire just gave in to stop his outburst.

Kabaddi

AM had heard about this game in our first week here but could not understand it until yesterday when we witnessed our first game. It can be best described as a brutal version of 'murder ball' surrounded by a small scaffold of rules. It is great. AM saw girls playing it and it was vicious. Cannot possibly imagine what it would be like to witness a game involving grown men. We do not play it at Jessie Moses and even our hostel girls say it is too rough.

Basically it involves two teams of seven facing each other on a dirt (of course) court. One team sends a raider down the court who attempts to tag one of the seven opponents and get back to their half while the team of seven try to 'capture' the raider.

A few definitions to give you an idea:

• Tag - means tag. This can be by touching, hitting, kicking, slapping etc
• Capture - means bring the raider to ground by tackling them, grabbing their hair, scratching and generally involves the whole seven ending up on top of the raider inflicting as much pain as possible. Catching by the hair was a feature of the game AM witnessed.

You get a point for a tag and return and a point for a capture and people are eliminated as they are tagged or captured and it is also played to a time limit.

It is simple but there is also a lot of strategy involved and was very enjoyable to watch especially as the seven 'capture' girls climbed off the poor girl they had nearly trampled to death, dusted her off, all smiled and returned to their lines to try again.

Ball Badminton

You might wonder how this fits in with the other two sports. AM would like to state quite categorically that it does not fit at all.

We went today to the Ball Badminton. Our girls, being last year's champions had a first round bye. It was a three team competition (because only three appeared) so a first round bye means that you are playing in the grand final later in the day - good start.

We settled in to watch the game to see who our opposition were. After 1.5 hours had elapsed AM suggested to IW that they should do something exciting like go to the dentist and get some teeth pulled without any anaesthetic.

It was terrible - mainly because the girls were not very good. The game dragged on to three sets and 2 hours and ten minutes. To give them a rest before the grand final our Junior team played another team.

Ball Badminton is best of three sets with each set the first to 29 points. Five players in each team. When you serve if you win the point you keep serving. If you lose the serve passes to your number 2 player and proceeds until all 5 players have lost a serve. You can only win points when you are serving so all the time the opposition is winning points on your serve they get no points until they have won on all five players then they get to win the right to serve and win points. Understand?

Our Juniors lost the toss so received - with no chance of winning a point until all five opposition players had served. AM settled back to 'enjoy' the spectacle. Well wham bam and five serves occurred and we won all five and with it the serve and the score still nil all.

Our player number one served, it was quite a spectacle, 29 serves, about 10 minutes, we won 29 points and the first set was over. Unfortunately the opposition refused to play the second set and so conceded the game.

So with about 20 minutes rest the poor opponents of the Seniors returned to play our girls. Now I want to say that our girls were very good and our opponents, at very best, were poor. Unfortunately for them we won the toss and elected to serve.

Did we mention that our girls were very very good. They did concede a couple of points along the way but won two sets to nil. It would be good to see two good teams play but at this point in time Ball Badminton has been crossed off AM's list of sports.

Ground Conditions

The story would not be complete without a comment and some pictures of the ground staff preparing the Ball Badminton court. Our bus arrived at about 9:00 am and we were shown where the game was to occur. From a distance it looked promising with two men marking out the boundary of the court with rope.

As we got nearer it seemed that the court was not very flat. AM's initial comment was that it looked more like a moto-cross venue - it was bad. AM has played on a lot of bad football fields in his youth but what we witnessed over the next thirty minutes was priceless.

As usual because our skin is white we have an inability to stand so chairs were found and positioned on the side line. We dutifully sat and watched the final stages of the line marking with the rope being secured by four tent pegs being banged in by rocks at the four corners of the court. Looked good, the tent pegs sticking up about four inches in the air might be a problem for players in Australia but in India all was OK.

As the clock crawled on to 10:00 am we were assured that the game would start soon. Have I mentioned the undulations on the field - they are severe. One near us is so big it could be used to hide in and no one would ever find you. The ground is rough, uneven and of course dirt with a splattering of dead grass in places. Our girls are tough though so they will cope.

What happened next even made AM's jaw drop. All of a sudden a small Indian man appears with a crow-bar and starts digging. As he digs, four young school girls kneel at his feet, perilously close to the flailing crow-bar and start scratching in the holes that he is digging. AM goes for the camera to record this. The girls are actually pulling out large stones, half bricks, boulders etc from the holes being dug and carrying them to the side line. This is doing nothing for the already uneven field. AM claims he saw the girls pull a motor bike out of one of the holes but IW disputes this.

After fifteen minutes of digging and stamping another amazing thing happened. The girls started digging a hole in the dirt about 20 metres from the side line and transported that dirt and rock and sticks to the court and threw it randomly over the court. By 10:20 am the court was somehow declared fit for play and the start of the marathon Ball Badminton game mentioned above began.

Another small anecdote from the dullest game in the world. This occurred after the two teams had waited over an hour for the game to start, the court to be 'levelled" etc.

After the serving team won the first point and in doing so leaping to a commanding 1-0 lead, one of their girls raced to the umpire for a conversation. All of a sudden the game is stopped and off she races across the paddock. We see her stop where their team bags were about 200 metres from where the game is. AM grabs his binoculars and sees that from her bag she has pulled a white skirt. She then asks a question to someone standing nearby who points to a building even further away.

She emerges a few minutes later with her white skirt on and runs back to the game and it resumes. We have no idea why this was important as the rest of the team are clad in skirts, track suit bottoms, shorts etc all of different colours but she for some reason wanted to have her white skirt on to look the part.

AM had a serious memory flashback to a conversation he had with his father some 51 years ago. On a Friday night in the Wallis household during football season you sat and cleaned your boots, put clean, starched, white laces in them and packed your bag making sure that everything was there that you needed for the game.

As a six year old AM asked why it was necessary to have everything clean. The reply was a swift, even if you cannot play football you can at least look like a footballer - you will fool some of the opposition. AM does not know if this was true for this girl or why she decided to change after waiting for 1 1/2 hours while the ground was being "prepared".

Rocks removed from the field prior to start of play

An 'action shot' of our neatly uniformed girls

plus the ground staff hard at work

Question 9

agr's question: "What is the nicest thing we have seen in India?"

Two answers, thing as in place or object and thing as in event.

During our two weeks off in May we visited the north of India and were eagerly looking forward to seeing the Taj Mahal. It did not dissapoint us. It rekindled our memory of our visit to the Grand Canyon in America in 2000. We had seen lots of photos but when the actual thing burst into sight it took your breath away.

The Taj Mahal was magnificent and we sat for quite a while just looking - as it is often said - impossible to describe.

The second part of the answer for us is the people. Wherever you go they stop you and want to talk to you. They express a genuine interest in where you are from and what you are doing and what you think of their country. They have an immense pride in their country and want to make sure everything is OK.

Question 8

agr's question: "What is one thing you would change in India?"

The thing that first springs to mind is the way people dispose of rubbish. Although the grounds of the Jessie Moses school are just dirt, when it is raked it looks quite nice.

At the end of a school day and particularly after a function the ground is just covered with garbage. People here do not even make an attempt to put rubbish in a bin it is just dropped where you are.

For me, it gives the appearance that no one cares and with a little bit of effort it could look nice all the time.

This is not a major issue but with a tiny amount of effort it would change the way people perceived things.

Question 7

agr's question: "According to you, what would defile my soul?"

We chatted about our soul and spirit but eventually the real meaning of agr's question was "What is the most horrible thing I can do that God could not possibly forgive?"

When we reached this point it was clear to me that the thought was that we had to try and avoid doing things just in case we stumbled across something that was unforgivable. This is not a very helpful way to live - it is living in fear whereas God calls us to live a life of victory.

God's forgiveness is unconditional, I seek His forgiveness, repent and He forgives. God is in the forgiveness business, dispensing it with joy when we come to Him. That does not mean that we go through life doing what we like but instead our life is that journey of being Christ-like to those we meet.

So what happens if in this journey I stumble on this act that is unforgivable? Have I already committed it so my cause is lost?

It seems to me that I have a free will to do whatever I want so I can choose to seek forgiveness or I can reject God's forgiveness. Therefore for me the unforgivable thing is to reject God's offer of forgiveness. If I do that then there is nothing God can do about it as I have free will and He cannot forgive me unless I want to be forgiven.

Seeking God's forgiveness also means that I have to seek the forgiveness of those I have wronged. For me the God bit is so much easier than confessing to another person.