Battle of Bands- An Experience of a Lifetime
Rhea Dharamshi
Greetings, I’m Rhea Dharamshi, from the HDFC School Pune’s band ‘Higher Dimensions’ and as a part of the school band we got the grand opportunity to participate in Torrins’ all India Battle of Bands competition. We started out as a couple of solitary musicians, loving our instruments but finding something missing. The thrill, the excitement- we were yet to discover those things. That’s when Torrin’s Battle of the Bands entered the scene. We formed a band, completely unaware of what was to come. At first our only goal was the regionals. We didn’t know whether we were capable or worthy of aspiring for anything beyond that, but as all movie plots go, we were proven wrong :). We exceeded our own expectations, and stood second at the regionals. But unfortunately, with all those talented bands, our victory wasn’t quite enough to get us to the Finals.
However, life often gives us second chances, disguised as seemingly plain things. We were chosen to participate in an elimination round, that would give us one last chance to enter the finals. Our hopes weren’t too high considering all the top-notch bands that we knew we would have to compete with, but that did not deter us from giving it our best. At that moment, our motivation was standing on that stage, the audience, and the thrill that we were missing earlier. That was more than enough to keep us going despite facing challenges like lack of time. As fate would have it, we cleared that round too! This was it, the finals. Only the top 14 bands across India made it, and we were one of them. The feeling was surreal.
The day of the finals was not a bed of roses, the movie plot-like theme continued, and it rained right when we were about to perform. A little shaken up, we all got back on stage, but the moment we tuned on to our first song, everything felt right again, and nothing else mattered. The audience that was in thousands, the flashing lights, the fact that our performance was being broadcasted-none of it mattered. We performed well and there was a huge round of applause.
However once the performance ended, we all collectively realized something. Although the finals was what seemed to be our greatest dream, our happiest moments were the small, seemingly unimportant ones- The practice sessions, the jokes, the new friends and the bond we all shared were the true happiness. On behalf of my band, I’d like to thank, my school and Torrins for giving us this platform, an experience we’ll never forget, and of course, our teachers Akshay sir, Devika ma’am and Eben sir, for all their hard work, dedication and faith in us. Here’s hoping we have many such opportunities in the future.
