The Music Competition

A talent search competition was being conducted by a music company for young budding singers. Twenty two entries had been selected from the hundreds of entries received. The contestants had sung in front of three eminent judges; men who had made a name for themselves in the world of music. The first round being one of elimination brought the number down to ten.

The second round, started with bated breaths and pounding hearts. All the young participants put forward their best. It was a rare honour to get a chance to sing on this platform, in front of such a voluminous audience and in the midst of so much talent. At the end of the second round, only five contestants were short-listed. Those that did not make it, wept openly, for they could not hold back the tears of disappointment.

The lucky five sang in the final round. Soon the singing part was over. There was a thunderous applause from the audience. The crowd was going berserk with enthusiasm. The singers had excelled. They had the audience literally dancing to their tunes.

It was time for the final verdict. The first judge called one of contestants, Meera, centre-stage and said to her, “I wonder what prompted you to choose such a difficult composition to sing. You have sung it terribly! I cannot even count the number of mistakes you have made. You youngsters think that by singing a few numbers here and there you can become singers of repute. Let me tell you, you have to practice day and night. You have to train under the grand maestros. Come out of your Utopia.” He went on to sing a line from the same song to show this bewildered contestant, just how it should have been sung. Tears streamed down the girls cheeks. She fought to hold them back, but her eyelids were not strong enough to hold in control the flood of emotions that besieged her.

The mike was passed on to the second judge. He said, “Well, young lady, you were brave to have chosen that song. But you have a lot to learn yet. You need to train for longer hours. But don’t worry; you can make it if you practice consistently. Good luck to you.”

It was the turn of the third judge to speak now. He said, “First of all young lady I wish to congratulate you for having reached the final round, having proved your mettle in such a sea of talent. You have immense potential in you; you just need to garner it right. Do you think that people like us who have made a name in the world of music are any different from you? No, we are also like you; the only difference is that you are yet to become famous. Lady luck shall surely smile on you if you continue to persevere. Don’t give up. In this field, one is always a learner; even we are still learning. The road is tough but it’s not impossible to conquer. I wish you luck. You have my blessings, be happy.”

The rest of the contestants went through their turns of listening to the opinions of the judges on their respective performances. What struck the audience was not the final result, but the attitude of the judges. As the audience walked out of the auditorium, a few were discussing the participants and the results. Do you know what most of them were discussing? They were discussing who the best judge was!

Encouragement and appreciation are tonics that are always in short supply.
It is not the critic who is important. Important are those who have had the guts to enter the arena. There is no greatness in pointing out where and how great men stumbled. For not all people have the guts to try; make mistakes and then get up and try again! A winner is one who after a long journey of sweat and perspiration has the strength to make it to the end. Even if he fails, at least he has had the experience of the journey. He has had the spirit of adventure. He has had the strength to submit himself to a verdict of success or failure.

Life they say is a rocky road. The challenge is to let it not grind you into dust, but polish you into a brilliant gem!