The first
time I saw a musical keyboard was probably in 1990-91, when I’d just started
going to college, in Lucknow. There was this one time when I’d gone to my friend Shobhit’s
house and there, for the first time, saw a small, compact Casio keyboard and
immediately liked it very much. With all its lights, buttons, switches and
fancy sounds, the little Casio looked quite cool and I absolutely loved it
right away. I think that keyboard belonged to one of Shobhit’s elder brothers
and I assumed it might be fairly expensive. So, while I wished I could have one
too, I didn’t really imagine I’d be getting one anytime soon.
However, I soon got lucky beyond my wildest dreams. A few days after seeing that
Casio keyboard at Shobhit’s house, I mentioned the whole thing to one of my
best friends, Manish, and told him about how fascinated I was with that Casio
and how I wished I could have one, so I could learn to play. Immediately, he
said he had one too – his father had got one for him from the US – and that since he
wasn’t really very keen on playing music, I could have it for as long
as I wanted! The next time Manish came to my place – I was living with my
grandparents at that time, since my father had been transferred to Bareilly and
my parents had moved there – he got his keyboard along with him and handed it
to me. I have to admit, I was very, very happy! This was also a small, compact
keyboard, white, and every bit as cool as the one I’d seen at Shobhit’s house.
However, I don’t remember if it was a Casio or a Yamaha – this was 35 years ago
after all – but I think it may have been a Yamaha keyboard.