Dear Prateek,
They say you are a phase and you will pass. Maybe they are right, maybe they aren’t.
For me; however, that doesn’t matter. You write songs, you give them a simple melody, you touch hearts- mine you did, a couple of years ago.
One horrific afternoon at work, dejected, I gave up on my assignment at hand and started Youtube-ing Indie Musicians. I remember listening to ‘Madeleine’ by Chayan & Smiti, Youtube decided to play ‘100 words’ next.
Pleasantly surprised I went back to check who it was by because it really lifted my spirits. And there you were. This super simple, shy guy sitting in a pretty café singing this song. As fate may have it, I ended up listening to all of your songs that afternoon and you made it to the top of my ‘go-to’ musicians list.
That day I decided to message you on Instagram- People hadn’t discovered you quite as much yet and I was secretly very happy. I could have you just to myself before fame hit you (in my head, of course). And to my utter happiness, you replied to me! I remember telling you that I want to quit my job and move to the mountains and you saying ‘Good on you! Fuck them corporates!’.
Guess what, Prateek, I did quit my job and I did ‘Fuck them corporates’ and I am moving to the mountains soon.
Well, I wouldn’t go all out and be dramatic and say ‘It was all because of you’. But I will surely say that your words and your songs made me realize what I really wanted. They made me want to look out for myself. Your melodies helped me snap out of my unhappy-phases and made me realize that it doesn’t have to be so hard.
Your music and songs make me feel like they were written just for me and I bet a lot of us feel that way.
I saw you live in Bangalore a couple of weeks ago and I realized that I wouldn’t want to see you amidst a crowd like that again- You were amazing, no doubt. But it’s hard for me not to be a little selfish about your music (it is what it is). I’ve always struggled to share things that are close to my heart- Like, for example, your music.
Your music is like a strong cup of Pour-Over on a beautiful rainy day, thick hot chocolate when it snows outside and a refreshing glass of Pinacolada when the sun is shining bright and loud outside. These are some moments that I wouldn’t want to share with too many people. I would want to listen to you amidst stars, trees, peace, and quiet. I do wish I get to hear you live without microphones and amplifiers.. Without shouting people and loudspeakers.
You speak to me, you speak to a lot of us. I am not the only one who loves what you do, the way I do.
But I am one of the many, whose lives you touched and I will be forever grateful.
Music is something that teleports everybody to a different world. If it doesn’t, it only means one isn’t listening to the right kind of music- I mean it purely subjectively. Everybody needs to find their music, their solace, something that they can run back to in sickness and in despair- and luckily enough I found mine, I found you.
You are right, we’re all looking for someone to be at ease with- your music is that someone for me.
Thank you for making my world a happier place.
Warm hugs and tonnes of smiles from just another fan-girl,
Rucha
Rucha Deshpande 