Laxuman... a rising musician

October 13,2009
Laxuman might be my favorite kid to laugh with. His eyes twinkle like diamonds protruding out of mud while his grin rivals a banana! He’s the one who says “You know why, sister? Because of Gravity!” He also is an AMAZING guitarist, playing off of 12 lessons in which he learned fingerings. For a 14 year old kid, scratch that, for any age player, he’s really really gifted! And he has the patience and eagerness to teach me Nepali songs while I teach him English ones. This might be one of my most favorite activities!

Laxuman is the only boy in his family, and has 3 sisters- 2 older, 1 younger. I use the term family rather loosely... his sisters and mom are who he considers family. His father has at least one other wife, but Laxuman suspects that it’s more like many other wives. When I asked him about his dad, the glistening tears betrayed the strength he tried to hold onto. I could feel his pain in my own heart as he explained that his sisters and himself had never meant anything to his father; they didn’t even know where he was. He emphatically added that he will have ONE wife and care for his children!

When I asked more about his mom and sisters, his face lit back up. They’re all believers, and his two older sisters work here in Kathmandu. His younger sister is 5, so she still lives with his mom in Pokarah, a 7 hour bus ride away. In their village there’s a church of about 20 people from all around the area. When at home, Laxuman loves to teach guitar and drum lessons (did I mention he’s a phenomenal drummer?!) to people in the church. When I asked him if they paid for them, he looked at me in amazement and said, “Sister! They’re Christians! Why would I take money from them?!” And I just laughed and agreed. Here, the Christian family is more like what I would imagine it was like back in Acts. Most are poor, but their needs are all met. If you render a service to a brother/sister, then they’ll often pay you back with rice, guava, fruit, etc.

Laxuman wants to be a musician when he grows up, and he’ll get the guitar when I leave. He’s great about working with the other kids on guitar, but often he’ll go out on the roof and sit and play and sing for hours on end. He’s the only kid who’s allowed to keep the guitar overnight; he treasures it like a firstborn baby! Let me contrast it with his old guitar (which no longer is useable...): His old guitar has a hole in the back of it, it is electrical taped together in places, the bridge (I think that’s what it’s called?!) is made of paper he shaped to hold the strings in place, and some of the knobs for tuning the strings don’t work. Add to that the fact that since I’ve arrived the entire neck has pulled away from the body, leaving a 2 inch gap between the strings and the body of the guitar, and it definitely doesn’t work at all (sorry for those non-musicians reading this; those who know about guitar will appreciate the horrific state of this guitar!)! One day I expect to receive a CD in the mail of songs he’s recorded... In the meantime, I’ll just continue recording his songs with my camera!