I never thought learning to sing would feel like baring my soul, but that's exactly what it felt like in his presence. From the moment I stepped into his studio-cum-singing coaching room, I knew this wasn't going to be just a lesson... not in the conventional sense, anyway. His name was Chandrajit Ganguly, Chandra in short. he was older than me, perhaps in his late thirties, with a presence that seemed to fill the room before he even spoke. His voice, deep and resonant, carried a warmth... not any warmth, but that sort of warmth that would make your skin tingle.

The first time he corrected my posture when I was sitting with the tanpura, his hands pressing my shoulders back, I felt a jolt... not from his touch exactly, but from the intensity of being seen. "Your voice comes from your whole body," he had said, his words brushing past my ear like a secret. " You cannot hide from it."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to hide or step closer.

Over weeks, our...