In this first-person account facilitated by Nishtha Kawrani and narrated to The Better India, Shubhangi Bajpai remembers her father, whose greatest passion in life was music and how he sacrificed his own dreams to support the family but never allowed his passion to die.

For most people, my father, Ashok Bajpai, was a government employee. To me, he was the person behind many of my earliest memories of music.

Before responsibilities took over, my father was part of a local orchestra in Varanasi. Along with a group of friends, he performed at local events and functions. One of his close friends played the banjo, and music brought them together for years. He loved singing and looked forward to every opportunity he got to perform.

After my grandfather passed away, things changed for him.

As the only one eligible, my father took up a government job to support the family at the age of 24, as my uncle was still studying. He never got the chance to continue his studies the way he wanted to, and whatever plans he may have had for music had to take a back seat.

Even after that, music remained a part of his life.

The dream that stayed, even when life moved on

I grew up listening to old Hindi songs at home. Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Manna Dey were among his favourites. Songs like........

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