My limitations have never stopped me from chasing my dreams

Vaikom Vijayalakshmi is all smiles as she talks to us about a long cherished dream which she achieved on Sunday. The singer and instrumentalist set a new world record by playing the maximum number of songs on a single string musical instrument, the Gayathri Veena, in the shortest possible time.
Yes, she is suffering from minor ailments, the aftereffect of performing 69 songs in five hours! “The performance has left me with a bad back pain.My hands are aching as well, but that’s okay! This pain is sweeter as I managed to achieve something which I had long desired for,” she says. Though she managed to enter the record books when the 51st song was completed in the third hour, she went on till the 69th song. Among them were various classical, devotional and film songs.
So, what prompted her to set this record? “The idea struck met soon after my marriage was fixed. It was my parents, teacher and friends who suggested it. Why not give it a try, I thought,” she says. The singer, however, had made no prior preparations to perform the feat. “I had an idea about the songs I would be performing, that’s all. My renditions for concerts on a daily basis became my practice sessions for the record attempt,” she says.
Vijayalakshmi, who had recently called off her engagement, says the decision gave her more energy to perform. “I had set my eyes on the record ever since the proposal came by but I lost my peace of mind soon after. I couldn’t even play the veena for months. Whenever I tried to play it, I would feel like crying thinking of how I would have to give it all up post marriage! The thought itself shattered me. After breaking off the engagement, I got renewed energy and went ahead with the attempt. No limitation of mine should affect my relationship with music, I felt. I became more determined than ever and managed to succeed,” she divulges.
The Katte Katte singer asserts that no stumbling block in life should hinder one from achieving his or her dreams. “I am visually impaired but I love music. I worked hard, tried to be different and gave my life to music. It gave me much more than what I imagined, in return. Hard work, determination and passion will take you places. Aim for the stars and you will reach the sky, they used to say. But today I feel, ‘Aim for the sky and you will reach the moon instead,” she says.