This audio narrative focuses on telling a story with just the audioscape. I wanted to work on a queer love story, and try to explore complex emotions and passage of time entirely through sound. I have tried to depict the whole journey of falling in love, the questioning and the innate disgust we are taught to have, the emotional struggle and the final resolution of their childhood love.
BRIEF STORY:
The narrative is about two girls who meet at a temple when they are young. It's in first person POV of the first girl, who stumbles upon the second singer girl, and stays, enamored by her voice.
She slowly describes to us their meeting, their growing friendship and comfort she derives from it, and how she eventually falls in love with the Singer.
At this point, she is unable to understand her feelings and desires, and feels guilt and disgust at how she has “such dirty feelings” for another from the same gender. She lights diyas and even prays, but she still confesses that she cares for the Singer despite her own inhibitions with her emotions.
Then one day, she moves away. She leaves without a word, running away from the Singer instead of facing her feelings and affections. We hear the passage of time as she moves from place to place- the train travel, the different cities, her office atmosphere, and the final auto ride.
Sitting in the auto as it passes by a temple, it reminds her of her first love again, something she now accepts and has grown to treasure as a memory.
AUDIO NARRATIVE:
SOUND SCRIPT:
A small temple ambience. Distant bells. A quick footstep as someone is walking fast. They pass different avenues of sound- children playing, people praying. Dance practice.
We hear her footsteps as they ring with the sound of payal (anklets) - it's a woman. (safe assumption here)
As she passes a turn, she hears soft singing.
The footsteps falter. Slower, cautious.
The singing sounds get closer.
Narration: I heard her before I ever laid eyes on her.
A creak of a heavy wooden door.
The singing stops abruptly.
Singer: Is someone there?
Narration: it was easy to give reasons.
The singing continues as narration starts again.
N: easier to stay and hear more of that voice.
Sounds shift, more temple, two girls laughing as they talk in different ambiences- showcasing that they are meeting more regularly and in different places as friendship is growing between them.
N: the simplest choice to stick around. Hear her laugh, and know I had caused it. Hear that voice say my name. To be there, remain, as the music goes on.
Sound switch. Slightly darker tone is being set. The music blends into something heavier.
N: the music still remained, but was tainted now by how I felt. Like guilty whispers in my ear. Like touches which shouldn't exist but remain like a burning imprint on your skin.
A match is struck, loud and clear, and it settles into a tense silence with music building up slowly. Match is blown out. Prayer bells in distant bg.
N: Disgust. Dismay. Different.
To want to scrub my skin until my bronze complexion was blood red and corpse gray. Just so I could stop feeling this way.
A choked sob. Devolving into full blown tears.
N :I still craved the warmth of that voice.
Breakdown crying fades out as we transition to temple ambience in the distance and sounds of train travel in the forefront.
N: I gave up on that music. I ran, like a coward. Never spoke, afraid of what would happen should the whispers ever leave with the wind.
Set of sounds to showcase time skip. Changing background ambiences. Starts fast and slowly settles into an office ambience. Shifting to a travelling auto. Temple ambience, slightly different, nearby in the background. It comes closer and moves away as the auto passes it.
N: The sweetest of dreams end without us finding out how. I close my eyes, and there she is, frozen in the last remnants of that dream, slipping through my memories like water through fingers.
The ambience shifts with music, throwback to her voice.
N: I held on to the whispers but left my traitorous heart back there, with the sound of her voice.
The text and voices are all original. All audios used have been sourced from open source websites.
This project was a part of SLA Sound Design module 2022.
