The Composer

Life is going through a super fast mode right now with many new things happening daily to my otherwise mundane life. I am liking the changes but sometimes it scares me too.

Anyways, not going too much in my private life, I thought it is high time for a post. I realized recently looking at my last posts that I put up too many serious and boring stuff on my blog which not many people like to read. So, I thought of a more light post.

I have been living in Germany for more than 8 years now. Yes, I am also surprised on myself. But there are many new things I discovered after coming here and I feel good about them. Maybe, living in India with my IT job and stuck in a traffic jam mornings and evenings might not had given me enough time to explore the world, the way I like it. I might have made some money in India like my peers and then booked a Europe trip visiting all the touristy places, clicking cliched pictures at Eiffel Tower or Jungfrau and then posting them on Facebook. I might have never really absorbed the essence of those places, their cultures and their real lifestyle. Anyways, who am I to judge people.

Moving on to the post. Of many new things I explored after coming to Germany, one was the music of Beethoven. Honestly speaking, I had never knew about him living in India though there had been many incidences when I heard his music without knowing the composer and truly liked it. I had been brought up watching cartoons like Tom & Jerry, Popeye, Looney Tunes, Roadrunner etc. Many of these classic cartoons use classical music. Then, there are also many movies which have used classical movies over the years, specially Beethoven. I only got to know about the man behind those compositions after coming to Germany and staying close to Beethoven's birthplace in Bonn. I saw his museum, read about his history, experience his official music with the distinct symphonies he created. I got the opportunity to go and experience an Orchestra playing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Opera House in Bonn. It was a mind blowing experience for me.

What is so exceptional about Beethoven or what amazes me about him is that most of his famous work came out when his hearing capabilities were close to none. I mean how can you write music when you cannot hear it. I think this is an achievement in itself and what makes Beethoven so distinct. A movie which comes to my mind instantly when I talk about Beethoven is "Copying Beethoven". Though it is more closer to fiction than the real deal still I found the moving fascinating. I would definitely recommend it.

All this introduction was laid out to share a short video I made last time I attended the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. It was pretty cool to see light, sound and water synchronized to Beethoven's Symphonies being played in the night. It was an open air presentation bang right in the city center at Münsterplatz in front of Beethoven's statue. Here is the video:

P.S: I know the video snippet is more like a teaser but unfortunately I lost the bigger video.        

Bare Reality

I took this picture from the Reuters India website while reading news today. Here is the link to the full article.

Frankly speaking, I was yet again heartbroken. A kind of sadness overshadowed the joy of triumph I had after reading the article and seeing this picture. An Indian athlete performing at the highest International level for sports (for the disabled) with one bare feet and rubber slippers in the other. No shoes or spikes even for the right foot. I feel ashamed of myself. Not because of the athlete but for the Indian authorities for not even providing the basic and the minimum to a sports person even if he is disabled, for the society we are now living in the shiny India. I feel so guilty and disgusted at myself right now that I cannot explain it in words.

 

Some would argue that maybe it was the athlete's choice of being like that. Maybe he felt more comfortable without any fancy shoes. Maybe this is how he lives his daily life in India. Maybe that led to his triumph. I will bluntly reject all arguments and maybes thrown at me in defense of the authorities or even me. I can also give many maybes in reply.

Maybe, it would have been a gold instead of a silver with the shoes.

Maybe, the shoes would have increased the comfort level.

Maybe, his training over a longer period would have helped him.

Maybe, it simply looks more dignified.

Maybe, I am just over-exaggerating and blowing it out of context and proportion.

This picture bares it all for me and the world to see ... the double standard society that we have developed in the 'India Shining' era.

My heartiest congratulations to him for still achieving this feat beating all odds that laid in his path. May thy tribe increase!