Saturday, March 28, 2009

Surprise Banjo lesson


Surprise Banjo lesson

As usual school proctors had to attend a briefing from the teachers for important event ahead. 
The briefing was in the school auditorium, which was newly built. I remember the days when the only the skeleton of auditorium was ready. It was all concrete pillars with steel running all around.
It was considered to be major feat, if any guy could scale pillar on one side of the wall,
walk through the steel structure and get down from other end of the hall.  I also achieved this feat, but it scared the hell out of me. The reason being the roof of the hall was more than 20 feets
away from floor and walking 20 feets above the ground on steel rods for person with acrophobia is a big deal.


A variant of banjo was kept on a table, this one you play like piano but you also pluck the strings using a plectrum. I was trying my hand at the instrument and it was nothing but a mixture of cacophonies. 

She comes to me with her alluring smile. I have never seen her without that extremely pleasant facial expression. She offered a lesson of few notes. I was elated, as for the first time I was so close to her. I watched her play the instrument from behind.  I don’t know what note she played or whether it was all together a note, but for me it sounded nothing less than Beethoven’s fifth symphony.

When I was at the Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthplace, somehow it reminded me my banjo lesson.
 
My name is there in the "Hall of fame" list in that very auditorium, which says I have won an academic battle. But there is also a list which says that I have lost a war. Although it is not displayed anywhere.

I wish I had taken some musical lessons from my from my musical maestro friend, he played almost all the instruments which were available around us at that time. He would play a bollywood number on tabla with ease or play a soothing composition on flute. He represented school, on musical competitions with his banjo, electronic keyboard, flute or tabla and won accolades.

May be if i had understood and tuned my musical notes then these lines of vestige wouldn’t have existed.

I have woken up from a wonderful dream. A beautiful dream as if it was painted by the hands of God. 

To Almighty -->
"I want to dream again."

To her -->
"No matter how much you loath me, I will be awake and waiting in this infinite cold."



Watch Austrian orchestra and opera conductor Herbert von Karajan perform Beethoven Symphony No. 5 , Allegro con brio and Andante con moto. 
The first and the second movement respectively.
 




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