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As we rush through life!

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. About 3 minutes: The violinist received his first dollar.  A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk. At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously.  Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.  About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace.  The man collected a total of $32.  After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over.  No one noticed and no one applauded.  There was no recognition at all. No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.  He played one of the most intricate pieces eve

A blank sheet of paper!



In busy office hours; amidst humming and buzzing noises; I got lost seeing an extra piece of white sheet in that sheaf of reports!   I was about to check; that was urgent.  My mind focused on memory; how long it was I wrote a letter or anything on paper! Could not recollect exactly. The last letter I must have written to my mother who departed in 2003. But obviously it was much earlier to her settling to ‘rest in peace’ forever. The white sheet tempted me to write anything that comes in my mind as I used to long ago; long after I wrote last!

Gone are the days of letters. Email and SMS replaced and outdated them almost totally; ever since computer permeated to our offices first and then our households. I am not sure how the word ‘love letter’ sounds to young generations! My heart still throbs faster when I remember writing or receiving my first one! I held the pen again though not sure enough what to write about!
Received a jolt finishing the very first sentence! The culprit is Microsoft. I realized that Microsoft’s word robed me of my minimum knowledge of spellings that I learnt more than half century ago! I was confused about the spellings of simple words. Neither had I had a dictionary handy for reference. The only recourse was computer again; I opened Microsoft’s words to check. But proceeding further became cumbersome; every time I had doubt on spelling; had to go for MS words again and again. Felt really it’s monotonous; so aborted my venture.

I felt; perhaps I have started realizing the philosophy of Karl Marx; capital replaces labors; further it robs even basic knowledge!


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