This is very cool!

There is nothing to not love about him. Who says physicists are dull?

December 17, 2018

Yesterday, had the privilege of attending an opera, one by the greatest composers of all time, Wolfgang, his last. It was beautiful, the setting, the music and the execution. Delightful. Made me get out of my seat again and again for I couldn’t stay still in the ecstasy of the experience. The story in itself is woven around a couple in love, and their eventual journey to overcome the ordeals of a union, to face their family, to conquer death together. Enlightened and united, they are initiated into the temple of wisdom, ruled over by Osiris and Isis. Here’s a short synopsis.

I knew about the act that involved an Aria by the Queen of the night, even before I went in. I was looking forward to it and wasn’t disappointed. It enraptures one and leaves you speechless in its highest tempo and emotions conveyed.

The Queen is persuading her daughter to not join her mortal enemy Sarastro or fall in love with prince Tamino who has become part of Sarastro’s wisdom clan. A translation of the conversation by the Queen is below.

The vengeance of Hell boils in my heart,
Death and despair flame about me!
If Sarastro does not through you feel
The pain of death,
Then you will be my daughter nevermore.
Disowned may you be forever,
Abandoned may you be forever,
Destroyed be forever
All the bonds of nature,
If not through you
Sarastro becomes pale! (as death)
Hear, Gods of Revenge,
Hear a mother’s oath!

Sublime. Such intensity and passion in music. And the F’s flailing about and the Queen delivering her emotion with depth that only an opera well written can showcase.

A heart bulges with emotions, of something familiar, with music scales rising and falling, a story one can understand, an aspiration binds two far away souls to connect and conquer even death on the quest for wisdom. I wish a magic flute would present itself to me, to make everyone merry and burn away thoughts sombre.

A great cast and a wonderful performance. I’m very glad that I didn’t miss it.

Cutting through the morose of every day life, without the beauty of art or music, Life would bear very less excitement. No matter how many crutches we might use, it still cannot elate as a beautiful piece of music could. You have your favorites. And it differs from person to person. I have many but still always come back to Devasabhathalam. It is beautiful in its tempo, tune, lyrics and mood. It elates. It brings one up even when depressed. It fulfills when Life seems empty. It provides meaning.

You might not feel the same. But I could care very less. Maybe the Eminem song released yesterday might titillate you in a similar way. And that is precisely the point. If I were to die today, I will like to hear the last 3 minutes of this song in my head before I pass away peacefully. And that defines greatness in music.

Amongst many weaknesses in my short life, my obsession in music is still unsurpassed. I’d give up everything in my mind except the music because that is the only good thing that keeps me sane during the oddities and the twists that life throws at me. Good music elates, excites and brings out the best of moods in me. And I unwittingly do fall in love with the musician responsible for the beautiful feeling. The infactuation is even more appealing when the creator is pretty too.

That is just intense and heavenly. Makes me want to learn piano more than ever. Comes very close to my love for guitar and Satriani. May be, when I start working in Chicago, I’ll have enough time and resource to learn both properly… And again, time decides. What an endless cycle …

Mozart. Amadeus. Wolfgang. Beautiful. Today was his birthday apparently and I found out just before the day was over. The coincidence is that I was listening to classical pieces all day long while doing my work and lingered around the works by Mozart for no apparent reason.

May be it was the only thing that was soothing, the wreck of a mind, in confusion and anxiety of the upcoming deadline. I do not know.

But when I found out about the coincidence, the reason for my sanity still being intact today, a serene feeling of appreciation fills me. Next time I have a drink, will toast a much belated one to him.

I’ve hummed along to the beat of this song by Wolfmother so many times but just listened to the lyrics and found them graceful and beautiful. Here’s the full lyrics for the song.

When the time is right and the night is bright
We will see the things we’ve come to find
I’ve been searching for just a little more
but the days girl just slip away
And the red sunset that we just met
I can see forever

Come and see the mind’s eye
We can find it if we try
Come and see the mind’s eye
Transfixed upon the why
Come and see the mind’s eye
We can find it if we try

Well they say it’s right if it feels alright
When your love burns up in the mire
So I burnt a fire for a lost desire
See it burning higher

Come and see the mind’s eye
We can find it if we try
Come and see the mind’s eye
Transfixed upon the why
Come and see the mind’s eye
We can find it if we try

I’ve got to admit, there is some nice word play and poetry in there. Subtle and elegant.

Stunning visualization with a very serene background music, presenting an abstract video, depicting fluidity of solids, fractal imagery in nature, patterns in chaos and the twin similarity of the micro/macro worlds. I have rambled enough. Now watch.

Steel Life by Mathieu Gérard.

Original link via Fubiz.

“Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unf#urled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

****

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There’s a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
go down this road we’ve been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever”

— Floyd

There are so many things that feels absolutely right about this song. This is one of those things that gets me right back on my feet no matter how elated or depressed i feel.

This is something that has touched me so deep,
I cannot escape the inevitability of the meaning of the song.
Why ? You ask. Cant you see the beauty unravelled ?
Doth not need to fly in the sky to decipher
Such simplistic meaning of Life, even in obvious delusion.