So what if I can’t spot Joshua Bell? So what?

First read this short story:

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurriedly, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist.

Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the top musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written,with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito at the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty?

Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experiment could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

TRUE STORY !!!

This is the Video:

And now, this is my personal “Rodinhood” take.

– A lot of people are ‘sighing’ and feeling bad that ‘we’ as a human race have forgotten to ‘stop’, look back, appreciate things, etc.

I say NONSENSE. The Human Race is far more evolved emotionally and sensitively than a few hundred years back when we were killing and looting and raping each other. (This point was brilliantly brought out by some French Author at the recent Jaipur festival. If someone finds a link, please post the same).

– Now the point about spotting hidden musicians like Joshua Bell in the Metro:

That’s not what we are at the Metro Station to do! I can imagine spotting George Clooney or Harry Belle because of their popularity (even they are tough to recognize in plain clothes), but not Joshua Bell!

Commuters are busy. They have a schedule! I say even if Joshua Bell wore a Tuxedo and had a stage and announcing who he was, he would have got scant attention!

As an evolved race, we PLAN our days. We have a quality of life to live which includes GOING TO a concert of Joshua Bell at 7 pm at the Opera House and paying 100$ for that performance. That’s part of my schedule! I earn in the day and spend in my leisure!

We are not cows grazing in the fields who suddenly spot a greener pasture and casually walk towards it and then spend the rest of the week there!

I believe that all these social scientists in an attempt to PROVE themselves are expecting unnatural behavior from the human species. How many of them go and swim in the Ocean at 11 am on a Monday? I mean the dolphins there are also ‘waiting’ to be swum with!

– Hearing and recognizing talent

Let me assure you, that it’s NOT NORMALLY human to recognize genius so with a Naked ear. In the movie Mozart, only Salieri could recognize who Mozart really was – till he became a full blown celebrity.

I’ve heard Mstislav Rostropovich playing his Stradivarius and Itzhak Perlman play live at the NCPA & Jamshed Bhabha Auditoriums. They were playing really complex pieces, and let me assure you that as someone going to concerts for the past 26 years, it was not easy to understand the beauty of their music easily. It took silence, contemplation, dedication and a brochure to slowly appreciate what they were unravelling.

That’s NOT POSSIBLE at a Metro Station!

[A Mini Story: Rostropovich plays a legendary Stradivarius that rumor says has Emperor Napolean’s spur marks on it. When Rostropovich landed in Mumbai to play with this Stradivarius (this was circa 1988), the customs duty fellow asked him, “How much does this instrument cost?” Rostropovich replied, “A few millon dollars!” The moron Customs officer wanted to impose CRORES of import duty on the instrument! The rumor mill again goes that Ratan Tata himself rushed to the Airport to save Rostropovich and the Stradivarius from going back. Read about the Stradivarius here ]

Coming back to Joshua Bell – when I am at the metro station, I can’t be expected to listen to complicated musical compositions and recognize them! Play me drums, percussion, etc and at least I will sway as I pass by. Complex pieces require time and attention – not the business of a station and the rattling of trains!

In short, the lesson I believe of this much hyped story is, that as we Humans feel guilty of life’s fast pace and keep inventing nice, powerful plots to expose the same. Social Scientists deliver on these plots and execute them for a living.

Each morning, I don’t wake up in a cave. I don’t kill a boar to eat. I don’t wear a loin cloth. I don’t make fire with sticks. I don’t see the moon and go crazy.

So what if I can’t spot Joshua Bell??

I can always go and hear him when I want to and enjoy him at my own pace and time!!!!

******

Note added on 8th Feb 2012:

After posting this article, I received some feedback on my wall about ‘the real intent’ of the experiment – if indeed the Washington Post Journalist’s intent was what was hinted to in the story floating around.

So, I asked him ! And this is what he wrote back:

From: Gene Weingarten <weingarten@washpost.com>