Last night, I had the honor of attending a Western classical (chamber) music performance by musicians from Europe, courtesy of my boss. Held in the Taj Hotel, this was a classy event attended by many famous faces in Lucknow. And me. (Look carefully.)
This is the first time any event like this has been held in Lucknow. The musicians played pieces by Schubert and Brahms, plus a medley encore. It was a stunning performance that transformed me to another place altogether – a place devoid of honking, temples, fireworks, and words. The music cut through all of the barriers in language and elicited in me feelings of serenity and utter calmness.
In spite of this, there were two things that made this a very Indian/Lucknow experience. The first is the back story behind the upright piano. Apparently the truck transporting the grand piano broke down, and they had no way of getting the piano to Lucknow. At the eleventh hour, a man offered up his brand new standing piano for use. Such is the story of misfortunes and accompanying generosity that pervade Indian society. Murphy’s Law is nowhere truer than in India; because this is so, there are usually people on standby that offer to help to alleviate the situation (whether solicited or not).To me, the second uniquely Indian aspect was the unrelenting paparazzi. The first piece was over halfway through before the photographers with their loud, professional cameras took a break from their snapping. A viola player joined for the second piece, and he was much less tolerant than the others. His angry glaring and scowling did not deter the photographer one bit. In response to the musician’s physical “no more” finger wag, the photographer turned his attention and loud snapping to the audience. But even that was only a temporary distraction, as the photographer was snapping at the stage again in five minutes.
These quirks make even a “Western” experience in Lucknow interesting, and add a unique charm to the city.
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you're famous! :)
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