19.4.09

There was a time when men were kind, And their voices were soft, And their words inviting...

...the very words have me crying tears, tears of shame and pride, as I watch a frumpy old lady take over a dais even amidst ridicule and mockery. To watch the audience look at her with contempt for even daring to come on and take part in a talent show, to witness the judges shake their heads with barely hidden contempt again. I mean so much of contempt.

And then she just sings the first line and you feel the hair on your arms stand out.

You must be wondering why I am reacting a tad bit late. I mean I guess it is several hours late! But you see, I have almost given up watching news AND reading news. So I am pretty cut off from all that is going on in the world except for when I happen to glance up at the giant plasma screens in the gym showing snippets of the news on CNN or NDTV, or of course when my colleagues happen to be discussing current events (and I happen not to have my ears plugged with my ipod headphones). I am pretty much insulated from the world at large. Not a good thing I know for one who is in the business of reporting. But hey, I write for lifestyle! Thank god for some mercies.

So it was only yesterday or the day before maybe (I am not so sure) that I watched CNN reports on singing sensation Susan Boyle. Initially I thought it was a spoof. And I kinda forgot about it. Tonight however as I finished watching a film and started surfing, I suddenly remembered. I keyed her name into YouTube.

And I couldn't stop the tears as I heard her beautiful voice pouring out the words I Dreamed a Dream. I felt incredibly proud of her at that moment.

Why do we almost always judge a book by its cover? I know I am guilty of it too many a time. So what if a person is frumpy or fat or ugly or not perfect looking? Does it really take away from her personality?

And how did Susan indeed answer that. I am overwhelmed.

11 comments:

SwB said...

So nice to see a post from you after so long. Missed you. I've heard of this lady Susan too, still gotta listen to her sing.

Hope you are fine A.

AB said...

SwB: :) You have to listen to her. And I didn't expect anyone to comment because it has been so long!

shesturningblue said...

Good Post. Fabulous Video.

mad angles said...

you'll be glad to know that i DID see her. also this young iranian kid. but tell me.. why is the world and their mother obsessed with britain's got talent? is it THAT much of a rarity in that country? btw.. aami blog kora shuru kore diyechi... bhishon miss korchi jinish takey. porish. that momentum has to be kept up

AB said...

shesturning blue: Hey thanks! A bit soppy I was after watching it, hence got quite carried. Still I am glad I watched it:-)

madangles: I am INDEED glad! Hmmpph. What prodding I had to do for that. No it is not about obssessing about Britain's Got Talent, but that lady man. I was checking the other day and was wondering. Great.I shall dropby:-)

mad angles said...

arre baba. aami toke bolchi na obsession-er kotha.. all of britain IS obsessing about it which is why; we don't behave like that about indian idol in india na

Ab said...

hmmmph... the net says 'i dreamed a dream made popular by susan boyle.....'

gosh.. its supposed to be one of the evergreen melodies nd iv had it on my player for like years... and like i said, its my first recommendation for a female solo.... and wen u hear 'made popular by...' u wonder wats wrong with th world....

AB said...

mad angles: I have been obssessing over Susan yes!:-)

avaran: Of course I will admit it I know it because of her. See maybe you did know about it, but many others like me didn't!:P

Arunima said...

"Why do we almost always judge a book by its cover? "

true!

dumb_ank said...

Why do we almost always judge a book by its cover? - guess because its easier...faster and convenient for us. we like to pass judgments, because judgments make us feel supreme to the one being judged, but we don't really want to put in thought, look deeper, so we judge by first impressions. it makes us feel more powerful, even though it degrades the thing / person being judged.
i guess thats why there is more criticism then praise in this world.

Anonymous said...

Hello there! This post couldn't be written much better! Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about this. I am going to forward this post to him. Fairly certain he's going to have a good read.
Thanks for sharing!

profit master