Monday, June 26, 2006
Something on busking from a day in my Life (from some years ago)
After reading a feature article in I.S. Magazine (Singapore) yesterday on the state of busking, and how so "sadly" our buskers are not "professional", or earning well, I decided to dig up and share below some paragraphs from an article I wrote almost 10 years back in Paris, which presents my views on busking.
"I was in the metro tonight, and all of a sudden, I heard some Mexican or should it be Brazilian music; that I'm not too sure, coming on and off. I ignored it as I thought it was a couple of jeunes banlieusards (french for "suburban youngsters") playinga fool with their mini stereo or something like that. Then, I noticed this man standing in front with his back facing me. He had a curtain-like thing hung between the poles in the cabin. Then he took out this speedy-Gonzales lookalike puppet and blasted the music that I heard a while ago. Gonzales then appeared "on stage" with his puppeteer behind the curtain, performing his famous piece. That caught the attention of everybody in the metro. In fact, not only did it catch our attention, it actually brought smiles on all the lovely faces. This was indeed a rare sight.
Usually, when you take the metro, all you see is a bunch of visages (french for "faces"), either stuck in their books or simply sitting there, looking into the nothing ahead. The only laughter would come from people chatting with their friends. Hence, what I saw tonight simply brought upon a revelation; of how simple things like these in life bring about a smile. Un sourire. (french for "smile) We might want to ask ourselves, why don't we see this sort of performances (which by the way reminds one of ballad singers and other street performances from olden times) in Singapore, where all is well and the government trying to cultivate culture in the people, and so on and so forth. Explanation?
Now, here's the irony, do you think that his SDF ("San Domicile Fixe" french acronym for No Fixed Home" or in plain English, "homeless"), would have been able to, or would have resorted to bringing smiles to our lovely visages if the French economy was in any better state? Big question mark? The answer is probably no. What does this mean then? Does this mean that we should all pray for a bad economy in order to enjoy such little things in life? Certainly not. What it does signify though is that we, city dwellers, be it Singaporeans, or Parisians, should learn to step back from time to time. We should look at the little things in life, even if they seem childish...."
"I was in the metro tonight, and all of a sudden, I heard some Mexican or should it be Brazilian music; that I'm not too sure, coming on and off. I ignored it as I thought it was a couple of jeunes banlieusards (french for "suburban youngsters") playinga fool with their mini stereo or something like that. Then, I noticed this man standing in front with his back facing me. He had a curtain-like thing hung between the poles in the cabin. Then he took out this speedy-Gonzales lookalike puppet and blasted the music that I heard a while ago. Gonzales then appeared "on stage" with his puppeteer behind the curtain, performing his famous piece. That caught the attention of everybody in the metro. In fact, not only did it catch our attention, it actually brought smiles on all the lovely faces. This was indeed a rare sight.
Usually, when you take the metro, all you see is a bunch of visages (french for "faces"), either stuck in their books or simply sitting there, looking into the nothing ahead. The only laughter would come from people chatting with their friends. Hence, what I saw tonight simply brought upon a revelation; of how simple things like these in life bring about a smile. Un sourire. (french for "smile) We might want to ask ourselves, why don't we see this sort of performances (which by the way reminds one of ballad singers and other street performances from olden times) in Singapore, where all is well and the government trying to cultivate culture in the people, and so on and so forth. Explanation?
Now, here's the irony, do you think that his SDF ("San Domicile Fixe" french acronym for No Fixed Home" or in plain English, "homeless"), would have been able to, or would have resorted to bringing smiles to our lovely visages if the French economy was in any better state? Big question mark? The answer is probably no. What does this mean then? Does this mean that we should all pray for a bad economy in order to enjoy such little things in life? Certainly not. What it does signify though is that we, city dwellers, be it Singaporeans, or Parisians, should learn to step back from time to time. We should look at the little things in life, even if they seem childish...."
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