Life, Hope and Susan Boyle!
Kartik KJ
“I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life worth living…”
For those who don’t know the above two lines, these are the first two lines of the song that Susan Boyle chose to sing at Britains got Talent. For those who don’t know Susan Boyle, she is being seen as the messiah of hope and possibilities, after her grounded yet spellbinding performance at Britains talent based reality show. She walked in as an unassuming 47 year old, self proclaimed ‘never been kissed’ virgin and walked out to become an overnight celebrity (3Lakh youtube hits, if you may)
Back to the two lines…
The two most agreeable lines ever written, aren’t they?
Life, the puppeteer. It makes you swing, toss and fly at its will. And what happens then of that small dream, you once dreamed? Whatever it was – to be a writer, to be a teacher, to be a dancer, to be florist, to be a gardener, - it gets shot down in the socio-economic hoo-hah of living for your soul or for your status. We are trained to believe that a balance of both is a privilege of the destined few. Or so we are told.
But when the tiger roars at night, his voice soft as thunder, he stares into your soul, and asks you the most unforgiving of questions – are you happy with who you are, and what you are doing? While a 25 year old in an IT company, walks around in air conditioned offices, mastering the binary world, his soul wanders on the possibility of what it would have been, had he continued to play the guitar. And then, he waits to read his notice board, for that one annual event, where he can play his guitar and get the priciest of compliment – the applause at the end of his performance. He waits for another opportunity and sticks along, silently, only hoping to get those compliments again. His CV in the mean while, is an exhibit of his technical wizardry, an epitaph of the artist within, dying his natural death.
And along came Susan Boyle.
“What’s the dream,” questions Simon Cowell, fashioned as television’s most ruthless critic, thanks to his candid feedback and rare compliments.
“I want to be a professional Singer”, answers a polite Susan. Theres a murmur in the crowd, an almost dismissive grunt too.
“Why hasn’t it worked out so far?”
“I’ve never been given a chance before, but here’s hope things will change.”
“Who do want to be as famous as?” probes Simon, almost notoriously, for Susan exudes what has by now been understood (by reality TV viewers) as the ‘over confident air of an undertalented person”.
“Alaine Page.” The reply is candid and prompt. The audience is in splits. A 47 year old, trying to make it big? With the looks of an average countryside aunt, her audacity to drop names and share dreams, has now apetized viewers for a hearty laugh.
She nods at the comperes in the wings, the music begins, she smiles at the audience, raises the microphone and sings those two lines!
Goosebumps were never so visible. In the jaws the dropped, in the eyes that popped and in the audience which stood from the very first big note she hit, it was almost as if Susan Boyle was making a statement to that 25 year old IT professional and many many more like him – it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. No pun intended.
Boyle’s story is a modern day fairy tale. Add to it the contemporary elements of reality TV, youtube and facebook, and her global impact is almost Obamaisque. But just like in the case of Obama, this lady is endearing for the hope that she represents.
The last line of song, “Now life has killed the dream I dreamed” was perhaps the best way to summarize her life until the moment she took stage. But look what happened. And why did it happen?
Perhaps she didn’t let too many questions bother her. She didn’t give up.
How old are you? Will you bear being laughed at on stage? On television? Will you risk being a global joke, in times of youtube and twitter? Will you take a chance, just because you think you can dance, or sing or garden or whatever?
Doubt is the mother of denial. And denial, the beginning of victory of status over soul.
Dreams, like the sunrises, are there for you to see. You can always choose to rise early or comfort yourself by saying that at least you slept well. And just like the sunrise, dreams too can come to you everyday, if you ignore it, you can still get away by calling it a peaceful sleep.
“I have been waiting for this opportunity since I was 12”, she had said before her performance. From 12 to 47, she let tiger in her roar. And eventually, it was a deafening roar that had the world talking.
Susan’s story is a wake-up call, to everyone who has lived a dream in time gone by, for life can still be worth living. If just like Susan, you don’t let life kill the dream you dreamed!
Kartik KJ
“I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life worth living…”
For those who don’t know the above two lines, these are the first two lines of the song that Susan Boyle chose to sing at Britains got Talent. For those who don’t know Susan Boyle, she is being seen as the messiah of hope and possibilities, after her grounded yet spellbinding performance at Britains talent based reality show. She walked in as an unassuming 47 year old, self proclaimed ‘never been kissed’ virgin and walked out to become an overnight celebrity (3Lakh youtube hits, if you may)
Back to the two lines…
The two most agreeable lines ever written, aren’t they?
Life, the puppeteer. It makes you swing, toss and fly at its will. And what happens then of that small dream, you once dreamed? Whatever it was – to be a writer, to be a teacher, to be a dancer, to be florist, to be a gardener, - it gets shot down in the socio-economic hoo-hah of living for your soul or for your status. We are trained to believe that a balance of both is a privilege of the destined few. Or so we are told.
But when the tiger roars at night, his voice soft as thunder, he stares into your soul, and asks you the most unforgiving of questions – are you happy with who you are, and what you are doing? While a 25 year old in an IT company, walks around in air conditioned offices, mastering the binary world, his soul wanders on the possibility of what it would have been, had he continued to play the guitar. And then, he waits to read his notice board, for that one annual event, where he can play his guitar and get the priciest of compliment – the applause at the end of his performance. He waits for another opportunity and sticks along, silently, only hoping to get those compliments again. His CV in the mean while, is an exhibit of his technical wizardry, an epitaph of the artist within, dying his natural death.
And along came Susan Boyle.
“What’s the dream,” questions Simon Cowell, fashioned as television’s most ruthless critic, thanks to his candid feedback and rare compliments.
“I want to be a professional Singer”, answers a polite Susan. Theres a murmur in the crowd, an almost dismissive grunt too.
“Why hasn’t it worked out so far?”
“I’ve never been given a chance before, but here’s hope things will change.”
“Who do want to be as famous as?” probes Simon, almost notoriously, for Susan exudes what has by now been understood (by reality TV viewers) as the ‘over confident air of an undertalented person”.
“Alaine Page.” The reply is candid and prompt. The audience is in splits. A 47 year old, trying to make it big? With the looks of an average countryside aunt, her audacity to drop names and share dreams, has now apetized viewers for a hearty laugh.
She nods at the comperes in the wings, the music begins, she smiles at the audience, raises the microphone and sings those two lines!
Goosebumps were never so visible. In the jaws the dropped, in the eyes that popped and in the audience which stood from the very first big note she hit, it was almost as if Susan Boyle was making a statement to that 25 year old IT professional and many many more like him – it ain’t over until the fat lady sings. No pun intended.
Boyle’s story is a modern day fairy tale. Add to it the contemporary elements of reality TV, youtube and facebook, and her global impact is almost Obamaisque. But just like in the case of Obama, this lady is endearing for the hope that she represents.
The last line of song, “Now life has killed the dream I dreamed” was perhaps the best way to summarize her life until the moment she took stage. But look what happened. And why did it happen?
Perhaps she didn’t let too many questions bother her. She didn’t give up.
How old are you? Will you bear being laughed at on stage? On television? Will you risk being a global joke, in times of youtube and twitter? Will you take a chance, just because you think you can dance, or sing or garden or whatever?
Doubt is the mother of denial. And denial, the beginning of victory of status over soul.
Dreams, like the sunrises, are there for you to see. You can always choose to rise early or comfort yourself by saying that at least you slept well. And just like the sunrise, dreams too can come to you everyday, if you ignore it, you can still get away by calling it a peaceful sleep.
“I have been waiting for this opportunity since I was 12”, she had said before her performance. From 12 to 47, she let tiger in her roar. And eventually, it was a deafening roar that had the world talking.
Susan’s story is a wake-up call, to everyone who has lived a dream in time gone by, for life can still be worth living. If just like Susan, you don’t let life kill the dream you dreamed!
This is priceless...I hope we all can face our tigers bravely and one day come out of the self created confort zones. It is probably the fear which slowly takes the form of denial. Thanks for the heart touching post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Madhu.. For me Susan boyle and the song is an eternal beacon of hope and possibilities.. It is one of my fav videos which I watch again and again to inspire myself from time to time.
ReplyDelete