In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in
2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45
minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the
station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a
middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed
his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet
his schedule.
About 4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the
hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.
A 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at
his watch and started to walk again.
At 10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.
The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed
hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time.
This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent —
without exception — forced their children to move on quickly.
At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened
for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their
normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.
After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one
applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the
greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate
pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days
earlier, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats
averaged over $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.
This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C.
Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social
experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.
This experiment raised several questions:
· In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we
perceive beauty?
· If so, do we stop to appreciate it?
· Are we able to recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best
musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written,
with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .
How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?
Enjoy life NOW . . . it has an expiry date!
Among the 6 who stopped for a while to listen the majority were
children, we have lost that child-like attitude of appreciating the
good, if it was a fight or something negative, a lot more adults would
have stopped.
Courtesy: Gopalan V
