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Geek at Peak
June 14, 2008
At first he wore the badge proudly, even defiantly. ‘I am computer-illiterate. So what?’ he dared. Her juvenile attempts though never flagged even when he dismissed her with, 'Magaa, you go back to your studies. I have other chores to attend to.' ‘What chores?’ the young girl cried. ‘Oh, loads of things’, he said, ‘Letters need to be dropped off at the post-office, fresh veggies are required for the kitchen, and there’s much catching up to do in the library reading room, the stock market’s gone completely crazy!’ About then she went, ‘GRRRRrrrr!’ and quickly recomposed herself, ‘Exactly! You can do all that on the net. You can get all the samachar you want.’ Warming up, shifting gears, she continued, ‘The computer has all the stock news and, you know, you can order grocery on it?’ He cut the ‘chit-of-a-girl’ short with a dismissive, ‘Sweet-heart, I-don’t-have-time-for-that-now. Don’t you know I tee-off at 2.’ Instead of blowing caskets, she rolled her eyes. Then she looked at his desk, at the latest lab report with some concern, and to his ‘wasted’ present, a high funda laptop, with wireless protocol no less.
The machine’s moment finally came on a morning when the first rains, mungaru male, swept town. Putting aside books, rubbing palms, she hopped to it. The stubborn old geezer will get his computer education. ‘Geek he’ll become’, she exulted. When she reached the computer room, she found him at the window, looking out at the monsoons coming in buckets. He seemed forlorn, sad. Was he missing his mid-day home chores? Was he missing his afternoon golf? Or was he dreading seeing his doctor? He sighted her, and seeing little escape from the gloomy setting, he told the bubbly teenager, ‘Okay, magaa, You win’. Soon, perched on the computer chair he was eye-balling a glass apple on the screen. Lips pale, hands atremble, terror in eyes. Instead of being mistress of the domain, she humbled herself, ‘Gramps, Don’t be afraid. The machine will do exactly what you want it to.’
That was years ago. As the girl sat in Cupertino with the breeze coming in through the window, she looked again at the monitor, with a smile. It wasn’t the joke about golf and Alzheimer that did it. Neither was it because of the pictures of the new Bangalore International Airport and the Vayu Vajras nor the wonderful recipe for spicy bisi-bele bath he had sent. It was the software request. From a four score something mind, voyaging through strange seas, a geek at peak.
Where ‘rock star’ David is mobbed daily
jul 08, 2008
To visit Florence is to visit human creativity at its best. In the 1200s, enormous wealth was created by skillfully managing the wool trade. This business led to financial restructuring. An innovative accounting and banking system resulted bringing in its wake double-entry book keeping, bills of exchange, insurance and a new monetary standard for much of Europe: Florin, a gold coin. Besides, facilitating the wheels of business to run smoothly, the big money flowed into state and church activities, and the development of the arts.
As a result, in a short span of 200 years beginning end 13th century, art flourished and blossomed into a series of stunning and timeless drawings, paintings, sculpture, and structures all in a cityscape that has few parallels in history. This amazing body of art and architecture -- each work surpassing the other in eye-popping beauty and detail, continues to draw visitors in large numbers to make Florence the world's leading tourist destination.
Recently we joined the long line of visitors to experience the city’s artistic and cultural richness. Expectedly, we were over-awed by the occasion, the heritage pieces and its energetic Tuscan charm.
The city’s hoary past goes back to Julius Caeser. In 59 BC, he established the place as a cantonment for his war weary veterans. The military connection keeps popping up too in the most unexpected places and events. The violent Gioco di Calcio or Historic Soccer, for instance, rewinds to good old amphitheatre times. Beefy men in medieval costumes, slug it out on a wet grassy mud pitch in Piazza di Santa Croce, to score a goal. After the mud-splattered battle, the victors -- liberally laden with Band-aids, plaster and mercurochrome, claim their prize. Amidst a flourish of trumpets and lusty cheer of spectators, they are handed a whole calf. That’s the signal for a massive Bacchanalian bash. Residents and visitors alike fling themselves into it. Fireworks light the evening sky over the river. The merry-making ends hours later with the mayor calling people to prayer, to remember city's patron saint, John the Baptist.
If this annual event is not covered in picture postcards, there are other nuggets to claim printer's ink.
In late 16th century, connoisseurs of fine art with their fascination for antiquity smuggled in ancient Greek drama. The producers sensing a need for popular fare, injected generous dollops of comic theatre, music, and dance to enliven the somber drama. 'Common folk' took to the diversion with gusto. Out of this proceedings emerged a new style of singing: Opera!
To be sure Gioco di Calcio, and opera are but mere samples of the dazzling series of events packed in the Florentine calendar: carnival, wine-festival, ham and sausage and food shows, regatta, polo and equestrian events, cross-bow competition, cinema and theatre events, jazz, and sacred and pop music concerts. There is something on all the time in the city for the young and old, the academically serious and those seriously out for the goodtime. Traditionally, the fun and excitement begin in January with a regatta on the Arno and ends with the world's largest Christmas tree and a spectacular procession.
When our Trenitalia pulled up one morning into Florence, we had a tight schedule. Luckily, we read up Florentine guides prior to arrival.
As we wheeled our suitcase from the Stazione di Santa Maria Novelle to our B&B, we had before us the ‘vast and beautiful monument to the Renaissance’, ‘the artistic and cultural awakening of the 15th century’. A city where writers Dante and Machiavelli fashioned masterpieces and enhanced the country's literary heritage, Botticelli and Michelangelo turned it into 'the world's greatest artistic capital' and painter-sculptor-architect-engineer-scientist Leonardo da Vinci launched his career. Florence was not just art and literature. In medieval times, it was Europe's hub of trade and finance, and a hotbed of religious activity.
Julius Caesar’s original 'Florentia' for 'flourishing' has become ‘Florence’ too. Nevertheless, the ancient city continues to 'flourish'. There are cobblestone paths, old grass terraces and fountains, flowerbeds and gardens filled with statues. The city is not just flourishing, it is in full bloom exerting a powerful spell over visitors and art-history buffs.
Expectedly the city is flooded by tourists, and is a scene of humungous traffic snarls and logjams. If Michelangelo Buonarroti's David in the Galleria dell Accademia had to slay Goliath in 2008, it is joked, he would have to rush red lights, strong-arm his way through thick camera-touting tourists and bunged up traffic, to do battle with the giant.
The 11 million visitors and vehicular pile-ups are a reminder that Florence is not just museums, cathedrals, and ruins. A more 'modern' and with-it city is rearing to break free with its wacky modern art, chic shops, trendy bars, cafes and nightlife hangouts, and futuristic architecture. But for the moment it is still David 'the sexy rock star of Renaissance', who holds centre stage in Florence…and one of the main reasons for the humungous tourist turnout.
City elders are hard put to address this problem of plenty: How to decongest Florence and still keep the tourist dollars coming in? Equally exercising minds is how to dissuade young tourists from scribbling or leaving chewing gum on ancient structures? For the present, there are plans afoot to move the 504-year old David from Galleria dell' Accademia to a brand new home in the suburbs, near Leopolda Station.
As our time to leave came, from the Accademia we cut from the dense crowd via relatively quiet by lanes under the cover of late afternoon shadows. We walked past scores of African street-hawkers peddling imitation Gucci, Armani, Versace and Prada, and over the bridge on the Arno, to Piazzale Michelangelo. There, standing tall and overlooking the Duomo and his hometown, is a replica of the 'handsome naked youth', ‘the sexy rock star of the Renaissance’. An orange-red sun dipped on our left and cast its fading glow on the wide canvas of structures below. A meditative hush fell on the ancient city. The giant statue of David, behind us, sans chewing gum, transformed into a dreamy vision.
What to look forward to in Florence
*Brunelleschi's 15th century Cathedral or Duomo of Santa Maria del Fione. Florence's best-known landmark.
*Baptistery of John carries 13th century mosaics on its richly decorated ceiling. The exterior is of green-white marble. Of the three sets of bronze doors, the East doors have Biblical scenes – so beautiful that Michelangelo called them the Gate of Paradise.
*The 85m Campanile offers spectacular views of the city.
*Piazza della Signoria Florence's famous square, in the heart of the historic center, has a free open-air sculpture exhibition with a replica of David, and Giambologna's The Rape of the Sabine Women (1583).
*Uffizi 'one of the world's greatest, art galleries' hosts Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1485), Titian's The Venus of Urbino (1538) and other priceless art.
*The 1563 Galleria dell' Accademia repository of important 13th-16th century art including the original 5.2 m David. Europe’s first art school to teach drawing, painting and sculpture.
*Ponte Vecchio is Florence's oldest surviving bridge across the Arno. It is lined with shops and street vendors selling bandanas and scarves to imitation leather goods of famous brands.
*Piazzale Michelangelo - Across the Ponte Vecchio, on a hill, the square has replicas of Michelangelo's works, and views made dramatically beautiful at dusk.
*Santa Croce contains tombs and monuments of famous Florentines including Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Marconi, and opera composer Rossini.
*Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens – The Galleria Palatina with its countless art treasures and the futuristic Fattori's The Palmieri Rotonda (1825-1908), has a huge stylized Renaissance garden with glorious fountains, lawns, cypress trees and hedges beautifully clipped into geometrical patterns.
*Shopping Florence has a profusion of chic, upmarket shops. A flea market comes alive in the evenings selling clothing, antiques and art reproductions, leather, handmade paper goods, jewellery and imitations of world-renowned brands.
*Nightlife Wine bars lure customers with free snacks - cheese ravioli, grilled bruschetta, and such goodies – all for the price of a glass of vino! While there, check out the region's famed Chianti Classico. The vibrant nightlife -- dancing clubs, cafes and bars -- is within walking distance from the Duomo.
*The world's best ice cream in a town full of gelaterias. On a hot summery day, the famed Badiani on Viale dei Mille, is the place to cool your heels, in the mother of all gelaterias!
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