Beginning New

I like writing, and though it's a sunny morning in Delhi, I'm glad to be typing inside my house, for no particular reason. I went to Shankar Barua's conference on Music and the Arts, which he has been having for several years in different places. this time it begins in Delhi, at the Alliance Francais in Lodi Road, Delhi, but will continue in February 2011 at Sat Tal, near Bhim Tal. the short films they showed in the morning today were interesting, and one is always happy to know how many eccentric and creative people there are in the world. Barua's conference can be found under CEC 2011. He basically tries to connect performers and art practitioners with the internet as a venue for learning and interaction.
Two years ago, Ratna Raman and I collaborated on a paper on Medieval Music and Technology. I wrote on the possibilities of Shakespeare's sonnets being put to music, and Ratna on Medieval Chorale Music. While writing the paper I learnt how obscure sites of the imagination are worked with on the internet, and how what one imagines theoretically actually has practitioners who work out things in concrete ways. jsguitargeek was one such blog I chanced upon, and yes, a friendship followed with a profoundly interesting musician. I guess Shankar's conference works on the idea that the virtual world can immediately transpose itself into creative spaces for intellectuals, musician, artists and lay people. I know nothing about music, but I love to listen, so the CEC conferences are a great place to listen to practioners and fusion artists.