Hemisphere of hope: Summer solstice ala musique full-on!

It is something that touches your heart, appeals to your soul, relaxes your mind and makes your life boring if you are away from it. Some of you must have guessed what I am talking about but I'm sure, many of you are not even aware of it. If you are a bhakt of Google baba then you must have updated your knowledge on summer solstice as it is indicated on the search engine's home page today, that is, 21 June. Apart from that tilt in space, there is something else happening on earth. Today is also the World Music Day.On this day, when the world pause to listen, the words of Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche— "Without music life would be a mistake"—makes the perfect sense.Started in 1976 by American musician Joel Cohen, the idea was to celebrate summer solstice through music throughout the night. Impressed by the idea, French Music and Dance director Maurice Fleuret took the concept forward to Minister of Culture Jack Lang in 1981 and the first event happened in 1982. The French name Fête de la Musique ultimately became World Music Day for the planet which harmonises the space with the sonata.The beauty about this festival is that it has spread out to different countries right from inception and it unites the professional with the amateur, making creation of music divine and benign the sole goal. As I surfed Google for information on the World Music Day, I was glad to find India on the long list of nations where this festival is celebrated. There is no money involved and music flows for free and the street may be the stage. The genre is no bar either. If it is music, it is on.[caption id="attachment_29163" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Strumming on the streets. Photo courtesy Dalbera"][/caption]This year too, this festival of music is on and it is more organised. The official Fête de la Musique authority in Paris has used online booking site Gigmaven to systematise the process. This is the day when Paris drowns itself in music. It is the day when globe swims in music. Go to Flickr and you see it. Photographs of performers performing on a single day from China to Chile have crammed up server space. Even Twitter is abuzz with updates, but French is Greek to me.If you go by statistics then this medley of musical renditions is yet to create a strong footprint in the web world. Language may be an issue as it is mainly French dominated and the use of English might make a difference. Popularity in the Facebook profile is 8.5 millions and it just followed by over 1,200 people on Twitter. Far less in number than even a modest Bollywood Twitteratti. Rise in strength should not be far away either as the numbers prove that the event is new in the cyber world. The Flickr account was opened on April 2009.Even then as the day slowly rushes to the end, there is one voice that the world should understand loud and clear. Matrahji Agnes in the Facebook profile of the event, declares: VIVE LA FETE DE LA MUSIQUE !!! Sing to that, la!...la!...la!