To Madan Theertha Pathy who has inspired my world of music.
My brother had explained to me earlier that day that he had planned on skipping school. Sensing urgency in his voice, I asked him why. He said, he had to record HELP, for safekeeping purposes, and yes it was the VCR days. Of course a clueless me did not pay much attention to his ramblings but I was intrigued.
I knew who The Beatles were. That’s all we grew up to while we were prancing around the backseat of the car. But I guess I was too young to wonder what they looked like.So I found time to sit down with him and watch the recorded version of HELP! which i believe is still lying around somewhere. I remember it so vividly, The Beatles were recording ‘The Night Before’ and’ I Need You’ before they were rudely interrupted by attacks by a priest who was determined to sacrifice a helpless Ringo to goddess Kali. A clumsy John crumbles on his knees while the fab four was on the run from the deadly tank that was headed directly for them. I made up my mind, purely on looks alone, John was my favorite Beatle. I did not know why, I just knew it felt right.
The rest of the years of my life were devoted to learning why I had loved John even before I knew him. Apart from his looks, it was his sarcastic sense of humor that stood out. He had a sheepish look of innocence on his face yet a tongue that was tangled with a cauldron of sarcasm waiting to overflow. He was rebellious, defensive and vulnerable all at the same time. Some called him a possessed man who was starting to lose it but none of those mattered to his fans.
As I was reading John’s ramblings in his self-written book titled “In his Own Write” and “A Spaniard in the Works”, I found myself laughing at every turn of the page. To think about it, it was mostly gibberish, mostly John. But I wasn’t sure if it was my talent for making sense of something nonsensical or John’s unique wittiness that kept me intrigued throughout my reading. It was raw. It was John Lennon written all over it.
You see, John was never perfect. He was as human as you and I. He was determined and passionate and took the leap of faith. He was an enraged kid who found pacifism in music. He founded The Beatles with Paul who grew to change and influence music history.
The Beatles started off as any ordinary band. But the break that made the fab four revolutionize music history was as Malcolm Gladwell explained in ‘Outliers’;
As a rock and roll band, they were invited to play in a strip club district in Hamburg, Germany to catch the passing traffic into the clubs. All they had to do is put on a non-stop tease, in other words play till their fingers bleed. Although sex and alcohol might have been a contributing factor, it was the amount of time The Beatles had played in Hamburg alone that made them better and famous.The technicality of it is explained as such: The Beatles had played for a total of 270 nights in just over a year and a half making the total number of estimated live performances 1,200 times. Every time they played, they got more confident, more practice, more experienced, more stamina, more creative and more innovative. They invaded the 60’s and became the greatest rock and roll band that ever lived.
John started drifting from The Beatles when Yoko emerged and found love, purpose and a cause. Although Yoko is a grey area to talk about, whatever it is she did, she did John good. He believed in love once again, the man was inseparable from Yoko. He moved into experimental music, art and with the power he possessed, became a pretty darn good political activist. From peace movements, emphasizing power to the people and freedom speeches, John transformed from the enraged young boy into a man with a vision, who with whatever influence he had, made a difference to the world.
John was murdered in front of his apartment building,The Dakota on December 8,1980 by Mark David Chapman, a deranged fan. After 31 years, John still lives. His dreams became our dream. He is an inspiration, a fearless writer, a simple lyricist, a peace ambassador and a believer. The reason why it felt right, right from the start.
Pilgrimages of a Typewritist 