August 9, 2008

The Triumph of Human Aspiration

The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics was a spectacular statement by the Chinese people. I was awestruck by the planning and execution, and, most importantly, by the power of human creativity, imagination and by a country's insatiable drive to dominate the world. Everything was so exceptionally masterminded, so flawlessly executed. No detail was overlooked, nothing was left to chance.

The number 8 happens to be very prosperous in Chinese culture. It is interesting to note how meticulously everything was chosen around the number 8. The show started at 08:08 on 08-08-08.

Several of my friends later described this event as an example of immaculate execution, some cited this as a classic case of Chinese ability to mobilize human resource, but, in my humble opinion, this is a fairy tale of victory of human imagination, triumph of human aspiration. Mixing their ancient culture with modern technology, the Chinese people simultaneously showcased their rich heritage from the past and their desire to dominate the future.

The director of the show demonstrated an uncanny mastery in symbolism. Every theme was carefully chosen to depict certain aspect of the Chinese culture, to showcase its prowess and to make a bold statement about its future.

The “bird's nest" is a befitting architecture from that perspective.

Who could have imagined such a syncopated orchestration of so many drummers - drumming a 5000 year old instrument discovered only 3 years back? The pattern that was formed by the drummers was also visually pleasing. [On a lighter note, the formation could be an inspiration for the next chocolate square design - with caramel on top. Chocolate makers of the world - are you paying attention?]

© 2008 Sanjoy Haldar

2 comments:

  1. Darun hoyechey leka ta (as usual).
    I am really enjoying your blogspot.
    Do keep it up.

    mohua

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  2. Those are great comments! I am amazed how much you understood and tried to read into Openning Ceremony performance, which I as a chinese had tried hard to interpret. One thing touched me most is that how positively you are appreciating the ceremony. Really enjoy reading your blog. Highly recommend to my other chinese fellow.

    Jackie

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