He moves on to an intensely emotional Italian aria and Bocelli's Con Te Partiro. He makes love to his violin with such fervor. The crowd stops and listens. He gets more coins and herbal gifts than the vendors. Which explains why he gets the end stall the following week. The heat of the sun and the emotion brought about by the intensity of his performance prompts him to take off his sweater. The Mediterranean guy could not keep his Blackberry away. I initially thought he was a talent scout but discovered later on that he owns the Turkish stall in the corner. The amazement and the admiration by the audience are almost tangible. The old couple in the corner have not moved an inch. The grandpa in front is absolutely mesmerized and could not help himself and eventually walks over to introduce himself and gush over our maestro. I stay rooted to the pavement and plant my fat behind with a camera aimed at all times looking for "shootable" moments and angles, and reminding myself not to gape as it's not very flattering.
A nice lady at the Charity corner starts her "buy me" spiel on me but hesitates when I told her I am a Unicef global parent. Then again, I told her I wish I could do something more. She told me they accept volunteers but for the love of me, I can't remember the website now. The whole week has just been a blur of activities and thoughts.
He gets relegated to the naughty corner the following Saturday. Unusual for them to get the same artist two Saturdays in a row. This time, the stall owners get more patronage than his violin case.
His spell over me has not waned at all. Sad, though, that there are so many indifferent passersby. Really, how can they not stop and listen to that celestial sound? They go about their business deafly and blindly, almost mechanically. It is a sad sight. His repertoire is slightly similar to the one last week but is no less moving. To me, at least. Oh gorgeous-gorgeous Saturday!
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