MKT

I was walking down a path that I thought led from my house to the office but then I remembered that my office was ten kilometres from my house and I never walked from my house to the office. So, I wondered,

1. Why am I walking?
2. Where am I going?
3. Where am I coming from?

I stopped to think. After some thinking I realized I did not have the answers for any of the questions. I looked around. The surroundings seemed familiar. I remembered that this was a path that I had taken many years ago at a place that was many miles away from my house. I was stumped. I wondered how I got to this place?

I thought, worriedly, that I was possibly struck by dementia or Alzheimers. I decided to check this by trying to remember some facts from my past. I quizzed myself. I answered all the questions correctly. I realized that I was not struck by either of the above mentioned ailments. My next thought was "Am I stuck in a dream?" I was not sure how tp determine this. Dreams always seemed real while they lasted. If all perceptions of the world around us exists only in our minds, then dreams are as real as life. So, it did not matter whether I was dreaming or not. This was life at that moment for me and there was no point in questioning its reality.

I continued walking. Soon, I saw a stadium at some distance. I heard the sound of music and the shoutings and screamings of an ecstatic audience emanate from it. I continued walking. As I approached the stadium, I realized that the music seemed familiar. I stopped and concentrated on it. I remembered! It was Dream Theater singing '6:00'. I smiled and started walking towards the stadium. The sound from the stadium increased as I approached it. I started grooving to the song. My head moved back and forth to Portnoy's drums. I liked this song. This was the first Dream Theater song that I heard and it started my journey into their world. I had bought five of their first six albums and a live album in a matter of months. I bought a few of their later albums too but I have not been able to get into many of them. That hasn't stopped me from listening to their new albums soon after their release though. 

I hummed the tune as I walked into the stadium. The noise of the crowd and the music from the loudspeakers drowned my humming. Petrucci was playing an extended jam, which seemed to be shredding the song to pieces. He almost made the song unidentifiable, but the rhythm section held on and I had no doubts about the song being played. I merged into the crowd and started inching towards the stage. I stopped when I was close to the stage. I started jumping up and down to the rhythm of the song with the crowd. 

Petrucci extended the song to more than twice its length. At one point, it seemed to me that the rest of the group were pleading to him to end the song. Finally, he transformed the jam back to the song and the remaining members of the band joined in enthusiastically. A minute and thirty seconds later, the song ended. The crowd cheered the band and started chanting "Metropolis".  Portnoy smiled from behind the drums. He got up from his seat and walked towards the front of the stage. He looked at the crowd with a mischievous smile. He walked towards Petrucci and said something to him. When Portnoy stopped talking, Petrucci stared at him with his mouth half open. He did not. rather, could not say anything. Portnoy did not seem dissuaded by Petrucci's expression. He started talking again. This time Petrucci responded. They got into an argument, neither hot nor cold. Petrucci tried to dissuade Portnoy but Portnoy held to his point. Finally, Petrucci shrugged and waved his hand towards Portnoy, who smiled and waved towards someone backstage. 

Three musicians entered the stage holding their respective musical instruments. One held a violin, the other a mridangam and the third a thambura. When they reached near Portnoy, they placed their instruments on the floor and bowed to the audience. They then sat cross-legged on the floor of the stage. Portnoy sat in the middle. He smiled at them and nodded. The instrumentalists started playing a tune. Once again, the tune felt familiar. I had heard it many years back. A few seconds later, Portnoy started singing "Manmadha leelayai vendrar undo..."