KAUSHIK RAMASWAMY@kaushikramaswa1
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John Lennon would have been 75 today.
Stop to consider that for a minute. The man who redefined music as we know it would have been eligible for a seniors pass had he been alive now.
Time, *cliche alert* truly does fly.
But if there's something it hasn't been able to do, it's undermine the value of Lennon's legacy.
Considering the part The Beatles played in the evolution of the soundscape of rock, we tend to speak of the band and its members interchangeably.
But while Lennon did owe his rise to fame to The Beatles, he crafted an enduring legacy all his own. Besides, Lennon famously loathed the work he did with The Beatles, so it's probably for the best that on his birthday, we leave them out of it.
A precociously talented musician, Lennon could play a variety of instruments. But more than just a musician, he was a seemingly endless wellspring of artistic creativity. From writing to painting to acting - his loopy, impressionistic sketches have been described as visual haiku - Lennon did it all.
It didn't stop at talent: he had persona to match; the sheer magnetism of his personality drew legions of fans who lapped up his message like he was their guru.
He wasn't shy of acknowledging or using his influence either - a highly political voice, he was ready to take a stance for his beliefs, willing to use his voice for more than making a quick buck or few million.
That didn't mean he was a saint, though - after all, rockstar! - and for all the advocacy of peace in his music, was reputed to have an angry streak a mile wide.
But to ignore this aspect of his personality would be folly for his work, that encompassed highs and lows, joys and sorrow was born out of the multiple shades of his personality.
For all that, though, his most memorable message is one almost simplistic in its framing, but with endless reserves of depth: All you need is love.
(Text by Ranjan Crasta)
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