Program Notes:
"Gogi"
is one of the common nicknames given to boys in India. My father is from India and this is his nickname. This piece is not
intended as a representation of my father, nor is it a piece about my father. Rather, this piece is about one of the things
I have learned from him. That is, an appreciation for all things transitory and all things persistent.
GOGI
is a piece which deals with the perception of the passing of time. One’s perception of time may not coincide with the
measurable time that actually passes. The action one is taking during a specific time frame is a crucial factor in either
maintaining or altering a specific temporal perception.
This action could be very busy or very static; or it could
simply be a state of mind. If time seems to pass very slowly, it could be because nothing is happening; if there is a large
amount happening then the result could be a perceived sense of stasis. Another perception could be that time is going by so
quickly that one can’t grasp everything he or she is confronted with. In this case, one may be frantically confused,
indifferent to everything taking place or choose to grasp only the most prominent or seemingly-important attributes of a given
situation and piece them together for a better understanding at a future time. If there is a window of time during which everything
seems to pass at "just the right pace" and one’s attention isn’t directed towards the passing of time
then it is more likely that all of the information/actions during that time span is processed and a retrospective effort is
not needed to capture the experience.
Patience is an action which is required, if one is to control their perception
of the passing of time. These windows of time are not limited to a specific time frame as they could be twenty seconds or
20 years. In the case of this piece, thirteen minutes is divided into three sections; each of which explore the concepts discussed
here.
I would like to thank Matilda Hofman and Neil Varon for their extreme dedication to this piece and my father,
Gogi, for showing me how to hold onto (let go of) every moment as it passes in fatherhood.
-Baljinder Sekhon (2007)
