letters from england...
hi all,
this is just a quick hello to find out how all of you are doing. vibha and i are off to a workshop at local college here (like a community college) in a bit. tomorrow we're all off to wales for the llangollen (pronounced land-lock-lan) festival. so we have to be up by 5:30, and driving by 6:30 :(
ohhhh yesterday was So amazing-we picked nikhil, my guruji's son, up at the airport and then went directly to a concert hosted y this group Rupak. kathak recital was first by this slightly well padded woman. it was good, not great but satisfactory. no, i take that back, itwas barely ok. she forgot some beats, she couldn't say any of the bole without assistance from her guruji who was playing tabla. then this hindustani vocal recital- which was, truthfully- more painful than it was pleasurable. but THEN, then came a tabla/sarangi duet which was absolutely divine. Ramesh mishra, he played the sarangi- which is a violin of sorts- he PLAYED. cradled, hugged it tenderly like a child, and then- not one word- just closed his eyes and played. Sapanda Choudhry, the tabla artist. the man played for an hour and didn't even break a sweat. the mike fell, his tabala nearly rolled off the stage, but nothing fazed him. Completely calm. he lives in california, somewhere, not sure. his face is similar to that dude in the sound of music....the father, same hair do- a little more flowy......aaaahhhh, you guys should have seen it. They both walked on stage. the lights were slightly dimmed, not intentionally (poor management of the preformance, but it lent a bit of mistery to their entrance)- they sat down, tuned their instruments and rameshji provided a little introductory piece. then sapanda (he's the hindustani vocal lady's ex husband, but left for some white lady....oh la la, the juicy gossip) introduced themselves and their instruments. he spoke, humbly, in a steady, calm voice, rythmic...the man oozes it, i think....accented with little coughs and swallows. he struck the smaller tabla, and this powder- the talc they use- escaped in to the air, leaving these little trails of "smoke". then he struck it again and again.....and soon the concert was finished. Sapanda Choudhry, tabla maestro, with Ramesh Mishra providing laheri...soooo nice. the sad thing was that not too many people where there- a lot of them leaft after the dance and vocal stuff. a pity.
hmm...this email isn't so short, huh? sorry ;), i'll try to keep it short for next time....for those of you who asked the british don't really care that it was the fourth of july. today's workshop is on bhangra and garba, should be fun. it's 2:30 now, it'll be from 3:30 to 5:30, then from 6- 8:30 is our dance class! tonight, these three english ladies are staying with us, so that we can all leave together tomorrow. they are so loud. SO loud. it'll be house full.
okie loves, i've got to go now. see you- tata!
love,
sadhu
ps- THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SENT OUT ON MONDAY :) BUT I GOT A LITTLE BUSY, SO HERE IT IS!!!
hi all,
this is just a quick hello to find out how all of you are doing. vibha and i are off to a workshop at local college here (like a community college) in a bit. tomorrow we're all off to wales for the llangollen (pronounced land-lock-lan) festival. so we have to be up by 5:30, and driving by 6:30 :(
ohhhh yesterday was So amazing-we picked nikhil, my guruji's son, up at the airport and then went directly to a concert hosted y this group Rupak. kathak recital was first by this slightly well padded woman. it was good, not great but satisfactory. no, i take that back, itwas barely ok. she forgot some beats, she couldn't say any of the bole without assistance from her guruji who was playing tabla. then this hindustani vocal recital- which was, truthfully- more painful than it was pleasurable. but THEN, then came a tabla/sarangi duet which was absolutely divine. Ramesh mishra, he played the sarangi- which is a violin of sorts- he PLAYED. cradled, hugged it tenderly like a child, and then- not one word- just closed his eyes and played. Sapanda Choudhry, the tabla artist. the man played for an hour and didn't even break a sweat. the mike fell, his tabala nearly rolled off the stage, but nothing fazed him. Completely calm. he lives in california, somewhere, not sure. his face is similar to that dude in the sound of music....the father, same hair do- a little more flowy......aaaahhhh, you guys should have seen it. They both walked on stage. the lights were slightly dimmed, not intentionally (poor management of the preformance, but it lent a bit of mistery to their entrance)- they sat down, tuned their instruments and rameshji provided a little introductory piece. then sapanda (he's the hindustani vocal lady's ex husband, but left for some white lady....oh la la, the juicy gossip) introduced themselves and their instruments. he spoke, humbly, in a steady, calm voice, rythmic...the man oozes it, i think....accented with little coughs and swallows. he struck the smaller tabla, and this powder- the talc they use- escaped in to the air, leaving these little trails of "smoke". then he struck it again and again.....and soon the concert was finished. Sapanda Choudhry, tabla maestro, with Ramesh Mishra providing laheri...soooo nice. the sad thing was that not too many people where there- a lot of them leaft after the dance and vocal stuff. a pity.
hmm...this email isn't so short, huh? sorry ;), i'll try to keep it short for next time....for those of you who asked the british don't really care that it was the fourth of july. today's workshop is on bhangra and garba, should be fun. it's 2:30 now, it'll be from 3:30 to 5:30, then from 6- 8:30 is our dance class! tonight, these three english ladies are staying with us, so that we can all leave together tomorrow. they are so loud. SO loud. it'll be house full.
okie loves, i've got to go now. see you- tata!
love,
sadhu
ps- THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SENT OUT ON MONDAY :) BUT I GOT A LITTLE BUSY, SO HERE IT IS!!!
posted by Sound & Sense at 3:20 AM
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