I'm not an expert
in tabla (the small drums used to beat the time in Indian music) but
this soundcheck tells me that the player has a long way to learn. Recorded
in Rajastan.
In Puri, state of Orissa,
we assisted to this noisy puja, the rite Indians make to worship their
Gods. The shrine was small, heavily painted and just a single family
was celebrating.
It was a good couple the
one we saw in Calcutta, a boy and a blind man. They were walking hand
in hand, singing and begging. The surrounding fits with the image I
have of Calcutta, busy small roads, with thousands of people moving
here and there to add their drop to the mess of the city, desperate
but honest.
One hour sixty Rupees (1€)
for this man who was trying to convince us to go on a trip on the Ganga
in Varanasi. Amusing at the beginning, but after the tenth man who's
coming after you it's stressing.
Everyday life in Varanasi, by the river. A man is bargaining among people doing their own business
In the old part of Varanasi
a man in a narrow road is calling people trying to sell something I
will be forever curious to know about
In a station, while waiting
for the train, you will never be thirsty. The chai walla will always
pass selling his ultra sweet milk tea.Sometimes in a plastic cup, if
you are lucky in a handmade clay cup that you will trow away on the
rails to melt with the first rain.
In the suburbs of Bodhgaya,
a road 50 meters long and 50 children. They are all eager to practise
their little English
By the Ganga, again in Varanasi,
people do their holy laundry in the holy dirty water
Like “Chay walla”
but with Coffee...
One of the few bearable
places I found in Delhi, in the evening by the side of Paharganj there's
this lively veg market, almost without cars and mechanical noise
A radio in front of the main temple in Bodhgaya, the language is Pali, the native language of Siddharta the Buddha
I recorded it from the balcony
of our flat in Dharamsala, at the feet of the Himalaya. Far in the valley
there is a buddhist monastery and early in the morning this used to
be my alarm clock
A small bell, the one made
with empty pipes moved by the wind. It is by the door of a monastery
in dharamsala. A place that delievers the quietude promised by its door
bell
Heavy, low tech, not reliable. Perfect bike for rich Indians or Western Hippies. I meet people they travelled the subcontinent with it, one hour a day of maintenance, lots of vibes and the unmistakable low “pot pot” noise that tells people by the road that thereìs not only Harley Davidson!
Another hippy, by the Indian Ocean. I like to imagine him coming there by the sea twenty-five years ago to play his flute. Now he still does what he likes
Hard to believe these place exist. Surrounded by a lake, in this temple literally covered by gold, Sikh musicians play around the clock to sing their holy book and spread a message of armony and freedom, unfortunately too often covered by the blood of fanatics
By a terrace on the water of the Gange, it was just a little performance but the atmosphere was worth the trip itself. Later a few thousand candels were let floating on the black waters to worship some deity and make us rejoice thankfully.
At the border with Pakistan, everyday tens of people meet to continue the everlasting story of Nationalism and Stupidity. From the Indian side this man says something like “the Indian state is great”. At the same time, on the other side, a Pakistani is doing the same for “his” country.
Tibetan people in Bodhgaya sing for the Karmapa (a high lama) to protect them
Blown up speakers transmit some holy music by the Ganga, so bizarre I almost like the sound
In dharamsala tens of Tibetans singing for help and civil rights for their brothers in Tibet
It is hard to give an idea of a market in Asia, too much noise, too loud cars and horns, too many people shouting
One walla is selling spices and assorted snaks (masala), the other one I will never know
It is about ten and he still has some practice to do before playing in the official ceremonies
Everybody spits in Asia, I started myself when I was there. I even had few recordings ruined by people coffing or spitting. In this case was a monk that lived beside our apartment, I was trying to record birds and got his melody instead
"I worship the god that is in you", what a greeting!
In order to have a long well done song I payed this Indian piper to play a few minutes for me
Some don't like monks chanting, too low or too guttural. Neither did I at the beginning, but after a few days I started to appreciate this song that used to end my daily buddhist lesson
I honestly adore this record and the song in it. It was recorded in a chapel of a monastery in Sikkim, between Nepal and Buthan. The wood floor, the chandels, the rain and this song that could last hours by repeating endlessly the national Tibetan mantra. So good that it did not need any editing
Not the best sample of traditional music but this “fuga” was quite impressive to me
A man is playing among people, warming up for the concert later on for turist
That's the sound of the ocean that a few days before killed over 100.000 people all ovor the Asian continent
Again everydays life by the river Gange, people doing small business, children playing and a man singing a little sadly his human condition
You can't avoid being there and not to shop, for yourself or for an exotic present. At the end of the trip we were expert merchants.
A recording I made to promote a center I was volunteering in, self-explanatory
Finally I have an idea on how Romans made their temples and ancient people used to carve and cut huge stones. In Asia they still do the old way, ten of peopl e, not all working at the same time of course, hitting patiently and repeatedly their stones to square them and make ready for building or paving a road
Besides squaring stones manually Indians also create gravel to pave their roads. They start from a single big rock and break it down until a pile of small stones is left. Usually men start with the big one and women and children finish the work. Here we were passing a road where 20/30 people were working, children playing and women watching us. I felt strange and watched the soft skin of my hands.
In Puri this transistor radio provides some collective fun to the few shops around and the people who pass by
In Bodhgaya many Buddhist devotees gather around the place where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightment. Here some Thai monks are singing under the Bodhi tree, sheltered by its huge branches
They always try to sell you something as you are always a westerner with more money than average. And it is always...very cheap and valuable. We did a little shopping in fact but being careful not to become like business men, you could easily end up trying to buy silk, handcraft and any kind of cheap goods to re-sell it back in the West, the problem is that the bargaining is tiring and you waste days and days looking for the best business to make
I can't recall what this man in Bodhgaya was selling. For sure he was shouting trying to catch the attention and trying to overcome the diesel power generator which replaces the daily power cuts to the electric line, a day we had more than ten cuts for a couple of hours without electricity. Line is surely bad but Indians do their share as they illegaly wire up to the public cables to save money
The place is the station in Calcutta, victorian in the style, it is a crossing of thousand of people and many hang around trying to get some bussiness out of a couple of bananas or fried chicken peas
Often aqueduct are leaking, polluted and in bad need of some repairment. This one in dharamsala was losing probably half the water it was carrying
Tibetan Buddhists believe you get some benefit by turning a wheel with a mantra in it. You can find them in many shapes, portable, fixed in a wall, small and big. This one was in Sikkim and it was not turned manually but by the water, like a mill. Smart as it always provides prayers and therefore protection and good luck all the day around
In Bodhgaya more than ten women used to gather every day in a small shed to sing and pray. It is quite common to do this kind of worship, I just found strange that there were only women, India is a tricky country when it comes to women rights
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