Hey All,
I've continued having a great time here. Last night I had the honor of playing nagma with Guruji during a lesson with his tabla students. Nagma is the steady repeated accompaniment to tabla improv that outlines the rhythmic cycle. It was a real challenge but Guruji said I did well and that I can play nagma for him when he does concerts in the US in July, which is a huge honor, although a somewhat overwhelming prospect. Maybe I'll be comfortable then if I stary preparing now.
I thought last time that I should include some details about how things go over here to give a feel for the place. I forgot my notes so I'll include more later...
There is *a lot* of air pollution. It settles on everything and turns my snot black.
Sorry to be so graphic but its pretty rough. I keep my windows closed in my room most of the time to keep it out. The streets are a complete jungle too. I avoid crossing whenever possible. Even walking on the side is a hassle since you have to choose between the gutter on your left and bikes, rikshaws, autorikshaws, motorcycles, cars and buses on your right. Thats the worst of it along with the touts downtown. Any non-Indian stands out like a giant bird on the bus (I didn't want to say sore thumb) so there are a lot of stares. But there aren't any touts in Tollygunj since its not a tourist area. I went to my lesson yesterday which is near a famous Hindu temple so there were a lot of people calling things out to me. Go here, do I want this, etc. Its the most annoying thing here.
One of the biggest challenges for me with Indian music is sitting in half-lotus position. Its hard and it hurts and I have to sit for a half-hour at a time to practice voice then the same for harmonium. I have to unfold myself every five minutes or so to relax.
Well well, there is no obvious place to end this post since there is so much to write about. Until next time...
love,
Shantzy Pants
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7 comments:
Maybe in the next post you could explain "touts." When you first used the term I thought you meant traffic noise - as in the sound of an auto horn: tout-tout. From this post I see that ain't it!
Re cross-legged sitting, here's a tip often given to yoga beginners: put a pillow or a rolled up sweater or even a book under each leg (between the outer thigh and the floor) to support the legs a bit. That's supposed to make the stretch less intense and allow you to hold the position longer without so much discomfort. Gradually reduce the height of your supports until you don't need them any more.
Linda
Touts are hard to deal with for sure. Getting out of the Sudder Street area is a great idea since that is the tourist hub of Kolkata. All the tourist hotels/restaurants are in that area.
They way you have to look at it is that most Indians will never have the money to travel themselves so ogling foreigners is one of their only experiences with people from other countries and cultures.
Don't misintepret their curiousity as hostility. I found their faces could look quite grim when they were staring at you. In reality, as soon as you talk to locals, they are all smiles.
Cycle rickshaws and auto's are a great way to get around. Cycles will cost you less than 50 rupees for virtually anywhere (post haggling). Though I think these might be banned downtown Kolkata.
And if rickshaw/taxis keep asking you "where you want to go??", tell them you want to go to Darjeeling and ask them how much it would be ('kitna' = 'how much').
Also "Jao" (soft 'j') means "Go!" so its good to use if you get street kids after you. And "nahee" (nah-ee) means no.
Loving the blogs, keep em coming!
My comment seems to have all become a giant link for Linda's blog (free advertising??). Blogspot seems to be having a few issues I think. The text for the blog entry also overlaps the start of the first comment that is left.
Or is that all just me?
And if they stare at you, remember, you are probably staring at them too. It makes it so much nicer to be given permission to do what you want to do. Observe and enjoy. I envy you, but not the smog. Sounds like China.
Really enjoying your writing and getting a feel for what you are experiencing. Finding your way in a very different culture has to be daunting at times. I often think I would not be good at meditation because of the posture required to sit without the usual supports (ie soft slouchy N.A. furniture) and you are learning to play your instrument sitting like that! I imagine what you are experiencing will change the way you see the world in very profound ways. Which is not to say I think you are needing to change, smiling...just part of the benefit of living a different way for a time. Great writing and look forward to new installments. Always thinking about you over there.
Apologies to Dustin. I tried to follow an example showing how to put html tags around the ULR of my blog. It was the first time trying to do that, so probably the error is mine, not Blogspot's. After creating this mess, I'll practice elsewhere before I try it again here!
Ha! No problem Linda. I wondered!
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