Now this is the Delhi I've been wanting to infiltrate... When I met one of Tyler's colleagues last year, he said that Delhi was so incredible due to its cultural scene. Try as we might, we never quite succeeded in finding something that met our expectations in this arena.
That all changed last night, when we checked out the Amarras Desert Music Festival at Siri Fort Auditorium. The event didn't bode well when we first arrived. The auditorium was about one-quarter filled (45 minutes after the show had started), energy level was low, and we saw some sleeping heads in the audience. Granted, the Rajasthani music was beautiful -- but felt more apropos in a lounge with a drink in your hand, talking to some friends.
We nearly left early, but am really glad we stuck around. After the requisite break (in India, even 90-minute long movies have breaks in the middle), Vieux Farka Toure from Mali took to the stage. Called the "African Jimi Hendrix," he was not only incredible with the guitar, but has a soulfully deep voice, and an amazing stage presence and charisma. By the third song, about half the audience was dancing in the aisles.
Perhaps the best part of the evening was towards the end, when Vieux Farka Toure invited the other musicians to come jam with him on stage. First came Madou Diabate (also from Mali), who is a 71st generation (!) kora player - which is 21-stringed instrument from West Africa, that sounds somewhat of a cross between a harp and a delta blues guitar. They played an up-beat West African song with lots of hand-clapping and dancing. Then they invited the Rajasthani musicians from the Thar: Lakha Khan, Nihal Khan, and Mangey Khan. By that point, Tyler and I were up as close as we could get to the stage, dancing away. Oh what a night!
No comments:
Post a Comment