Friday, May 31, 2013

Classical Music

Varanasi is an incredible place and there is so much to explore. We've done so much the past two days and there's still so much to come. One of the highlights for me though was listening to four men play classical Hindi music. To say that they were amazing would be an understatement. These men played with such passion and enjoyment. It was so obvious that they love what they do. We all sat on the floor with them and listened to their beautiful art. It doesn't matter where you are from or what language you speak to enjoy music. Music definitely brings people together.
Today we had the opportunity to take lessons from the musicians. I, along with five others, took Tabla lessons which is similar to drums. I knew going into it that it wouldn't be easy but I was not expecting it to be as hard as it was. Our instructer played with such ease but the rest of us struggled. We had a break for Chai which I regrettably have not tasted before. I'm not much of a tea drinker but this was amazing. I'm going to start ordering it all the time in restuarants. I really loved how we could all just sit around with people we only met the night before but still have such a great time. The men were all so nice and welcoming. After Chai, we went back to our lesson and I embarrassed myself some more with my terrible musical skills. Even though I wasn't very good, it was so fun to try to learn the instrument and have that interaction with local people.
 It's hard to describe what it feels like to be sitting inside an Indian music shop, taking lessons from a pro. Every moment of this trip has seemed so unreal and magical. I can't believe that we've already been in India for over a weel. Time is flying and I want every minute to last so much longer!

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