This past weekend we had a few free days to do whatever we wanted so instead of going out to a pub each night and spending too much money on Kingfisher, we decided to show a little restraint and have a very cultured weekend of sightseeing.
Saturday night some girls and I went to an outdoor concert of Indian Carnatic Music that was being hosted by a local music school. We went with our across-the-hall neighbor Tharika, (the British-Indian med-student). She read in the paper that many music schools host free concerts all the time, so we decided to check it out
[On a side note, my girls and I were shocked to learn Tharika is fluent in Tamil. We felt very comfortable traveling across the city with her because she can tell the rickshaw drivers exactly where to go and even yell at them when they try to charge us too much].
The carnatic music presentation was amazing. We arrived a few minutes late, as usual, but were relieved to find that the style of concert is very casual and people come and go whenever they want. This is because carnatic concerts can often last many hours, typically ending around midnight. The concert hall was simply a stage and dozens of plastic folding chairs full of mostly older balding Indian men, who sat and listened and clapped along or nodded to the beat. The music itself is very unique. This particular concert consisted of four women in jeweled colored saris sitting on blankets on stage. Two of the women played instruments, one sang and one just sat and clapped along. It is a very unique combination, not at all like traditional western music. I even recorded a few minutes and I am going to try and upload a clip of what we were hearing.
The carnatic music presentation was amazing. We arrived a few minutes late, as usual, but were relieved to find that the style of concert is very casual and people come and go whenever they want. This is because carnatic concerts can often last many hours, typically ending around midnight. The concert hall was simply a stage and dozens of plastic folding chairs full of mostly older balding Indian men, who sat and listened and clapped along or nodded to the beat. The music itself is very unique. This particular concert consisted of four women in jeweled colored saris sitting on blankets on stage. Two of the women played instruments, one sang and one just sat and clapped along. It is a very unique combination, not at all like traditional western music. I even recorded a few minutes and I am going to try and upload a clip of what we were hearing.
http://www.carnaticcorner.com/ this is a website I found that has a few definitions and pics and audio clips. Somewhere in there is a picture of all the different instruments. I think we saw just violins and percussion but in larger scale performances there are bigger orchestras.
*This isn't actually from the concert we went to. I found this via Google, but it is very similar to what we saw.
On Sunday we went to the Chennai Government Museum. It was surprisingly close to where we are staying. Caly read about it in Lonely Planet but we were a little disappointed with the museum. Half the place was closed down, permanently it seems. The other half was a small contemporary art museum with many artifacts and paintings from when India was under British rule. (We keep forgetting that India has only been independent of the "Crown" since 1950 so there are still many remnants of English culture). The art was interesting, but I think what the other girls liked better was the bronze statue collection.
Later that evening I went to a tailor who was recommended to us by IAPA students from last year. After teaching for a few weeks, I realize that I don't have very many clothing choices that are especially appropriate for the schools where we are going. Most of the time the teachers and headmasters are in full saris and the students wear uniforms with skirts, blouses, stockings and matching hair ribbons. Even the guys in our group that teach wear collard shirts and dress shoes everyday, so its a little embarrassing for me to keep wearing the same salwar and yoga pants.
At the tailors shop, all I had to do was pic out the fabrics I liked that were in my price range and the lady took my measurements. I have to go back on Thursday and I will have three brand new salwar kameez made to fit me. FYI -A salwar kameez is a long tunic in a bright color with matching scarf and loose fitting pants. The scarf is worn around the neck but draped over the back instead of the front. They are recommended for us foreigners to wear since we cant handle the responsibility of a sari.
The fabrics they had to choose from were amazing. So many rich deep colors, the women there even recommended some to match my coloring (she called me pink-skinned... I had never been called pink before but I guess it seems reasonable considering her usual clientele) . Each fabric choice came with a matching fabric for the pants and scarf to be made from. I settled on a red one with a black and red scarf and gold trim, a black one with a high collar and white pants, and a pink a green one with lots of glitter. I feel like I could actually, literally stop traffic in that one. And the entire ensemble only cost me around $1200 rupees! (about $26)
Pictures of the Day:
Group shot t at a teaching site
Little boy getting dressed on top of a roof in MahablapuremMore later.
-S
No comments:
Post a Comment