Travel Day 878 – Kolkata and Burdwan, INDIA
Finally the day for the first Tablaphilia concert had arrived and it was scheduled to be the final act of a two-day concert series in Burdwan…
Tablaphilia Concert in Burdwan, India
But first the day started with a late morning meeting by Kalighat at the rehearsal location to pick up all the instruments. A nice AC bus had been rented and it picked up all of us to drive us to the concert venue in Burdwan. Once everything was unloaded, everyone started to take position and practice one last time, while I felt the desire to go for a little exploration walk around town…
After asking permission from the leader of the group, I was reluctantly allowed to take some photos outside, only after I promised multiple times not to go too far and to be back within 30 minute. That seemed like a deal to me and off I went…
Two people from the group followed me and I couldn’t quite abandon the thought that they were sent to ensure my well-being and timely return. I really didn’t mind the company, but they turned out to be extremely slow walkers and when we arrived at the first intersection they started to mention that we should probably go back. Obviously that wasn’t my plan and so I pushed them for a little extended walk with some lunch along the way…
By the time the voices were getting really concerned because it was getting late and I still wanted to see more, we rather returned back in order to not upset anyone. Not that it actually mattered much to me to be back on time, but it was quite interesting to see how people were used to obey orders. Even if nobody knew what was really going on the entire day, everyone rather sat around and waited for the next order then to make good use of the time and take any personal action, or even question the situation…
Tablaphilia Stage Preparation in Burdwan
While I tried to observe and understand the local customs as much as to my abilities without knowing the local language, the concert preparations were meanwhile in full progress. My teacher had finally arrived and he gave last instructions while checking and rehearsing the troublesome parts of the Tabla symphony. Finally the big day had come and I was able to be part of it. I had met all the individual players as they made appearances in my regular morning class, I had been to all the rehearsals, I had been part of this entire trip to Burdwan and I participated in all the backstage preparations…
Being part of this whole process definitely gave me some special insights about this unique Tabla symphony and the entire concert, but seeing and listening to the final on-stage performance from the front row, was simply an amazing experience that lay beyond any description…
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