Chapter I
As I stepped off of the train, a familiar and nostalgic feeling overtook me. The sounds of peddlers taunting passersby; the smell of their labors and of the people themselves; the steam of the train as it whisked away it's next set of travelers - this was India - oh how I had missed it. All I knew about my destination was that I would be meeting a guide there. They said he was a quiet, wise old man who would help me take that first and most crucial step on my journey.
Anxious about meeting him, I paced back and forth between my seat on a bench and the edge of the tracks - shuffling in between a good dozen people every time. This was a crowded place, but a charming one. I didn't mind the traffic. In fact, I could move about with ease compared to the trachea crushing rushes of cities like New York or Tokyo. This place had a kind of old world charm that you can't find other more Western parts of the world.
After waiting for about ten minutes, I spotted an old, white haired man approaching me. His name was
G.S. Sachdev, and he was a master of the Bansuri - a bamboo flute. I could tell he was anxious to leave that busy place. He didn't seem like the kind of man who enjoyed the company of hundreds of strangers.
I followed him to a quiet, secluded place where he introduced me to his fellow musicians. They planned to perform two Classical North Indian Ragas for me and a little something extra. Before they began I asked Sachdev to tell me a little bit more about his instrument, the bansuri. He told me it is made of a single chute of bamboo with several open holes, and that they vary greatly in length. I noticed his instrument had to have been thirty inches long!
He told me of the instruments origins - that it was linked to the mythology of
Krishna, who played it beautifully for his love interest and follower
Radha. The instrument has been around since atleast 100 A.D, but remained primarily a tool in folk music until
Pannalal Ghosh began to devolop it for use in classical music.
G.S. Sachdev - Classical North Indian Ragas
1. Invocation
2. Raga Patdeep
3. Dhun
Three Hindustani ragas featuring structured improvision. Instruments include Sachdev's own bansuri, sitar and percussion. A hauntingly beautiful recording, it will provide the attentive mind with sustenance and the wondering one with relaxing sonance. This is our crucial first step into a foreign land.