music on the roof

We were treated to two amazing musical performances on Debra’s roof during our stay at Kaiya House.  The first was by a wonderful musician by the name of Sandip Samaddar. 

A friend of a friend of Debra’s, Sandip’s arrival was unexpected but also a real delight.  Full to the brim with positivity and glowing white in his kurta, Sandip made a small space on the floor his stage and sat cross-legged with a beautiful stringed instrument that he had made himself.  Although originally from Kolkutta in West Bengal, Sandip travels a lot and considers everywhere he stays his home.  He also lectures at a university specialising in religious worship music.  Below is a video that Tom made of his wonderful performance.

Our second private concert was entirely different.  Festival season means drumming and lots of it.  Meditative, trance-inducing Indian drumming made up of age old rhythms that are both relaxing and energising at the same time.  Each drumming group is recognisable by their unique uniform and the decor of their instruments, as well as their own unique marching routines.  One group doing the rounds at the festivals in and around Varkala were Rhythm of Life.

Our first of several encounters with these boys was at the Kaiya House Music Hall.  When Debra said “Hey shall I invite the African drummers to play for us?”, who were we to say no? 

These guys usually play with sticks as we witnessed at various (outdoor) festivals, making a tremendous amount of sound, but for their chilled out performance on the roof, they played with their hands, until their fingers were raw. 

Here’s the video Tom made of them playing for us.