Trip to India (7–31 January 2026)
- vocalpsychotherapy
- Jan 16
- 24 min read
Updated: Jan 21
First Impressions
Day 1
The trip lasted 33 hours in total. I felt like I had been ‘crushed’ by so many flights (3) and so much waiting between flights, which was necessary because we were carrying violins as luggage and only British Airways has a simple option for instruments. I don't think I managed to sleep during all that time. I had dinner and breakfast about four or five hours apart. I still managed to watch a film during the trip, then I wrapped myself in a light blanket and tried to sleep...
When we arrived in Delhi, anyone who didn't have their biometric data had to provide it. There's no way around it, it's mandatory, and we risked not being able to enter the country, because as soon as we arrived at customs, we had to use it.
Once outside, I was surprised by the intensity of the whistles, even though it was already nine o'clock at night, the smell of pollution (I can't walk without a mask, it's a constant attack on the respiratory tract), the organised chaos of traffic in parallel lanes, but which flows, the marked social differences, the poverty, the dirt, and the keyword for India for me is Intensity. People seem to be very focused on what they do and what their activity is, and this is true of all types of people. They understand what they understand about the subject and do it diligently. The feeling I get is one of great focus, dispersion, a kind of attention deficit that always finds a way to get things done. People with a university education combine intelligence with creativity and sometimes genius. I see this in fellow musicians with other professions of great utility and merit, who have great abilities and a big heart.
When I arrived at my accommodation, I was welcomed by a beautiful woman, roughly my age, and her daughter. That night, the room felt cold and unwelcoming, but it was cold for the time of year, despite the ten degrees, and the two thin polyester blankets weren't enough (I now sleep with four). But the mohair jumper I brought with me and the wool tights saved me... Meanwhile, the weather has warmed up and we've had temperatures around 21 degrees, and it's going to continue to get warmer...
Day 2
I woke up on the first morning around 9:30 local time (4 a.m. PT). My eyes were puffy and I wanted to continue sleeping, but I checked the time and realised I had agreed to go out for breakfast at that hour. I hurried, communicated with my host, and had breakfast.
On that day, we had our first rehearsal at Tarun's house. Tarun accompanies us when he goes to Portugal, and Stephen has known him for a long time. He is our colleague and Miguel's guru, our Portuguese tabla player who stayed at his house. Riky, who collaborates with us on his Bansuri transverse flute and lives in London, also joined us, and we had an excellent reunion rehearsal.
Stephen stayed at the home of Shubra Guha, a great singer who is his guru. Shubra visited Portugal last year, which is when I met her in person. She is both a sweet and strict woman, with invaluable experience, wisdom and knowledge of Indian classical music.
Day 3
On Saturday, I had two rehearsals and then rested at Shubra's house while Stephen had a lesson for the concert he will be giving on the 21st at the Sangeet Research Academy, where he is a special guest among others. I was still quite tired from jet lag, but luckily yesterday, Sunday, I started waking up at my normal time...
In the evening, I got to know my host Malika better. We had a long conversation about our professional activities and spirituality. We undoubtedly spoke the same language, albeit with slightly different nuances. I gained a better understanding of what the Gita is, especially through the dialogues between Krishna and Arjuna, which are ultimately precepts of behaviour for inner evolution and connecting with Universal Consciousness.
Day 4
On Sunday morning, we listened to a lesson on one of the chapters of the Gita (there are several) in English, given by a guru who explains what we are reading. I even managed to recite the Sanskrit verses, which had been transcribed into our spelling system, with Malika. I always find it fascinating to pronounce challenging words, and the names of the people here also have their own charm, because as they are unfamiliar, they are much more difficult to memorise. So it was interesting to discuss and try to understand not only the concepts but also what they imply at the level of the heart. Heart and higher mind working together to expand consciousness with other beings and with the whole, cosmos, universe, Manifested/Unmanifested, in short, the whole that exists beyond
this concept, which, because it is being defined, is even more, beyond that.
One of the things that worried me and that I didn't dare tell my friends and family was that I was going to be separated from my colleagues. In fact, we were all separated. I was more afraid of what others were afraid of and tried not to let myself be influenced. I spoke to Stephen about it several times and he made me feel comfortable to make the decisions I wanted. Through him, I had met a family of musicians here in Portugal and had been in contact with their daughter, an excellent violinist who is finishing her medical internship. They had invited me to stay at their house, saying they had a room, and I thought about going there. But Stephen already knows them and had been to their house, and he convinced me to stay here, saying that if I wanted to go and spend a few days there later, I would still have this base. He was very diplomatic.
With Malika feeling sorry for me because I was going to be away for a week (that was the plan), I went to Ongira, Debjani and her husband's house. I went yesterday evening, Sunday, and arrived around 7:30 pm.
Debjani is also a classical Indian singer and, interestingly, is exactly the same age as Malika. As soon as I arrived, she wanted to give me a lesson, which I agreed to. It was very interesting because she sang in Hindi, translated it into English, then I translated it into Portuguese and she sang and adapted the melody to my language, and it was really beautiful! We drank some tea and she really wanted to continue, but by then it was 10 pm and we hadn't had dinner yet. Here, people seem to have someone to cook for them, but the person who usually helps couldn't come for several days because her husband, while trying to help/save a dog on the street, had fallen off his bicycle and seriously injured himself.
So it's interesting to see all the chaos that ensues in a tiny kitchen where the dishes aren't washed regularly, where food is cooked and everything piles up. It's simply hilarious to see all the goodwill in wanting to offer something without having many logistical conditions, but making an incredible effort without letting me do anything. They improvised a couscous with vegetables, but the couscous was a paste, believe it or not, it was delicious! The spice mixtures are divine and I really enjoyed the improvised dinner, especially because they had made chicken and had to create a vegetarian dish that also served as a side dish.
Stephen had said that it was a somewhat chaotic family, and he was very friendly... It is really interesting to have two different perspectives on home. Here I am in a family home that belonged to Malika's parents, with the servants' quarters downstairs, four large, high-ceilinged rooms on the first floor that can be rented through a kind of Indian booking service, the hosts upstairs, and their daughter Dhruvi living in the top floor (half an apartment). Everything is super organised. Malika's grandfather was a supreme court judge at the national level, her mother was a doctor, and her father... I don't remember. But in this arranged marriage, none of the children were forced to marry someone they didn't want to, they made their own choices, and they all work to help the disadvantaged.
At Ongira's house, there is a high level of activity and great chaos in the family's functioning. They speak with a speed I have rarely heard, constantly changing their minds and finding solutions to the issues at hand. I managed to eat around 10:30 and must have gone to bed around 11:30. I realised that the mother and daughter were going to sleep together because I was going to sleep in the daughter's room, and in the middle of the night, I realised from the snoring that poor Angshuba was sleeping on an uncomfortable sofa. The beds here are very hard, so a sofa with armrests for a person to fit into is even worse...
As I was going to bed, I started to think that maybe I would stay for about three nights... I already realised it was going to be intense, but I was curious...
Day 5
I woke up in the morning feeling dizzy. I had sweated in the middle of the night, and the room had no ventilation. The discomfort grew worse, and I had to decide to return to the peace and quiet of this house. Located in an area away from the main road, there was little noise and less pollution. I wrote to Stephen to ask him to come and pick me up for another rehearsal and packed my things. I explained to Debjani that since I wasn't feeling well, it would be better for me to leave. She apologised and I assured her that it was better this way for me. She was sad, but we agreed that Stephen and I would still go there for lunch. I wouldn't be able to study or do anything in that house. I wasn't sure if it was dehydration, or the filtered water in the house, or having dinner late and going to bed shortly afterwards, but the night sweats must have been a sign of something.
The rehearsal went as well as it could; I was quite tired and couldn't think straight. I drank plenty of water and felt better after lunch. At the end of the day, we had a class with Shubra and then I came home. It was really nice to have dinner with Malika and Dhruvi and start this blog.
Stephen has been kind enough to accompany me in Uber, but now I can do it on my own and here you can always pay in cash instead of adding a card. For example, going from here to Shubra's house costs 77 rupees. I gave him 100 and asked him to keep the change. 77 rupees is about 77 cents, and we know that Uber exploits drivers, so imagine here... To get here, during rush hour, it costs 117 rupees because it's rush hour, and this driver took a shortcut, so I arrived in 9 minutes instead of wasting half an hour. I asked for 140 rupees in change. €1.40... seriously?
Crows are very common here in Kolkata. On the first day, I saw an injured one trying to walk. A tuk-tuk passed by and I thought: there goes that one... oh well...
Day 6
Today I visited the Sangeet Research Academy. It is a beautiful, imposing building from the colonial era. We went to see Stephen rehearsing with the tabla player for the concert he will be participating in on the 21st. After a troubled journey, during which I realised I wouldn't arrive on time because of the traffic and because the academy's name was missing from the address, and for some reason we ended up nearby but a little far away (and the driver didn't know where it was, until someone finally told him and we got there. He charged me an extra 50 rupees for this, and when I gave him a 500 note to pay 185, I told him to give me 200 in change. He gave me 200 and I told him he had to give me another 100. After a short discussion, he gave me the 100 and I gave him another 10 on top of the 200. I think he didn't understand or miscalculated. I was nervous about the argument and went into the room, forgetting to take off my shoes, which a woman who was part of the entourage pointed out to me. I apologised and did so. She later apologised (she had been very assertive in her communication, I explained what had happened, to which she replied that the same thing had happened to her).
We watched the rehearsal and afterwards she offered me a latte and some biscuits. As I hadn't slept well, when I realised it was coffee and not tea, I thought it would wake me up (I had closed my eyes for a moment and she had noticed, but when she offered me tea, she said I looked a little sleepy, and in fact I had closed my eyes while listening to the rehearsal.
Then Riky, Miguel and I had lunch nearby. I had aloo (potatoes with sauce and spices) and some fish croquettes, which were very good. Mango juice from concentrate (it's not the season) and water. Nothing special, except for the croquettes, but we were fine.
We rehearsed at Riky's house with Stephen, sorted things out and it was good. I enjoyed some aoaia and diospiro (I haven't been eating much fruit) and went home where aloo with vegetables, red lentil dhal, white rice and rosti (homemade naan) were waiting for me. We ate the rice with our hands, with the dhal, which is quite liquid, on top, and I rolled the aloo in the naan. Eating with my hands is nothing new to me, I do it more in the summer. The food tastes different, there is a greater connection with the rest of the body and in a way it is also sensual. They ordered a spiced carrot sweet that is very good and some saffron rolls that I also liked a lot. Bengali sweets are mostly based on milk, condensed milk and cream, and depending on the region, they may have more or less sugar. Here they are not very sweet, which is good.
I stayed with Riky after the rehearsal to go over a few things and his mother offered me some rice with vegetables to take home. Here, people offer the food they have left over, nothing is wasted. Ma.ika's husband says he likes to eat leftovers. I think it's a reflection of a culture where there is a lot of poverty, food is seen as something not to be wasted.
Day 7
I had the day off. I went to buy spices, but everything is packaged. I bought ground coriander and garam masala. To go to the spice market, you have to go to New Market. Malika advised me not to go there. Nowadays, there are mainly Muslims there with whom you have to negotiate, and she also said that they would not leave me alone as soon as they saw the colour of my skin. Stephen said it was like a souk. I had Riky's mother's rice for lunch and in the late afternoon I went to see a concert at the Academy, where Shubra's youngest student and a violinist were performing, accompanied by teachers from the academy.
It was an incredible experience. I don't even know how I dare say that I sing Indian music. That young woman has a technical mastery of the middle range and bass notes like I've never seen live before. The most interesting thing is that she has a timbre similar to mine, which I appreciate because I know how difficult it is to sing in that range, especially when you have a high voice. She sang for an hour, which is a long time for this type of singing. There was only one note that was off, which I noticed because she was tired, but only on that specific note. I was ecstatic. At the end, I went to congratulate her.
We had crossed paths the day before but hadn't had a chance to talk. She was at the entrance before the concert started and we talked a little. It was an honour for me to hear her and realise a number of things that may help me in my interpretation. I asked her for her contact details, asking if I could have access to videos of her singing, as it was inspiring to see her. She was happy and surprised by my reaction (I got a little emotional when talking to her). What I noticed in these two students (the violinist was nothing less than a virtuoso) was great humility, undoubtedly the basis for constantly improving performance. She said we would see each other again at the academy. The funny thing is that her speaking voice is much higher than her singing voice. It reminded me of my voice before I learned the Linklater technique for speaking, when my speaking voice was in my middle register.
I returned home and ate some pulau rice offered by a friend of Malika's.
There is something very interesting between my hostess and me. From the beginning, we felt a great affinity between us, and we tend to wear the same colours without realising it. When I think that I almost stayed somewhere else... One day she hurt her knee in the morning, a hard knock, and later I tripped and slightly grazed my knee. This morning she choked and I told her to lower her head, advice from a speech therapist, and it passed right away. Well... during the night I threw up my dinner twice. I brought the Elgypur (thank you, Teresa R.!) I knew my gallbladder was going to give me trouble and I've been taking it, plus the powdered clay and ultra-yeast that Reinhard gave me (thank you!).
Day 8
I woke up late. I had had trouble falling asleep (drinking chai after 6 p.m. does that to you), and I was still feeling unwell and weak. I contacted Malika, who helped me. I ate a banana and
some oats later, but I couldn't eat anything else. I lay in bed practically all day. The next night, I
threw up the breakfast I had eaten and started to feel better.
I had changed rooms the day before I fell ill. The mattresses are thin and quite hard. I have to do some Alexander technique exercises to avoid back pain and, as a result, difficulty breathing fully when I sing. I have a beautiful green on one wall, a great colour for healing in colour therapy (looking at it and breathing it in somehow also relaxed me) and my head was now facing south, the most favourable direction for me to rest and get well according to the 9-star Ki, for those who understand.
Day 9
I woke up feeling relieved and in a better mood. The headache went away as I drank water throughout the night, whenever I woke up. And I felt better. I ate a banana in the morning, another mid-morning, and some juice, and had oats for lunch. After lunch, I realised I hadn't noticed we had a rehearsal at Tarun's house. I took an Uber and off I went. It was a strange rehearsal, we were still getting used to playing other ragas together, but this is a necessary phase and part of the process.
In the evening, I had coconut rice, another gift from another friend of Malika's. I ate a little and left some, as I started to feel slightly nauseous. I waited a while before going to bed, and when I did, I had to get up again. I think the problem is the amount of food, but even though I ate less, the fact that I didn't digest it completely doesn't help either. Hence the dizziness in the morning at Ongira and this latest incident. In addition to the food having different fats than what I normally use, our good olive oil. It was good to realise that.
I went to study the raga we had seen in the afternoon and went to bed. It was hard to fall asleep, the music keeps you awake, that's how it is...
Day 10
In the morning, while I was getting ready, I heard Malika singing verses from the Gita in Sanskrit once again. I had also heard her praying when I was ill.
Today we went to the house of an elderly friend of Malika's who knew a lot about ragas. She had attended the academy and knew Shubra, Moupali and told me about others. She told me about Goa because of the Portuguese, and I told her that my great-grandfather was from Goa. She then understood my connection to India and Indian music. She asked me to sing. I chose one of the compositions I have been working on, without putting in the tala (the cycle of time that organises the music with the tabla, a percussion instrument), because I need to work on it some more, and I also translated the composition. During the conversation, we discovered that the word for window in Bengali, which almost no one uses anymore, is quite similar to ours when said in English. And mesa, which is also no longer used, is mése. We walked through streets with a few trees; there is very little greenery in Kolkata. The little vegetation that exists, and there are a few small parks, is covered in dust and pollution. We have to wash our hands all the time, even indoors, because they keep getting dirty...
I had white rice with a stew that had bananas in it for lunch, which was very good, plus dhal. In the afternoon, we did a rehearsal here at the house. I chose the balcony of the new room, which has a beautiful view, but even for singing, feeling the pollution from time to time is terrible. There was a bird making the sound I make in the song I had sung in the morning while we were playing (trrr, trrr, trrr), but little by little, we began to hear the sounds of construction, a lot of noise for a Saturday. Here, there isn't much difference between weekdays and weekends. There is less traffic, but even so, it is intense.
In the evening, I went out for dinner with Riky, Tarun and Miguel at a Bengali restaurant. I had two types of fish, one fried and the other wrapped in banana leaf and coated in grated horseradish, which tasted like wasabi. I had small portions of muung bean and pea dhal, white rice and aloo. There was roti bread and another type of bread, fried and puffed.
We drank mango lassi, which tastes more like yoghurt than mango here, and is a pale yellow colour. My colleagues also ate lamb. At some point, the mixture of flavours became very intense with the slightly spicy lentils and potatoes and the horseradish. I asked for another lassi, but they didn't make them anymore, as the kitchen had closed. They asked if ice cream would do, and that's what I had.
Meanwhile, Riky unwittingly ate a large chilli pepper and was in a lot of pain. The ice cream saved him! We ended up sharing it and left satisfied with a meal that, despite everything, was exceptionally tasty.
I am beginning to realise that I should not only eat dinner earlier or just have a snack, but also that the fact that the food is so varied in one meal, the combinations are what slow down my digestion. Now I only eat white rice, dhal and vegetables for lunch, oats in the morning and something light in the late afternoon, if possible.
Here, I didn't eat with my hands, as I have been doing at my hosts' house. We asked for cutlery and it came in a metal container that looked like it came from Ikea. Another thing I notice here, besides the unbelievable pollution and a white or smoky sky that makes our pollution look like child's play, is the amount of plastic used in materials. Even the tablecloths and napkins contain plastic. The tablecloth shines and the napkins have a strange consistency.
Day 11
I woke up early today. I wanted to take a shower, but this time the hot water tap was stuck. I still hadn't managed to take a hot shower because I didn't realise I had to turn on the cylinder. I sent a message and Malika came later to help me. We couldn't turn the tap. We went to check another bathroom and the shower holes were clogged, but it worked with a light stream. I remembered to grab a towel and try turning it again, as I had turned it the other day and succeeded! I had already washed my hair with cold water... at another time... I stood with my back to the sun to dry it, it was pleasantly warm. Here, the higher temperatures (today it was 26 degrees) seem less hot. I don't know if it's the humidity or the pollution, but it's different.
I studied after having breakfast on the balcony. After lunch, I went to meet Riky and Stephen to rehearse at Shubra's house and then came back. I managed to eat at 7 pm thanks to Malika's care, a beetroot and tomato broth and a vegetable panini that Dhruvi bought for me. Plus a light, tiny sweet with little sugar, and that was my lightest dinner.
We are entering a more intense period in terms of study and rehearsals. Stephen will not be available until Wednesday, when he will be playing as a guest at the academy. Tomorrow I will have a splint class with Tarun, fix Miguel's back, which also suffers from the hardness of the mattress, and rehearse with Riky at his house.
Day 12
Today I made my own breakfast so I could leave around nine for the splinting class at Tarun's house. Everyone was still asleep. I made toast, drank juice and took a banana to eat later. When I wanted to leave, the passage to the lower floor was blocked (with iron sliding doors) and I had to wake Dhruvi to open the doors for me. Malika left yesterday on a business trip and won't be back until Thursday morning. She travels overnight by train and arrives in the morning. It seems to be common practice to travel at night and sleep on the train.
I called an Uber and I already know that at that time of night, if you give them a 500 rupee note (€5), they say they don't have change. I arranged with Miguel that he would meet me if that happened so I would have change. As usual, when it came time to pay, he said he didn't have change. I told him I was going to send a message to my friend. Right after that, he said he did have change after all. And I wanted change with a tip. Here I tip 20 or 30 rupees (20 or 30 pence) at most, depending on the fare and the change. I must say that it feels good to be able to do so because the cars belong to someone who subcontracts them, which means they earn even less than what is already little. I feel that I am contributing to a better day for them.
This issue of money is one that affects us all. Today was the new moon (in Europe it was yesterday) and there is a Pluto-Venus conjunction. In the material sense, Pluto is other people's money (among many other things, but for the purposes of this paragraph, let's put it that way) and Venus represents money, as well as love. An astrologer I really like says that money is the densest form of love, a concept that can have an interesting side to it, because valuing and giving value can also be seen as a form of love, a concept more closely linked to what is normally seen as love. So there is something like that in the air, a love that offers something to the other so that at least on that day there is a material blessing. I am beginning to realise that there is something in the poverty I see here that may be linked to my female family line, that is, to my mother and my maternal grandmother. Could it be that when my great-grandfather went to Portugal at the end of the 19th century, he did so for reasons of survival? What was life like at that time in Goa, India? Certainly much worse than now...
So I feel a kind of rescue and a desire to free myself from this inheritance, so that when it ends with me, my children can also enjoy this liberation. It is accepting poverty, accepting abundance, accepting what has been done in my lineage in the past, the good and the bad, in order to forgive, to free, to end, to close this cycle.
The lesson with Tarun went well, I could see what needs to be worked on and fixed, our concert is next Sunday. I had lunch there and went to rehearse at Riky's house. I must confess that I'm getting tired of travelling back and forth in an Uber, but that's how it is...
I was quite tired, and I went to rest when I got back, it was already 4 pm. I decided to resume studying tomorrow and went to knit and see what my favourite astrologer says about this new moon, and the message is: "It no longer matters to think about our comfort, what matters is what we can do for the collective. The world is changing, and the more we think about ourselves, the more we will fear change. Improving what is around us, contributing to its benefit, even if it is only 0.5% of what we do on a daily basis, can make a difference for a better world and for our inner growth."
(Yann Loranger, this is not a quote, but an attempt to summarise what I heard).
Day 13
Today was devoted to studying compositions on my own. I studied, and when I felt tired, I lay down for a while. Sometimes my head feels like it's in water. I realise that we are doing difficult things, because it is Indian music but composed by a Western musician who plays with rhythm, words and dialogues between instruments in sometimes unusual places. The whole thing requires great attention and focus, which is one of the things I feel here in people and that I want to take on more actively in myself. Being alert and calm at the same time. I tend to close my eyes when I sing this type of music and I don't want to do that anymore, I have to be more attentive to the other members of the group instead of being more in touch with my inner feelings. Trying to balance the two and keep my eyes open...
It was also laundry day in the sink. The clothes quickly become dusty, and a lot of brown water came out. It dried throughout the day, but I don't feel the 28 degrees, they are filtered by the humidity and I don't know what else. There is no washing machine at home, there are laundries on the street. I don't know if this is the general rule. Here the room is swept and washed every day, but only with water, no detergent is used. Today I saw an Indian advert on YouTube about houses. Beautiful, but I didn't see a single bathtub or shower. That's how it is, a shower directly onto the floor, and an opening where it drains. Funny... I suppose it's different in hotels.
The lights inside the house are also terribly bright, and after a few hours I start to get a slight headache. I'm beginning to think that it's this overstimulation that's preventing me from falling asleep quickly. Tonight I'm going to take a shower and see if that helps.
Day 14
I started the day with some Tai Chi exercises to get my muscles and joints moving. I think they will become part of my morning routine, along with the free improvisation I use in my voice work. I spent the morning studying and am increasingly aware of the responsibility I have within the group.
I took a break before lunch and decided to go out for a bit, to look for a few places I wanted to see. It was the second time I had done some shopping from the short list I had been compiling. Incense, Tulsi tea and some leggings to match a tunic I am making for spring/autumn. Only here is there so much colour that I was able to find the blue I was looking for.
I went back for lunch and studied some more. At the end of the day, I had Stephen's concert. I headed to the academy, amid even greater chaos in that area due to preparations for the celebration of Pooja, the goddess of wisdom, music, arts and learning, on Friday. In keeping with our stay. There is an even more electric atmosphere than usual, with more braking, honking and protests among drivers.
I went to the Academy. Riky and Miguel had already arrived. Stephen introduced me to Rita Roy, whom he met in 2012. Rita was a Portuguese teacher for many years, and I believe she is now a translator. She is Indian. I sat next to her during the concert, which went beautifully. I felt privileged to know two of the compositions, singing them inside my head while the violin played and improvised. And I realise how privileged I am to be Stephen's student. This man will make history in North Indian Hindustani music. The way he composes and improvises is innovative in Indian music. The fact that he is a Western musician allows him to experiment with rhythm and tempo, as well as with melody and improvisation. It is difficult, but the result is very well received by the audience.
He played acoustically, that is, without amplification, and it was beautiful, because there are subtleties that amplification does not allow for this type of listening. The alaap (introduction to the raga, without percussion) was of great beauty and sensitivity; it is interesting how the violin so often sounds like a human voice. The rest was sometimes virtuosic, challenging in terms of difficulty and speed, response and dialogue with the percussionist. I am sorry that we still do not have many concerts in Portugal. Seeing what is done here, we are truly Westerners giving a very interesting stamp to this type of music, as there are many more contrast than I have seen here, and this creates a different dynamic more suited to Western sensibilities, so to speak.
And speaking of Stephen, my teacher for about 11 years, I also feel the need to mention my friend and colleague Ricardo Passos, with whom I have been exchanging Dhrupad singing lessons, the oldest form of singing in India (where he learned it), for vocal technique lessons. It has been a very interesting exchange and learning experience, as we come from opposite places in terms of voice placement, and I am happy to realise that my voice can go even further and break through emotionally blocked paths in the middle/low ranges, and his in the middle/high ranges. Ricardo is also a multi-instrumentalist. In addition to playing percussion like I have rarely seen (he learned from a guru in Africa), he plays several instruments and plays more than one at the same time while singing.
I am responsible for bringing the two together. Ricardo collaborates with us when possible, and I believe that two such different people can achieve a collaboration that has good results.
I feel truly honoured to have these two musicians in my musical life, and I believe that with Saturn (which represents structure, among many other things) and Neptune (which also represents music, among other things) entering the sign of Aries hand in hand next month, a new dimension of musical practice will be activated for humanity. It is as if (and we are already beginning to see this) a restructuring, renewal and innovation in music (and also in other arts) is receiving a new impetus. Let's see what happens in the artistic field in the coming years...
I returned home, had dinner and took a shower to cleanse myself of the excess electromagnetic charge present in this city. The pressure in my head and shoulders eased considerably. It was a rich and intense day, I am very happy!
Hey Elsa, That sounds like a great cultural adventure. You have already seen a lot, and what you write is very very interesting and informative. Sending you a hug.