Day 1: Welcome, Pyramid Class and Fun

There was excitement in the air today. I guess my body sensed the start some something new; of something familiar yet fascinatingly new.

I rented a motorbike and went to visit Mr. Aan to see the progress of the djembe I'd be using for the duration of the workshop. Karthik and Ameya, my students from India, if you're reading this, one of you lucky boys is going to get this djembe. It is a well carved and well crafted djembe. Since the skin was just put on today I'm waiting I'll it dries completely so that I can give it an extra yank to bring out its true potential sound. Here's what it looks like:

Just before returning to the resort, I met Hirotaka and his friends from Japan at Mr. Aan's djembe shop. Needless to say a goodbye mini drumming session broke loose. Ah, the wild and free spirit of a Djembefola!

With the djembe on the Balinese version of a Scooty Pep, I returned home to find the entire TTM crew having threir lunch at the resort. What was a quiet farm resort was bustling with sounds and many a rhythm to be... Apart from Mamady Keita himself and the immediate TTM family it was superbly pleasant to meet friends from Singapore 2010. Pat, Mok, Sue, Germaine and of course he official go-to couple for this years workshop, Nick and June.

I narrated to those who knew me and my work from the last two years, how the Djembe community in India is growing gradually and is getting more and more aware and Inshallah, shall see such an international gathering in the flesh, in the not so distant future. "It will happen," were Kelvin's encouraging words.

We had a few hours until the fist evening's Pyramid class by Mamady Keita. After walking to the workshop area and taking in the calm before the storm...

... I decided to spend this time meeting all the people I could. The workshop saw around fifty five participants in total. The sheer number of people gathered for this workshop speaks so clearly about the magnetism of the Djembe and of Mamady of course. Countries like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Poland, Belgium, Singapore, Australia and India (!) were represented in the workshop... It seemed like a UN peace gathering.

after the initial welcome note, introductions and announcements of the structure of the workshop, in true style Mamady kicked off the first Pyramid class with a piece called 'Kudani.' This is a performance that he has dedicated to his grandmother. From the start of the accompanying rhythms we felt the heat of the pieces to follow

The Pyramid is all about precision. It is a performance based on a triangular stacking of rhythm after rhythm, phrase after phrase. It is a true test of accuracy, memory, and excellence.

The phrases made sure were on top of our game and and constantly vigil, but most importantly I realized when I missed Mamady thw most was when he said, in the most earnest voice to all of us, "Don't rush and don't late!!" (Michi, my friend from my two previous MK workshops, and I looked at each other and shared a knowing smile.)

We reached the end of day 1 and were told to move to the main lobby for a welcome dinner and a special Balinese dance performance. We were surprised oh so pleasantly, as beautiful dancers took centre stage with equally colourfully dressed musicians supporting them. The had traditional instruments with them. Some sounded like the West African Balafon. I will find out their original names and out it up as I know them. The percussion instrument that one of the musicians was using, looked and seemed to be played like the Dholki from India but sounded very low pitched in comparison.

The dancers sure knew how to get the crowd going by making each one of the gentlemen, and some select women, from the audience come and dance with them one by one. Here were some of the highlights, Mamady, Sekou (our African dance teacher for this workshop) and Jeremy at their dancing best! Needless to say, Sekou took the cake.

After a long day of welcome, rhythm, delicious food and frolic, it was time to rest and prepare for seven more days of such promise. I leave you with what Mamady explained to us about the Pyramid concept. He said that even though a hundred drummers play with two hundred hands, it should sound like one very big, heavy handed drummer is playing; it should sound like ONE.

Come. Drum. Be One.

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Day 0 - Arrrival and Settling in...

This year's trip started with my customary one day Singapore visit and halt at my parent's place. Its always wonderful to have a home away from home, was my first feeling as I walked home from Bedok MRT. After a long walk at the East Coast park, a scrumptious meal and catching up with an old friend from school, Sanket, it was time for bed and preparing for my departure to Bali the next day.

There's something about this place, Bali. Right from the scent of incense sticks at the Airport to the streets where ancient statues and temples sneak up you, there's something about this place that reminds me of home. I observed in Indonesia something that I find slowly dwindling in India, the dignity of labour all around; Despite other 'Indian' conditions of amount of people, traffic and chaos. there's a certain kindness and calm in the air, all around and in the people here in Bali, a deep-breath full of which I could sure use at this moment...

My first Indonesian word courtesy my driver Dewa who came to pick me up: 'Sukshma', which means, 'Thank You,'... Lovely isn't it?

After an hour long drive from the airport, even though it was dark, as I walked into the beautiful Bhanuswari Resort, I could feel the vast paddy fields and trees everywhere. One week of drumming in paradise this is going to be... I think I was the first participant to arrive and be welcomed by this banner:

I woke up this morning and postponed my urge to swim and had some yummy food followed by my other urge to go sort out my Djembe for the workshop and for the wonderful community of Djembe drummers that is gradually building back in India. And since this would be my only free day before the workshop, it seemed like the perfect time to do so... Thanks to my friend and TTM Cairns Director, Miss Tara Tucker (Drum Up Big), I was led to the calm and composed Mr. Aan who, at first sight seemed like a man who knew what he was doing and was true to constantly improving himself at the ever evolving art of Djembe making.

Now would be a perfect time to say something about these amazingly talented Balinese wood carvers. I'm positive much has been said about them in the past but seeing it live and up close is another experience altogether. Even as Wayan, my bike rider/tour guide showed me around and took me to Mr. Aan, all I could see oh so often were wood carvers everywhere; all sitting and chiseling away at their soon to be works of brilliant handicraft.

I got back in time for my first authentic Indonesian Mi Goreng. Words shall fall short in describing the whole-ness of this meal so i'll let my iPhone camera do the talking... *Chomp Chomp*

As all of this is going on I can't help but keep imagining what lies ahead of me in these seven days to come. This will be my third chance of learning from the Grandmaster Mamady Keita. Singapore 2010, and San Diego 2011 were my first two opportunities. Lots has changed since the first time I met Mamady; my understanding of the Djembe and all it represents has widened, I have gotten to know this community of drummers that has dedicated its life to spreading this vision far and wide - all inspired by one man who has made the Djembe an instrument without borders. I have observed the journeys of some of these crusaders, I have seen and heard the stories of the rest. Almost each experience shows clarity, courage, hard work, struggle and finally success. These are the assistant teachers for this workshop:

The one who has made Mini Guinea Asia a reality, TTM Singapore - Kelvin Kew
TTM Fukuoka - Hiroki Murai
TTM Hong Kong - James Kwan
TTM Cairns - Tara Tucker
Certified teacher and Mamadys manager and djembe maker extraordinaire - Jeremy Tomasck

And those I will have the pleasure of getting to know in the seven days to come:

TTM Mishima - Ken Tukoda
Certified Teacher - Sekou Soumah

I will be updating this section of the blog as regularly as possible and look forward to exploring another realm of rhythm within myself with you all...

Come. Drum. Be One.

Taal Inc.

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Yamini the Songbird

The rain Gods have finally blessed us and on this occasion I'd like to introduce to you an extremely sweet and melodic personality. The sweetness of her voice is surpassed only by her smile, Yamini, our singer.

This is what she had to say...

Yamini Lavanian

Good things do happen.

My journey with Taal Inc.

I’ve been singing ever since I can remember. I won many competitions but then thought something was missing. I picked up a guitar and started to write my own music. Since I am from a defense background I was always on the move which restricted me from taking singing or guitar classes so I taught myself how to play and sing. I’ve moved a lot and met many people and heard so many different beautiful sounds. The world and all my experiences with so much travelling helped me compose. All my inspiration to compose my music came from nature and my experiences.

But nothing has been as exalting as being a part of a family that thrives for music and helping others. I was a part of several bands. I was first called by Varun around 2 years ago when Taal Inc. was about healing through the metaphor of the drum circle. But then we thought that bringing in melodies to all those beautiful rhythms would amount to much more beautiful music.

To be a part of a band and to be a part of Taal Inc. are two different poles.  Taal Inc is like a family. We are all a big fat happy family.

The work we do is not only healing for others but also for each one of us as well. Stress, angst, depression, any sort of negative energy is instantly taken away! It’s quite amazing. And to be a part of such an amazing family, I consider myself to be one of the very few lucky ones. To have such caring friends who look out for each other through every single walk of life. I feel blessed to be a part of this family.

The music we make is not only healing but also so diverse. We amalgamate all sorts of folk tunes with West-African style drumming. And that’s not all; we mix all sorts of different genres and sounds from all over the planet. Sounds you’ve never even heard of before. Starting with African, Indian, Japanese, Australian and some absolutely new sounds we create out of the blue ourselves. Adding flavours of the east and the west and all parts of the world to our music.

We hope to bring different parts, sections, diversities and people of the world closer by our music. The biggest reason I love Taal Inc. is because of this. It’s because of how our work brings so many different people together and helps heal with our therapeutic music.

I believe that the world comprises of positive and negative energies and when in a drum circle I can actually feel the positive vibes and energy all around me, engulfing me and expelling all the negativity out.

From the first gig I did with Taal Inc. I knew that this would be my family who I can count on always, for anything. The happiness I get by touring around the country spreading our music and healing people cannot be compared to anything. Not only has Taal Inc. made a huge difference to help people, made some new amazing therapeutic music and brought all kinds of different people together, but it has also helped me in so many ways. I am lucky to be a part of this family and I am a happier person today because of Taal Inc. :)

By Yamini Lavanian

Sing Sing Sing...

Come. Drum. Be One.

Taal Inc.

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Karthik Iyer, Guru Poornima

I often wonder where I'd be if it wasn't for my teachers and gurus... I am slightly late in publicly acknowledging my gurus in my life but I would like to offer my thanks and  my present to Mr. Zubin Balsara, Mr. Sanjeev Pandkar, Mr. Chandrashekar, Mr. Joshua Banks, Mr. Iqbal Azad, Ms. Tara Tucker, Mr. Quinn Reesor, Mr. Famoudou Konate and the one and only Mr. Mamady Keita. I was told by the great man to always put everything one learned from one master in one bag and keep putting learning's from different teachers in different bags. Whenever I wanted to express myself all I had to do was look into my bags and speak with clarity, authority, humility and joy. I salute you, my teachers.

The Masters and I (From left: Famoudou Konate and Mamady Keita)

I was very touched by this next person's gesture on Guru Poornima and before I introduce you to the third member of the Taal Inc. family I'd like to tell you a little bit about him. He's the most soft spoken and quiet individual you'll meet. He absorbs everything in class like sponge and plays it with finesse and style after... He's got a heart of gold and here's what he had to say about his journey with Taal Inc.:

My journey with Taal Inc. - Karthik Iyer

This world of music is truly fascinating. I have always tried to be an intricate part of this world but didn’t get too far. My first attempt was the guitar at school and then the drum kit in the school band. But fate had other choices for me I guess. But the very small stint that I had in my school band somehow sparked my interest in rhythm. I started and continued playing on tables, utensils, washing machines (my favorite for the base) and basically anything that produced sound. Somehow I did not channelize or take the initiative to go in for formal training and I lost a lot of time in all the mundane challenges that life posed – college, career, job and all that. But fate did have something special for me – marriage, yes – I got married to Sunita, who is an accomplished Carnatic vocalist and is also trained in Hindustani music. I still remember singing a ‘gaana’ tamil song (tamil rap) for her family and playing on a table. And believe me, they were impressed, but somehow I felt I was not being able to justify having a partner who is so good in music and in return I just was an audience in all the shows she performed. I somehow wanted to, someday for her to be in the audience and me performing. That thought started me off looking for an instrument to learn and play. My dear friend Nattu, who is a musical prodigy, and with whom I have had many many kitchen orchestras, encouraged me to buy a Djembe and he said “this instrument will suit your style of playing”. I really didn’t understand what that meant, but the very next day I bought my first Djembe. I was really very excited and even shot a small video to show-off my new talent. I look at the video now and realize how lame it was.

Cutting the intro short, I was taken by surprise when Google presented me with www.taalinc.net as the top result for Djembe classes in Pune. I immediately got in touch with Varun and even shared my video (Varun, please tell me that you laughed your guts out when you saw it). The following week I was in High Spirits – literally – my first formal Djembe class and when Varun taught me the proper position to hold the Djembe, I realized that I had a long long way to go before I can achieve what I had in mind. I was sort of dejected at the thought, but the next few months were a great learning experience. Varun facilitated our first Student Ensemble and yes, I had my wife in the audience; although it was a very small performance, it still holds a very special place in my heart and I can never express how thankful I am to Varun and all at Taal Inc. A few months later, Varun gave me the opportunity to play with the Junk Percussion Ensemble and that again was a very special moment and event to cherish and remember. It was during those practice sessions that I met with the very talented Agneya, Dhir and Abhijit. During the course of the many drum circles, classes and performances, I got introduced to Solonie, Amar, Janak, Rahul, Jyoti, Elaine, Shekar and the other members that make up the Taal Inc. family and suddenly I was surrounded by a group of talented and friendly individuals. Their support and energy is awesome and is the backbone of this beautiful family. Taal Inc. also gave me the opportunity to learn from Tara Tucker and Quinn Reesor which was an amazing experience.

Drumming with Taal Inc. has been an out of this world and very rewarding experience for me. I have been through many hurdles in the recent past – on the work front as well as medical front and Taal Inc. has been a major part in magically helping me overcome the problems I was facing. Drumming does heal, trust me. I began the journey with Taal Inc. without a purpose in mind, and after a year and a half, I think I have taken a few small steps in the direction I want to go, contribution to music, which ever form – learn, play, perform, facilitate, write, participate. At the end of it all, the satisfaction I get is something priceless.

I dedicate this to Varun, my wonderful master on the day of Guru Poornima, how better can it get and after all “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.  The superior teacher demonstrates.  The great teacher inspires. - William Arthur Ward”. Varun, you truly are an inspiration.

Thanks Varun. Thanks Taal Inc. Wassa! Wassa!

– Karthik Iyer

Karthik (first from left) playing with the Taal Inc. Junk Percussion Ensemble

Come. Drum. Be One.

Taal Inc.

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