Fw: Drum Circle and Dinner

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----- Original Message -----
From: SanJay Sudhir
To: 'ssudhir.sanjay@blogger.com' <ssudhir.sanjay@blogger.com>
Sent: Mon Jun 08 21:47:48 2009
Subject: Drum Circle and Dinner

The other night we visited a local resident's house. Upon our arrival we were greeted to the sound of rhythmic drumming, performed by three local artists. We all took a seat and enjoyed a quick performance, and then tested our own rhythm with the drums given to everyone. The drummers first described the drums we were using: the "jemba" takes the form of an hourglass so that when the drummer strikes the sheepskin topped upper half, the sound is amplified by the lower half. We were informed of the 32 different sounds the jemba could produce: this was very useful for not only did this allow for variety in music but also permitted communication over long distances. We were then taught two basic sounds: a deep and a high pitched sound produced by striking the drum in its center and closer to the outer ring respectively. After learning a simple series, we combined several sets of notes to make a wonderful, upbeat song as the first drummer assisted us and the other two threw in extra beats here and there to compliment the music. Soon the called up 4 volunteers to dance along and gave some drummers alternative instruments such as bells etc. After synchronizing ourselves, we played and had a blast. After the drum circle we enjoyed a traditional dinner. We started with a soup and a few dishes that resembled pakodas and samosas (both are Indian dishes) for lack of another comparison. The entree consisted of cooked squash, rice, a beef pie of sorts and specially cooked corn. The desert was a sweet, compacted jelly square with a local syrup topping. We can all agree it was one of the best meals we had and the evening as a whole was truly enjoyable.

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