RaghuramR's photostream

If you happen to be in Canary Wharf station sometime in your life, check this guy out & buy his cd too! This is a grab shot (sort of) of Italian actor, voice over and musician Giuseppe Nieddu at the Canary Wharf tube station in London with a point & shoot while running to catch the late train. A better angle would have been to shoot from the ground up but kneeling down with tons of baggage is a pain. This pic may not rise (unlike the tasty English bread!) above the ordinary but the music was engaging. Nieddu plays some foot tapping stuff by simultaneously using his hands to tap the long hollow frame of the Didjeridoo.

The didgeridoo (Pronunciation: DIDJ-ur-ee-DOO) is an ancient wind instrument developed by the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. Didgeridoos are generally long cylinders (well over 1 yard/1 meter), made out of branches that have been naturally hollowed out by termites. The sound is made by vibrating, or flapping, the lips continuously while blowing into the didgeridoo using circular breathing techniques to keep air flow constantly moving. This allows the player to sustain the notes for great lengths of time.

The didgeridoo is generally tuned to a specific note, though the long shape of the instrument causes undertones and harmonics to come out with the "root" (the note which the chord is formed around). Many new listeners describe the sound as strange and even spooky, and, indeed, the didgeridoo is said to have great spiritual power and is an important part of Aboriginal religious ceremonies.

Now, where can I buy a Didgeridoo that's not made in f***ing China?

A vignette from the diary of a stranded traveller -
Doha, the capital of Qatar is city of contrasts. Tall, taller, tallest towers are erected on a daily basis as paens to the wealth of the region, while troubled & struggling artists like my new found friend in this picture bemoan the 'soul-lessness' of this glitzy city. A chance meeting with this young man at a local beach enlightened me to the "contrast" that Doha is! I found that Doha does not have an art scene and that's the trouble. The city and its rulers promise a new experience for the visitor albeit a sterile one. Flashy towers, swanky cars and spic & span roads contrast with the musically inclined Qatari's struggle to express himself. This man (is a Qatari, plays Flamenco in the middle of Arab land, drives a Mazda - I know because he dropped me at my hotel but for the life of me I can't recall his name. Urgh!) and I bonded in the unlikeliest of places over talk, walk, cigarette and the music of Jesse Cooke, Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin!

Stay cool, stay alive my friend and keep the music flowing.

Trek leader Ali Razvi having fun with a Nikon while daughter Zainab Razvi wonders if daddy needs a lesson or two in photography - one morning at S.V. National Park.

Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati. Shot late in the evening from the over head bridge of Tirupati station.