Monday, August 27, 2007

WOMAD Festival in Singapore

Had an interesting weekend; we watched the WOMAD concert. WOMAD stands for 'World of Music Arts and Dance' and is an annual festival hosted in many parts of the world. Singapore is the only location in Asia where the festival travels to.

We enjoyed listening to some non-mainstream music from across the world. The representation from the sub-continent included 'The Dhol Foundation' which is a Punjabi-Brit band of two drummers (their 'dhol workshop' was fun). Other interesting gigs included an Israeli band which got the crowd to sing in Hebrew (!!), a Japanese folk-rock band, and a band from Senegal with its catchy African tunes.

The evening got me thinking: isn't there a common bond between all of us that runs deeper than all the cultural & other differences?

17 comments:

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

guess that's what the idea behind the concert was: set its audience thinking on similar lines as u did!!!

and music sure has no language ...a case in point : I am drawn to Enya's songs without understanding a word of what she sings..

:)

Radha said...

I know what you mean. It was totally an eye-opener to watch the local singaporeans break out into bhangra steps when the Dhol Foundation started performing. I would've imagined that the rythm of dhols would be quite alien to them. but it wasnt. They actually knew the right bhangra steps :-)

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

haha ....balle balle!!!

diyadear said...

radha,
a very good point. i have thought abt it at times too.. i used to wonder but of rthe complexion and eye/hair color americans n indians do look alike.. this was just a small eg ok.. i agree to wat u say. there is a common bond bet all of man kind beyond all differences..

KAD said...

Yes. There is a common bond that runs much deeper. Recreation.

I am sorry that is the first thing that came to my mind when I read this. A man's mind is always corrupt. :P

suramya said...

thats an eclectic mix, our guide did tell us about that, and I am so glad you watched the king and I, I saw the posters when I was there but there was no time at all. oh and I loved singapore. Its a lovely place to be in.

Radha said...

Diya,
Hi! Its true, but the truth comes to us at such such strange moments sometimes :-)

Kanishka,
Recreation??
:)

Suramya,
Hey welcome back!!! How was your trip? Did you like Singapore? did you do the sentosa, jurong, merlion and other tourist things?

Parth said...

I remmeber seeing someone forwarding a video of Japanese girls dancing to Kajra Re. It doesn't get more global than that :-)

Radha said...

Are you serious? Japs doing bollywood dance is just plain bizzare!

Lotus Reads said...

Local Singaporeans doing the bhangra? I guess music and dance break all language and cultural barriers. Sounds like a truly nice concert, wish I could have attended!

Anonymous said...

yeps...
the common bond is music...
it is the only language which is spoken throughout the world...
may it be "sa-re-ga-ma" or "do-re-mi-fa"
:)
tc...

mookuthi said...

music and dance has no barrier eh!!! It must be a sight to see local Singaporeans do bhangra:)

Radha said...

Lotus,
hi, well it was a nice concert! :)

dj,
Very true!

Mookuthi,
Hi there, are you done with your exams? The womad festival was quite interesting & an eye-opener :)

suramya said...

hi radha, my trip was amazing, I went to sentosa, the merlion and shopped like a maniac, I fell in love with takashimaya, my only grouse was there was not enough time to shop :),but I am coming again. I didn't have time to see jurong park :(

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi Radja,

OOF I like music and concerts very much but since we have a dog we cannot go somewhere with a lot of crouds.

Pleas can you show some photo's? Is that possible? Thats why I like blogging, I can see a lot without leaving the house, and the weather here is chaninging its Autumn now here in Holland...


Have a good weekend, :) JoAnn

Unknown said...

Hmm.. lots of common things I guess.. and Music happens to be just one of them.

Radha said...

Suramya,
I did see the newspaper headlines that Takashimaya was empited by an Indian girl :))

Joann,
Hi! Well didnt click any photos unfortunately. Will carry my camera next year :)

J,
Very true. How're you doing by the way?