home again - back at womadelaide for another year
flew down from sydney and straight to the usual hotel
the austral hotel - not the most salubrious of venues
but close, cheap, functional, reliable and nostalgic
checked in, dumped bags, loaded up the essentials and then
once again i had one of my favourite experiences
walking through the main gates of womadelaide on the friday evening
in this case familiarity certainly does not breed contempt
quite the opposite as it is a given that a wonderful weekend is about to unfold
from my experience i also find that time slows right down over the 3 days
probably because there is no need to rush around madly
just make a few basic decisions about what needs to be seen
then work (avoid) the crowd accordingly
this means favouring acts on the smaller stages
or settling in well before start time for the bigger acts
one of the highlights of friday night was dr natesan ramani
highly regarded flute player from south india
his is a very simple flute made from bamboo
he was accompanied by son and grandson also on flutes
and sitar, tabler and claypot drum musicians
one thing i have learnt from repeat visits to womadelaide
is that late night performances by such musicians are very compelling
especially as invariably in this setting in the still of the warm night
there is something quite calming about eastern music
i can never remember much about the actual music
just know that at that moment there is nothing better
than the simplicity of a beautiful flute sound
and the tapping of a tabler drum
with a sitar sound coming in and out
when you can give over to the music and let it float over
my usual position of choice is stretched out on the grass
staring up at the stars and taking it all in
the occassional glance to stage to legitimise the moment
and usually with the rest of the audience at the end of the set
leaping to my feet to join in the standing ovation
expressing genuine gratitude for a special performance
and then the wander back to the hotel
through the botannical gardens
eagerly anticipating 2 more days
bliss really
