more book..

Another chapter from the soon coming ad 4 life book:

Bible teacher to Bollywood dancer—Kenya, 2001

(This starts in the middle of the story, which is still being edited (the whole thing, not just the middle:P))

…This soon turned to one of the most culturally fascinating experiences of my life. What started as simply an avenue to raise funding for charity would lead me to discovering much of India’s food, culture, history, & best of all music…India’s music is as varied as any musical assortment we enjoy in Western societies…I was to learn about India’s folk, India’s classical music (Carnatic & Hindustani), as well as Indian pop, which in it's biggest form is called filmi, meaning songs from Indian films, making up to 72% of music sales in India…Another hugely popular Indian style of music, which was to become my favorite of all Indian music genres, was (literal drumroll)….Bhangra!!!

Bhangra is the traditional music style of the Punjab area in Northern India…A massive drum called Dhol, stands as the rhythm base of the music…this drum is roughly a meter & a ½ in circumference & is typically played standing, hanging from the drummers neck, with the drumsticks beating on either side…the scales are played in happy conjunction to the quick paced drum on many other instruments including tumbi, sarangi, keyboard, and a variety of other string and percussion instruments. Lyrics to Bhangra songs are usually sung in Chorus, with many voices together, as well as with  occasional shouts in the back to the beat of the music…my description of this raging happiness might sound ridiculous, but all of these go amazingly well together & Banghra is great fun…

Bhangra was further honed & developed in the UK during the 70s/80s & is considered a musical representation of the Punjab & South-Middle Asian peoples of India & Pakistan…

Bhangra is not only a fast/upbeat music-style but is an extremely jubilant, lively dance-style as well. I discovered this with a mixture of joy & tediousness when first attempting these altogether foreign moves.. This would take me some time to master & was a dance further from any dance style I’d ever attempted in my entire life..(!!) The main movements of this dance involve a rhythmic up & down shaking of the shoulders to the drum beat (yes, I mean continuous shaking of the shoulders) with arms held either out in front, or to the sides…foot movements are a rhythmic side-to-side hopping or combination of jumping or stepping in a circle with one foot, while the other foot remains stationary, shoulders shaking the entire time.. Sound confusing? It’s simpler than it sounds..

Bollywood

Of course, all these music styles & more are majorly showcased by India’s film-industry haven, known the world over: BOLLYWOOD….Bollywood is not only the world’s largest film-studio (production-wise), but is also the source of the majority of India’s music called Filmi (or film music)…This was to become the main source of our song selection for the Indian (referred to in East Africa as Asian) portion of our internationally themed dance troupe, AIF (Action in Focus) Dancers…

Bollywood is a complete experience all it’s own & you’ll feel as though you’re entering a new world when you delve into (or, are thrown into, as was the case with me) the illustrious, colorful world of Indian movies…From riveting “action” to sappy love stories, to intensely emotional drama, Bollywood has it all when it comes to film genres, but no matter what the story-line, nearly all Bollywood films have a connecting factor—music!! Lots & lots of music with full MTV style sets included, each song carrying anywhere from several to sometimes hundreds of choreographed dancers are standard Bollywood music fare…

Little did I know at the time as to the full education I would get on Bollywood’s current top-stars, as well as the old legendary classics…Currents at the time (& no doubt, still, with new additions) included Sharuk Khan, Rhithik Roshin & Ashwariya Rai (who, a few short years after I was introduced to her, made a partial Bollywood to Hollywood migration debuting in American films such as, Pink Panther 2 & The Last Legion)….equally HUGE were the Kapoor sisters (Kareena & Karishma), Salman Khan & Katrina Kaif. Classics included Dilip Kumar, Om Puri & the all-famous Amitabh Bachchan..

My personal “brush with Bollywood” occurred when I performed as part of RadioActive dancers with famous Indian pop singer Usha Uthup to her 1980 hit Hari Om Hari at Didi’s World in Kampala, Uganda in 2004…this was for the Indian festival known as (researching)____________ Usha Uthup, who is well known throughout India & East Africa, not only sings pop, but is also known as a jazz artist & playback singer & has also debuted in the latter part of her career as an actress, appearing in several major Indian films.

(Note from wikepedia on Usha’s initial debut in East Africa: Usha visited Nairobi as part of an Indian festival. She was so popular that she was invited to stay on. Singing and quite often nationalistic songs in Swahili made her extremely popular and the then President Jomo Kenyatta made her an Honorary Citizen of Kenya. She sang the famous song "Malaika" (angel) with Fadhili Williams who was the original singer. She produced a record "live in Nairobi" with a local band Fellini Five.)