Local Tabla Wala Returns from Taal Yatra
Brisbane-based tabla player Shen Flindell has returned from 7 months’ travelling around Asia with little more than his tabla and laptop.
Shen spent 3 months in the holy city of Varanasi, India, practising his art and performing in several concerts, including Saraswati Puja in his Guru-ji Late Pandit Ashutosh Bhattacharya’s home and the 3rd annual Ashu-Babu Memorial Concert on holy Tulsi Ghat. “I’ll always fondly remember the Mahanta-ji of Viswanath Mandir telling me of our performance, ‘Bahut sundar! Esa hona chahiye.’,” says Shen. Also while in India, he took lessons in tabla from his senior guru-bhai, Pt. Govinda Chakraborty, head of the tabla department at Kathak Kendra in Delhi.
Following this Indian sojourn, Shen spent a further 3 months giving Indian Classical Music concerts all around Japan. “The Indian Classical Music community in Japan is very strong – there are many enthusiastic students who continue their studies for many years. This year I played with 20 different musicians all around the country, each one with their own unique style and character. That is the beauty of Indian Classical Music.”
On return to Australia, Shen’s travels were not over as he immediately took on 3 weeks visiting Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne and meeting various artists there.
Now based back in Highgate Hill, Brisbane, Shen will be concentrating entirely on tabla and Indian Classical Music in our region. He is available for both adults and kids tabla lessons, and can give classes in suburban areas for groups of 4 or more. He is also experienced in tabla repair and has high quality parts from Varanasi’s leading tabla maker, Mohammad Anwar. He can even find uses for old tabla and tabla skins. Shen can be contacted on 0415-106428 or by email at shen@ethnosuperlounge.com (For concert details, see the website www.ethnosuperlounge.com)
Shen Flindell accompanying Taro Terahara at a concert in Varanasi. Taro will be visiting Australia again this December.
1 comment:
sugo-i!
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