Jo and Dave's Blog: A Night of Friends and Fabulous Music

One of the highlights of coming to Varanasi for me was visiting Jo's long-time friends Ramu Pandit and Rabindra Goswami. For those of you who don't know, Ramu and Goswami are internationally renowned Indian classical musicians (Ramu on tabla (small Indian drums) and Goswami on sitar. Jo first got to know these two during the 9 months she spent in Varanasi on the U. Madison program in 2004. While you might have heard of R and G before, you might not know they have played an interesting role in Jo's and my courtship. Jo's and my “first date”, so to speak, was when they played a special birthday concert for her in Northampton, MA. She invited me down from Keene, NH to see the concert, and I spent the evening doing dishes, nervously trying to remain useful and inconspicuous. The rest, as they say, is history... (She says she thought I was the one before this evening, but she really knew it when she saw me doing dishes.)

Seeing Ramu and Goswami play together is always a special treat (I've been so lucky several times since that first birthday concert). Watching the musical interaction between these two friends who have been playing together for more than thirty years is just magical. Indian classical music is improvisational, so when the musicians know one another's playing styles well, they're able to improvise together. Goswami-ji leads the improvisational compositions, while Ramu-ji accompanies him on the tabla. Needless to say, when one of Jo's mentors and friends, who also happened to be in Varanasi with his parents, decided to help organize a concert at the Goswami family's home to welcome us on our first trip to Varanasi, we were all ecstatic.

The night was just amazing, and started with a really fun cycle-rickshaw caravan of 4 cycles (us, Jo's folks, Andy, and his folks) heading from the hotel to the Goswami's through the narrow lanes.

Rickshaw ride

After we arrived we were treated like royalty, with garlands, and lovely snacks while sitting in their living room, which has a small raised stage specifically for these types of small gatherings.

Garlands for the guest of honor

Listening to the music and enjoying the ambiance was unforgettable for all.

Following the concert, we all headed to an unnamed restaurant for a fabulous meal where they get around the lack of alcohol license by serving a “special Indian tea”. Here are the dads enjoying their special tea at the end of the day (my favorite part of all this subterfuge was how the waiter kept coming by and asking if they'd like any more “special Indian tea” with a wink).

Special tea anyone?