What a rollercoaster of emotions...
The indescribable beauty of interacting with children and seeing the stars in their eyes as they listen to the musicians, discover the illustrator's work, and try out the instruments.
The birth of music based on intercultural encounters, when verbal exchange is sometimes impossible due to language barriers.
The camaraderie and incredible kindness within a team that is diverse in terms of background, professions, and personalities...
Lyra reassures us every day that the meeting of cultures can be an inexhaustible source of joy.
We spent last weekend with the large Surnam family, where we worked with around a hundred children. We were amazed by how calm and attentive they were. They really enjoyed the workshops and showed us clearly with their boundless enthusiasm, smiles, and lots of hugs. It's moments like these that make all the months of hard work to get to this point worthwhile. It's those sparkling eyes that give us the motivation we need to push Lyra ever further, ever higher.
We then spent the beginning of the week working with four Indian musicians whom we invited to play on one track of the album. Lyra's musicians and the rest of the team were able to discover the popular music of Rajasthan, specifically Langa music.
On Thursday, we visited Sanctum School, right next to the cultural center, and met many children. Then, yesterday, we finished the workshop cycle at the Tushita Foundation, enjoying a wonderful moment full of joy and kindness.
Izou sketches India and often finds herself surrounded by crowds when she paints in the street. Simon prepares exceptional images for us (think "view from the sky," elephants, children, snake charmers, etc.). And Pierre captures the diverse and varied sounds that surround us, records musicians, and works his magic, which he passes on in part to Simon for the clips. It's a well-oiled collaborative effort that yields beautiful results.
We are now finishing our recordings and videos (including one with a very special guest!) and will be giving our final concert tomorrow at the Kawa Cultural Center.
We know that the rest of the world is horrified by the victory of hate speech, but nothing seems to be able to threaten our bubble of optimism. So we want to try to share this experience with you and remind you that the world is also full of beautiful things, positive initiatives, and wonderful people. And if you need proof, we invite you to discover our artistic work from the beginning of this week!
So here is intercultural dialogue in action with "Hichki"...
The musicians of Lyra with Sadiq Khan, Sattar Khan, Samundan Khan, and Sikandar Khan on the track "Hichki."
For those of you lucky enough to be in India and not too far from Jaipur, come to the Kawa Cultural Center in Amber this Sunday, November 13, at 5 p.m. for the concert showcasing the results of our second residency.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
The Lyra team
