Home!

Here is one of my muumuu costumes from India. I arrived home safely and am still recovering from the long trip. More info and pix soon!

Taj Mahal

Yesterday we took a trip to Agra- 5 hours one way in lovely air-conditioned buses to the Taj Mahal.

On the way, we stopped for a restroom break and then for lunch.

I found some perfect clothes, reasonably priced in this hotel shop there but found myself short of funds - darn. I hadn't planned on shopping on this trip. Here are some of my new friends from the tour- including Steve and his boys (mom was shopping)- Samoans from Australia!

The air at Agra was dusty but quite clean. Vehicles are prohibited near the Taj Mahal and we took electric shuttles from the buses to the Taj Mahal,

I  really enjoyed the cool walkways with beautiful trees that complemented the man-made structures so beautifully!

More images on Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/LizKauai/TajMahal#

Concerts in Lucknow

We have received some great pix from the Voices of Baha Lucknow concerts. All images are (c) Voices of Baha.

More images can be seen on my Picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.com/LizKauai/VoicesOfBahaInLucknow2010#

110 in the shade

For every reward there is a test.

The reward is an air conditioned, non-smoking room at the beautiful Inter-Continental Nehru Place Hotel with a view of the Baha'i House of Worship - our beloved "Lotus Temple".

The test is stepping into the 110 degree heat and heavy blowing dust to do our work there. Even at night, when we worked on our recording session, the marble floors and seats, and even my jade bracelet was very warm to the touch. I spent most of my time with a wet cloth over my head to keep from passing out- and I am not the oldest person on this trip!

But God never tests a person beyond his capacity, so all is still very well and this truly magical mastery tour continues to unravel before us, presenting opportunities to share and learn. Share and learn...

Namaste!

Aloha, Lucknow!

Lucknow has been the source of my greatest inspiration so far on this trip.Unfortunately, someone lifted my small camera which contained the videos of Dr. Ghandi, our gracious host and founder of the City Montessori School (CMS),

Besides serving over 30,000 children with a moral and academic education, CMS is helping to prepare its students with the spiritual, universal and socially responsible tools they need to help the world transition into a peaceful, creative, world society based upon spiritually-founded principles of social organization brought by Baha'u'llah.

India's choice to be a society practicing non-violence is beautifully demonstrated in the way people  harmoniously negotiate the roads to get to their destinations via numerous forms of transportation- and without the aid of traffic signals in most places!

Mumbai!

Lucknow - A very special arrival

Today was the first day of the rest of my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJKhB6wHdqQ

Whatever I imagined one person could do to make the world a reflection of the vision imparted by Baha'u'llah, has just been blown off the scale.
Lucknow is a very special place.

Explanation and images coming soon.

The Divine Sweetness

Tonight we performed our first full concert in Mumbai at the National Center for Performing Arts in the Jamshed Bhabha Theater. It was filled with memory-making hours, minutes and lifetimes and will remain a watershed experience for me personally.

Mumbai is a city filled with millions of souls yet unaware that they are the leaves of one tree, the flowers of one garden and the waves of one ocean, ebbing and flowing in a Divine cadence accompanied by sounds of sitar, tabla, guitars, bass, piano, and human instruments.

But before sleep comes tonight, more souls will feel that they have been truly awakened.

Namaste and God Bless!

Bento!

Today we rehearsed at the Mumbai Baha'i Center and performed for a
lovely group of people, including families with small children (the
theatre has a minimum audience age of 6).
Afterwards, beautiful bento dinners were provided to everyone by our
gracious hosts and an evening of fellowship was enjoyed by all.

Monsoon in Mumbai

This has been pretty much the view from my hotel room these past fee
days while I have been ill
But these were not bad things as I have been blessed with the caring
attention and concern of the staff here who check in with me regularly
to see that I have everything I need to be comfortable, hydrated and
of good cheer.
As everywhere, it is the people who make a place very special and
Mumbai is no exception.
It is dawn on Thursday and I am feeling well enough to get up, have
breakfast and rejoin the choir for the short trip to the Mumbai Baha'i
Center, a day of rehearsals and our first performance.
God Bless!

Mumbai Monsoon

Today is a choir "day off" and most folks are taking a tour of the
city. The monsoon rains are cooling off the city a bit and bringing
relief to farmers everywhere.
I have been I'll for two days- not from mosquitos or bad water- body
aches, sore stomach and chills. Today is better than yesterday, tho,
and I'm starting to perspire which means the body is winning.
The hotel staff has been wonderful and just brought me hot water,
honey and lemon to help get my plumbing working again.
After a bit, I'll have some chicken congee, similar to chook.
There is interesting tv here- much of it devoted to the World Cup in
the Rainbow Nation!

Blessed is the Spot

Monday was a blessed day.
I participated in the morning devotions at the start of rehearsal and
chanted Po Maikai- Blessed is the Spot in Hawaiian.
What a bounty to pule olelo in India!

We learned more music in Hindi, English and Gospel and the time flew
in spite of our first taste of real monsoon weather- requiring ponchos
and umbrellas!

Our first concert will be at the Mumbai Baha'i Center Thursday where
the friends will also prepare dinner for us. The trip to Pune has been
cancelled as no large venue could be found so I will miss seeing my
airplane seatmates who both live in Pune. :-(

Rachael Price has arrived and we got to hear her work with Blessed is
the Spot (the English version and whose melody I am credited with).
Our Indian musicians have increased by one sitar player and another
amazing dimension. I think I will go nutz when the tablas are added.

Shopping for salwar kamish has been an adventure and worthy of it's
own blog when the story has resolved.
Now, it is 4am again and time for ltryp and a little more sleep.
Namaste!

Music Magic

Ok. My internal clock said to get up at 2am and now it's almost 4 so I
might as well share some impressions.
I love this image- capturing two accomplished musicians sharing the
subtle nuances of Gospel Music.
Van Gilmer will be singing Amazing Grace with the choir behind. We
have local musicians who will perform with us in Mumbai on bass,
guitar and keyboards and the universal language of music is evident
everywhere.

The Beauty of Indian singing is in the subtle and swift rhythmic tonal
changes not found in western music. The choir is absorbing this
quality gradually and we look forward to doing justice to the
incredibly special works Ravi Shankar created for the 1986 House of
Worship dedication in the largest Baha'i country in the world at this
time.

Once we get the music down and memorized, our activities will be
focused on presenting India and the world with an audio- video
remembrance of the voices and faces of many nations embodying
Baha'u'llah's proclamation that humanity is truly the flowers of one
garden and the leaves of one tree.

Please pray for good weather during this monsoon season!

First rehearsal

We are in the rehearsal hall of the National Theatre. We learned 3
Hindi songs today. Amazing.

Voices of Baha

Morning registration and reunions of new and old friends.
We are in heaven in India. What a beautiful, delicious, marvelous,
spiritual experience already!
Mahalo, Ke Akua!

Midnight in Mumbai

Arrived safely and needing sleep. Namaste from India!

The adventure begins

After a yummy veggie pho with son Aaron who took me to the airport, I
find myself embarked on my bucket list trip to India with The Voices
of Baha.

I'm wearing my new ScottEVest and am ready for the adventure. Next
stop-Los Angeles. A hui hou!

Bucket List Dream Come True

One of my bucket list dreams will be fulfilled over the next few weeks when I join over a hundred singers in India for the Voices of Baha Concert Tour.


There will be concerts in four major cities and I am most looking forward to the concert at the Baha'i House of Worship pictured here.

 I was fortunate to have met the architect of this beautiful Dawning Place of the Mention of God in the Holy Land whilst on Pilgrimage over a decade ago. So having the opportunity to not only visit but to SING in this beautiful, spiritual place for all humanity is very special to me.

With some luck, I will be able to update this blog with thoughts and images from the trip and keep a steady stream of updates going on Facebook.

Please remember us in your thoughts and prayers as we remember you.

A hui hou!