Musical pillars in South Indian temples

Early rock music – Music from Stones

Strange, the uninitiated would think, reading the title, for it is neither about rock music as we know it today, nor about the rolling stones, but about music from stones, a field called Lithophony, and its early applications in South India, characterized by the many musical pillars, staircases, idols and stone blowing instruments found in certain temples. While there are a number of articles about these music pillars on the web, they follow pretty much the same template, and some of them have incorrect information as well. Almost all these articles are about the pillars at Hampi’s Vittala temple, mentioning them as singular and unique, but seem unaware that there are many more in Tamil Nadu and Andhra. So, I thought I would put on my research cap and work a bit on it. Let’s go.

A Sojourn in Morocco

Off the beaten track

It did not take much effort to plan this trip once we had set our minds to it, and we were lucky to find a travel company that then worked with their Moroccan counterpart to provide a decent package. Pretty soon, we were on an Air Canada flight across the Atlantic and headed to the Western fringes of the African continent where a Moorish adventure beckoned. It sure turned out to be one, as the flight to Montreal was delayed and we just managed to clamber on the Casablanca flight, all revved up and ready to leave. The mad dash through immigration in Montreal, with a lot of help from the airport staff across gates, and exhortations and wishes to catch the onward flight, got us through the vast terminal, panting and with heaving chests into the comforting seats of a warm widebody 787. As it was weighted down by inches and layers of snow, elaborate deicing procedures were required, but we took off without any more issues, headed for the warmer climes at the lands adjoining the Sahara.