Street Musicians Across The World

"If music be the food of love (life), play on..." - using a part of the famous lines of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare... music transcends all boundaries and brings people together.

Here's my tribute to the wonderful street musicians all over the world who perform in public squares, gardens and markets to enthrall different sets of tourists and locals everyday for a paltry reward.

1. At a local market in Bangkok here is a blind guitarist playing his music to the passerby. He has a microphone and an amplifier to be heard around!

2. An elderly couple performs almost non-stop at the Plaza Mayor, Madrid, belting out popular Spanish songs like Besame Mucho.

3. One of my favourites... Sitting on a chair at Miradouro in the Alfama region of Lisbon this old man can give many trained classical guitar professionals a run for their money... his playing was effortless and soulful!

3. An accordian player with hi-tech gadgets plays different genre of music seated under a lamp post outside the Royal Palace of Madrid.

4. At the Kapellbrücke, Lucerne, this old man played his small accordion while people walked on...

5. This performance was one of a kind... alphorn players at a square in Lucerne.

Childhood travel dreams and memories!

My husband went to my Kolkata home a couple of days ago and I wanted him to bring some of my old books from there. While packing the books he had no idea what he was bringing, and what pleasure will I get out of one of the books. When I started unpacking the bag I found my first atlas. It was bought probably when I was in class four or five, a few centuries ago (kidding, I am not that old!), and I can't believe that I still have it! This is the twenty fifth edition of The Oxford School Atlas, and is not quite relevant in today's times as the maps have The U.S.S.R., West Germany and East Germany in them. But, this particular map above is a special one as this is where my dreams of visiting Europe began.

While learning the names of the countires and their capital cities I used to quietly tell myself that I will visit these countries someday. My first attractions were Italy and Sicily probably because of their shapes.  At the age of thirteen I guess that was a good way to choose favourites! My father taught me that Italy was the boot and Silcily was the football. 

While going through the pages of the atlas a lot of memories came alive. It was fun to note that I have visited six countries in Europe already, and my dreams are still alive to visit the boot and the football!

Belgium

After Germany we went to Antwerp in Belgium. We reached there late in the evening, so we checked into the hotel and did not go out.

The next morning we went to Brussels. We got off the coach and went to The Grand Palace or Grote Markt Square. It is a vibrant part of the city where one can find people from all over the world. At the square one cannot miss the Godiva shop and the beer cafés and pubs! The narrow medieval streets around are lined with shops selling diamonds, crystals, souvenirs, and not to forget the awesome waffles.

Just a short walk from the Grand Place-Grote Markt is the Manneken Pis, a small bronze statue thought to represent the ‘irreverent spirit’ of Brussels. On the way to Manneken Pis one can see Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock painted on the wall of a building; a statue of Van Gogh and a man dressed like him.

Having been playing western classical music on the piano for 25 years I could not miss the statue of Béla Bartók near the central train station in a public square. He was a Hungarian composer and pianist, and was considered one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.

The Atomium adds splendor to the colourful city of Brussels.

Also visit http://chandrimawrites.blogspot.com/2009/04/chocolate-for-thought.html

Paris!