Classic Incantations Review

I found an amazing review of the concert tour 'Classic Incantations' by one of ARR's biggest fans.  He came to the Chennai concert and not only loved it, but wrote an amazing review that included audio clips!

Click on the link for the full review: http://www.backgroundscore.com/2012/01/classic-incantations-concert-review.html

Some excerpts from the blog:


PASSAGE SUITE
By the end of the first three pieces - Warriors of Heaven and Earth, Lagaan and Mangal Pandey, anyone who haven’t seen the films and doesn’t know the purpose of the music, is definitely bound to come to a conclusion that all orchestral pieces of A.R.Rahman sound similar and might feel that the concert is already turning monotonous. That is why it is a brilliant idea to have Passage Suite as the next piece, which is far removed from the bangs, drum rolls and bombastic brass sounds of the first three period film pieces. Passage exhibited the tender tones of the orchestra and what it takes for a Soprano to raise and soar over a 100-piece orchestra. Kavita Baliga, the soprano gave an exquisite rendition of Aria from Passage, with her voice rendering a wide array of emotions through crests and troughs, straight notes and vibratos in A.R.Rahman’s invigorating melody. Waltz, the end credits music from the film Passage followed, but surprisingly, with Kavita Baliga singing some Italian verses along with the orchestra which weren’t present in the original. Waltz is an all out western classical composition from A.R.Rahman with not a note of Indianness in it.


LORD OF THE RINGS SUITE
With the serene Canyon (instrumental version of “If I Rise” song) theme and excerpts from Acid Darbari 127 Hours suite became the Concert’s quietest piece. It was an exceptionally moving performance by the Orchestra. The Orchestra was just crouching low during 127 Hours suite before plunging back in action in full force for the Lord of the Rings Suite. Lord of the Rings Suite is the only piece in the concert that I wasn’t much familiar with. The performances by Arun H.K, Kavita Baliga, K.M Choir and Babelsberg Orchestra were absolutely magical and transported me to a different world. It was the most colorful and vibrant of all the pieces performed in the concert and I instantly fell in love with the piece. 


Read the whole review!

Matt Dunkley's blog

This was the blog entry written by Matt Dunkley after 'Classic Incantations'.

It's been an amazing couple of weeks in India with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg. Travelling around this country, you get a real sense of the indomitable spirit of the people, and of the huge diversity of this sub-continent. The concerts have seen great performances from the orchestra, choir and soloists, and have largely been met with enthusiasm and respect for the ambitions of this wonderful project. It took us all a while to realise that muted applause didn't mean that the audience was unhappy with our concerts, and that this is quite normal in Indian classical performance, though the response in A. R. Rahman's home city of Chennai was simply overwhelming. What a night! These concerts have been an important first step in re-introducing a western classical tradition into the Indian music landscape, and one that I know AR is passionate about.

What has been so special about the tour is watching the growing respect and friendship between the German musicians of the orchestra and our lovely choir from maestro Rahman's KM Music Conservatory. A real cross-cultural exchange that is at the heart of the 'Germany and India 2011-2012: Infinite Opportunities' project. For an amateur student choir, they have risen to the considerable challenge of performing with a professional orchestra and have grown in confidence concert by concert.

Last Friday was another special day, when some small groups from the orchestra visited the KM Music Conservatory to perform for the students. First, we were treated to a short concert by a string group that had only been studying for one year. The concentration on their young faces and the standard they have already attained impressed us all. The highlight of the visit was a truly spellbinding performance by the student Qawwali ensemble. Just magical.

Our last concert was performed on Sunday night to an enthusiastic audience of over 6000 people, at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. It's such a beautiful city and was a fitting end to this remarkable trip. 

We have all grown to love "Incredible India", and I for one can't wait to come back again.

_____________________________

Matt Dunkley

Conductor/arranger

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242161/

http://www.mattdunkley.com

Semester Break 2010 (Part 1)

Varanasi:

In 1898 American author Mark Twain wrote about his visit to Varanasi: "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."

Considered the center of the earth in Hindu cosmology and the holiest place in the world, Benares lies in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, 200 miles southeast of Lucknow. It is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.

I realized earlier this year that I hadn't really travelled outside of Chennai in the (almost) three years that I have been living here (gasp!). The first year I was trying to get used to Chennai, period. The second year, I was fortunate enough to get some wild gigs outside of the country and travel with my parents and friends around the south.

I decided this year that I would focus my attention on the north: northern cuisine, culture, and religion. For the semester holiday, I booked my ticket and pilgrimaged to Varanasi; the center of Hinduism; the religion I grew up with. We flew to Delhi and then took an overnight train to Benares. I am not quite sure what I was expecting. The city of Varanasi is revered as the center of Hinduism and given quite a bit of importance in the country - I was expecting a small ancient town, well preserved and immaculate. I expected to see a city that was protected by the public; its significance and honor maintained by government protocol. The city of Varanasi is described in both the Mahabharat and Ramayana and should be preserved as a national religious and tourist destination.


It's not. It's actually a giant heap of poverty, disillusioned temple-goers, and death.

I was told by many who went before me, that once I reached the holy city, I would feel an 'energy in the air'; that I would feel hopeful and optimistic; energized by the spirituality. I didn't. Don't get me wrong. I am not one of those westerners who criticizes everything unclean; who carries hand sanitizer in their back pocket; who brushes their teeth with aquafina, and who cringes at everything uncomfortable. But I live in Chennai and I feel the optimistic energy of Chennai on a daily basis. I did not feel that in Varanasi.

While the ghats were spectacular and extraordinarily interesting for Kavita the tourist, Kavita the Indian felt sad and lost at the sight of women and men bathing in one of the most polluted water bodies in the world. The odor of waste and the stench of death hangs low over the river. We took a canoe through the river and watched the activity: men and women washing clothes, bathing, holding poojas, throwing ashes into the water, burning dead bodies covered in orange cloth. I watched fly covered stiff corpses float by our boat and saw demonic crows pecking at dead children floating face down in the opaque brown water. And I saw the navwallas dip their hands into the same putrid water and aggressively take a sip to quench their thirst. I was simultaneously fascinated, disgusted, and impressed.

We paid Shankar-the-auto-driver (let's call him S.T.A.D.) 300 rupees a day to take us around the city for three days. We visited temples, took boats out onto the ganga, drank bang lassi, and even watched a snake charmer, but the best part of the entire trip was by far the street food. Oh. My. God. We asked S.T.A.D. to take us to eat a typical street breakfast and he took us to eat poori bhaji at a roadside stand. Dripping with oil, the thick moist pooris were incredibly satisfying to dip into the bowl of bhaji. We ate with our hands on dishes made of dried leaves and then washed our hands with water from a bucket sans soap. The stand owners eyed us curiously as I awkwardly took pictures of the situation. We then walked across the street and ate sweet pan which was fragrant and delicious.

The trip was worth it, but I left three days later feeling unsatisfied. If you are a religious person, Varanasi might have had a different effect on you. But walking through temple lines; being squashed by hoards of people on every side of you pushing and shoving to get through, and having angry monkeys throwing food and flowers left and right, was not exactly what I consider to be a spiritual experience. Plus, because of the recent bombings and terrorist attacks on temples in Benares, the security at every temple was fierce. We were frisked, prodded, and searched thoroughly before entering. Not fun.

Next stop: Mumbai. Stay tuned.

Diwali 2010

The astonishment never ceases! India continues to surprise, bewilder and amaze me regardless of how long I have been here. What starts off as a typical day can turn into the best or worst day ever. What I normally see as mundane and average, suddenly becomes new and exciting. Relationships that I thought were a lost cause suddenly spark into respectful and happy friendships. And the religious holidays that I had lost interest in experiencing, unexpectedly become the most wonderful and memorable moments of your life.

That is India – unpredictable, chaotic, and beautiful.

If you’ve been reading my blog, you know that last year I didn’t have the best time during Diwali. What was supposed to be an exciting time with close friends and roommates during the Festival of Lights turned into a hellish nightmare of fire, flooding, and a grueling legal battle with an angry landlord. A neighboring child had lit a firecracker on the street that hit our roof – our roof made of straw. (A roof made of straw you ask? My roommates had covered the open roof deck with a thatched hut). The stray firecracker hit our roof, burst into flames, and when my roommates, friends and I returned to the house after dinner, we found our blackened, charred roof on the street – water flooding the house, and no electricity. With candles, towels and brooms, all of us pulled up our sleeves, got on our hands and knees and mopped up the mess. All I can say is: thank god houses in India are not made of wood!

This year however, my friend Ayesha invited me to Delhi and invited all of my friends from KMMC. So we set off: Jimmy, Brian, Christy, Emily and I to Ayesha’s house in Vasant Vihar. I finally experienced my first real Diwali in northern India – (I chuckle to myself as I reflect on my only experiences with Diwali: Konkani Diwali functions dancing to Bollywood songs hardly having any religious or cultural relevance to the Festival of Lights – then eating Dhalitoi and sheeth). We arrived on Friday morning and after taking some time to rest, we went to Ayesha’s parent’s office where they were holding a Lakshmi pooja for prosperity, wealth and good health. That evening we came home, dressed up, and spent the evening lighting firecrackers in their front yard and on the street. It was truly the most exciting Diwali I’ve ever had.


The next day Ayesha took all of us out to Chandni Chowk to experience Old Delhi. I’ve been to Delhi many times now and honestly, up until that point I hadn’t been very impressed with it. To me, it has always looked and felt like suburbia hell. It doesn’t have the bustling energy of Bombay, or the small town feel of Chennai. But when Ayesha took us to Chandni Chowk – I understood. The streets are filled with kind, good-natured people. The architecture is interesting, and differs greatly from one building to the next depending on religious origins and British influence. The Red Fort is majestic and stately. And the food – oh the food! We stopped at the famous Parathe Wali Gali and feasted on stuffed fried parathas that ranged from aloo to banana. Oh. My. God. The banana paratha was probably one of the most heavenly things I’ve ever eaten. Then at the end of the street we shared a pista kulfi falooda. I don’t even like kulfi, but man! That was amazing.



We spent the next day relaxing at home and having an amazing home cooked lunch of baingan bharta and rogan josh.

All in all the Diwali weekend was a blast. Unfortunately, we all had to leave on Sunday and prepare for another grueling week at KMMC. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Next stop: Varanasi.

To be continued…

Middlesex

It's been a few months since I've written. I think it's time to get back in the saddle. A lot of good things have been happening and I am happy and excited to once again be in Chennai.

The biggest news is that KMMC is finally officially affiliated with Middlesex University in London! I returned to Chennai at the end of June and immediately had to attend Middlesex meetings. Presentations were given by the Middlesex staff to try and create structure at KM. Everything that the foreign faculty at KM had been trying to do for the past two years (promote structure, organization, proper protocol, rules and regulations etc.) was summed up very succinctly by Middlesex in one week. It was delightful. One of the biggest aspects of building structure, is obviously building a hierarchy and system so that each person is held accountable for their actions. No one in the administration has ever been held accountable for their actions. Up until this point, whenever someone is questioned, they point at the other guy in response - "she did it, not me." I am thrilled that a system is finally in place - the question now is, who is going to monitor quality control? That brings me to my next little bit of news.

I have been promoted to an administrative position: Programme Leader. In the past month, I have been breaking my back writing writing writing rules and regulations, the student handbook, and protocol which basically puts me in charge of well, everything. It's a lot of work, but totally fulfilling. I like this position. I feel like I can manage people well. I feel like I have a good idea of what works and what doesn't. I think through problems thoroughly and from all angles before coming to a conclusion. But the position was appointed to me by Middlesex, and my sudden authority has left people feeling inadequate, annoyed and rather suspicious. My decisions are constantly questioned. But it is a challenge and I am enjoying it. (The photo is of Rahman's London assistant Anne-Marie and me in KM. She came with the Middlesex people and sat in on all the meetings.)

I spent a month slogging over the student handbook and as a reward to myself, I went and stayed at Fisherman's Cove for two nights with my friend Ayesha. Fisherman's Cove is a 5-star luxury Taj resort located halfway between Chennai and Mahabalipuram. Without traffic it only takes a half an hour to get there. I don't usually take 5-star vacations without the parents, but in this case, I felt like I was entitled (the new raise and all). It was amazing. The pool looked so inviting (especially the bar IN the pool, ha!), I decided to spend most of my time in it. Lounging around in your bathing suit in a city that doesn't allow you to wear shorts is a thrill that I can't even explain. I had a beautiful lobster dinner and even got a massage at the spa. It was wonderful. And the bathroom had a tub! I miss bathtubs...


On another happy note, my student last year, Mugdha Hasabnis is going to be on television on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa! She has been singing one of the pieces that I taught her to the judges and apparently they love it! They call her the "opera singer". Haha. It's an amazing feeling and I'm so proud of her. If you guys watch the show, cross your fingers!

TEDIndia 2009

Tuesday, Nov. 3
I’ve only been here for a few hours and already the experience is absolutely unbelievable. The people that I’ve met are beyond inspiring and truly warriors in their fields. I flew in to Bangalore from Chennai at noon this morning and met the other TED attendees at baggage claim. Lo and Behold – I realized that three of them were on my flight! The first person I met and bonded with: Rohini Rau, a contender for the 2012 Olympics in sailing and representative for India. Yes, sailing. Like, on the water. Like, in a boat. What a woman!
We filed into the bus and traveled the 5 hours to the Infosys campus in Mysore… escorted by police vehicles on all sides. Meanwhile I’m wondering what the hell I’m doing here – I’m not exactly escort-worthy. But... anyway, we got to the campus, checked in, freshened up, and then headed to dinner where we spent the rest of the night mingling with other Fellows. I’ve already met some incredibly talented and intelligent people. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

Wednesday, Nov. 4
6:45 am – wakeup.
7:30 am – All of the Fellows had to take headshots. I can’t imagine what mine must have looked like. I’m not used to taking pictures so early in the morning. We’ll see.
9 am – We filed into the small auditorium to hear our fellow Fellow’s talk about well, anything they wanted to talk about. I was so confused about what exactly this TED thing was, but once I heard these talks, I realized… it IS actually as vague as the website is. It really truly is people, from all walks of life, coming together to share ideas. When I read that on the website I was like… Uh….. hmm… ok.. but what does that mean? I heard talks on anything and everything: different kinds of inventions, architecture, social issues and programs, business ideas, inspirational stories – one Fellow even did a 3 minute talk trying to prove that “Ancient civilizations were just as crappy as we are.” What a day!
At night Infosys threw us a party at the Royal Orchid Hotel. The hotel was beautifully decorated inside and out with lights and flowers. It was the first social event where the Fellows and the Attendees got a chance to meet. There was even a poetry reading! Again, I met so many interesting, intelligent, charismatic people. The problem is trying to remember everyone!

Thursday, Nov. 5 & Friday, Nov. 6
Thursday and Friday were filled with talks. My alarm didn’t go off and I woke up with just enough time to run to the dining hall, grab a croissant and run to the auditorium where I managed to squeeze in and get a good seat. Thursday was the official beginning of the conference and probably the most memorable of all of the sessions. All of the speakers got standing ovations. Hans Rosling began with an 18 minute talk: predictions of when the East will catch up to the West in terms of income per person and life expectancy starting from the year 1800. In what people call “his best talk yet” Rosling spoke at a feverish pace much like an auctioneer while showing an animated graph of the progression of each country. To see the graph, follow the link:
http://graphs.gapminder.org/world/#$majorMode=chart$is;shi=t;ly=2003;lb=f;il=t;fs=11;al=30;stl=t;st=t;nsl=t;se=t$wst;tts=C$ts;sp=6;ti=1911$zpv;v=0$inc_x;mmid=XCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj1jiMAkmq1iMg;by=ind$inc_y;mmid=YCOORDS;iid=phAwcNAVuyj2tPLxKvvnNPA;by=ind$inc_s;uniValue=8.21;iid=phAwcNAVuyj0XOoBL_n5tAQ;by=ind$inc_c;uniValue=255;gid=CATID0;by=grp$map_x;scale=log;dataMin=194;dataMax=96846$map_y;scale=lin;dataMin=23;dataMax=86$map_s;sma=49;smi=2.65$cd;bd=0$inds=

Other notable speakers who really touched me were: Mallika Sarabhai who spoke about the importance of the arts in regards to social change – she argued that the arts are and always have been the most powerful way to effect change, whether political, social or personal. To watch her talk, follow the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/mallika_sarabhai.html

Devdutt Pattanaik compared East and West and talked about how the religious mythology behind both parts of the world can explain the way in which we function on a day to day level - how fundamental beliefs about god, death and heaven are the reason why we consistently misunderstand one another. To watch his talk, follow the link:
http://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik.html

Then of course there’s Pranav Mistry who spoke about combining the physical tangible world with the world of data by doing a demo of his Sixth Sense device.
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

A few other notable speakers who I really enjoyed talked about social issues and in particular, women’s issues. Sunita Krishnan spoke about sex trafficking of girls in India– some as young as 5 and 6 years old - and Eve Ensler, author of the Vagina Monologues, spoke about the “girl self” and how everyone, men and women need to embrace the girl within them.


Friday, Nov. 6: Grand Party

On Friday night there was a huge party off campus with delectable food, fantastic cocktails, exquisite desserts, and a Bollywood DJ who got everyone to dance bhangra on the dance floor. I got such a kick out of watching all of these older distinguished men and women who had given such incredibly intellectual talks earlier in the day, get down and boogie to bhangra!  I got a chance to mingle more with my fellow Fellows as well as have a long discussion with Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev who in my opinion, is a pretty cool laid back guru if I've ever seen one.  I had actually met him in Venice because he was there accompanying Shekhar Kapur for the premiere of 'Passage'.  It took him a second to remember me but once he did, he said if I ever want to take time out and visit his ashram, he would love to have me.  Hmmm... perhaps, I said.  Oh and for those of you who are Bollywood fans, I had the opportunity to meet Abhay Deol who seems like a pretty down to earth guy. In the picture below is Abhay with my two new TED friends: Rohini Rau, the sailor, and Satyabrata Dam, a mountaineer who has climbed 300 of the tallest peaks in the world.

The next day I only got to go to the morning session because the bus was waiting to take us back to Bangalore.  

Going to Mysore for TEDIndia was an experience I will never forget. It was four days of meeting and networking with such talented and influential people. 

I have never been so inspired!

Ayayooooo

One of the things that will never cease to amaze me about India - There's never a dull moment. The minute you think.. "Ah! I can relax now" Something really crazy happens.

Let me start from the beginning. I know I haven't been blogging as frequently as before, and when I do.. the entry is 18 pages long. Well let me warn you - this is another one of those. Sorry:)

Student Concert
Venice was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life. I had a couple days to rest once I returned to India, and then almost immediately, had to start stressing about my students. I had planned a student recital for October 5. It was time to bring out the whip. It's funny how in the beginning of the year (this happened last year as well) the students are sooo excited to begin learning Western Voice, not really knowing what that entails and not at all prepared for the hard work, concentration, and work ethic it involves. Then once they realize it's not what they thought it would be, about half of them begin to lose enthusiasm, stop coming to class, constantly have "the flu" etc. etc. The other half on the other hand, really start to blossom into musicians. As a teacher it is so exciting to see potential - it's really what motivates me every day and it's what I love about my job. I don't know if all teachers feel this way, but I seem to have somewhat bipolar reactions to all my students during the day. Of course I try to be as neutral as possible when I'm talking to them; always a smile on my face, always trying to motivate and inspire. But in my head I'm thinking "You make me want to die. What is this life? This hour is a waste of my life. I wonder how much a flight to San Francisco costs right now...." And then when a student has clearly been working hard and understands the basics, I want to jump for joy and parade them around like a trophy. Is that normal? I don't know. It certainly gives me a bit of insight into my education though.
Anyhow, the recital went well. I was a nervous little mother duck in the back of the room mouthing the words. I think everyone was happy:)
Three of my students: Mugdha Hasabnis, Azaan Khan, and Rituraj Sen.
Photos by Claire Ronsin

Paris
One of my friends from UCI, Alicia, recently got married in San Francisco to a Frenchman she met a few years ago. I couldn't go to the wedding, but Sylvain's side of the family threw a reception in Paris. I, as well as two of my close friends from college went. It was a mini reunion of sorts, and definitely worth it.


Diwali
I came back from Paris last Thursday and immediately the Diwali celebrations began. I know I wrote about the experience last year, but this year... was....absolutely....crazy. To top it off, Archana, Vaman, and Sumeeth came in from Bangalore so I was excited to party it up with some familiar faces. Everything was going wonderfully... until Saturday. The city was ablaze in lights and color. It sounded like a war zone outside - all the neighbors were lighting crackers and fireworks. We hung out on the street with the neighbors and did our share of lighting crackers. Once we ran out we realized we were really hungry and decided to go to Royapettah for dinner. We got on our scooties and left. Apparently, five seconds after we turned the corner, a firecracker, which was lit by a kid from a neighboring slum, hit our thatched roof which immediately caught on fire. We had just reached the restaurant when Claire got a call from the owner shouting "The house is on fire! The house is on fire!" When we got back to the house, the entire roof was destroyed. Nothing happened to us or our belongings.... but if we had stayed on the roof for 10 more minutes we would have been hit. A neighbor took a video on his cell phone:




If you just watched that... don't freak out. No one was hurt and none of our valuables got damaged. But how crazy is that? Arch, Vaman, and Sumeeth helped us clean up the mess - (THANK YOU!) And by the end of the night we got the electricity back on, and cleaned up most of the mess in the house.

Needless to say, the owner was beyond pissed off. And now it's become a moral/financial issue: If you point the finger at the slum kid on the street, the only thing that'll happen is he'll be severely beaten by the crooked cops and thrown in jail. It's not our responsibility because it was an accident caused by someone else. The owner is technically financially responsible for the damage, but it was Claire and Viviane who covered the roof deck with a thatched roof. So what now?
We wait and see.
I have a feeling we will end up negotiating 50/50 but regardless, the fire caused about a lakh of damage. So 50,000 divided by three is not SO bad, but still... One of the moments in my life that will stick with me forever: the sinking sensation of coming home from the restaurant and seeing the black, charred roof on the street, seeing the house completely flooded with water, and thinking "there are no landlord/tenant laws here. We are responsible for this." - one of the first times I've felt proud to be an American.

It seems that as you get older the space between high and low, happy and sad, tends to get bigger and bigger. The highs are really high and the lows are really low. 10 years ago my life circulated around a midpoint - a status quo - which was... well... ME. The older you get the more you realize how much else there is to consider when making a decision; and how many other people that decision will affect. In some ways I love that. But in some ways I want to be 16 again - where my biggest problem was wondering who I will ask to Prom.

CIAO CIAO VENEZIA!!!

I know it's been a couple weeks, but it took that long for me to actually just... EXHALE, pinch myself, and say "Yes. That did happen." It all happened so fast, I barely had time to process what was happening. The Delhi Concert, then right after that rehearsals for the MJ Tribute, then immediately after that I had to prepare for Venice. AHHHH!

Let me tell you, the day I left was the worst day EVER. My scooty wouldn't start, so I took Viviane's scooty to work. All of the foreign faculty had been waiting for specific tax documents to be given to us from the school - we had to have these documents in order to get our employment visas registered. Of course these documents never turned up and so the week before Venice I had to scramble around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to get this paperwork from anyone and everyone in the administration - no one had it. So I thought, well, if the school doesn't have it, and I don't have it, what can I do? So I went to the hellish visa office and the lady thumbed through my paperwork disapprovingly and said "Hah! you guys always do this. You guys seem to take immigration very lightly. It's not going to work this time. I'll see you next week with the correct documents." "UM - no please please please, I CAN'T come next week, I have to go to Venice this weekend for a gig!" "I'm sorry, I can't help you." So I went back to school and talked to Faiz "FAIZ! What am I supposed to do? I need this paperwork and no one seems to have it." "Ok I'll do one thing. Let me call Hari, he's the accountant but he's on holiday."

Long story short - we didn't have the paperwork because guess what? The taxes were never filed. We had to go to the auditor and file the taxes and take our chances at the visa office by showing them a receipt - proof that the taxes were filed. Faiz, the lifesaver, managed to talk his way back into the visa office even though it was closed, and the lady finally, FINALLY granted me the registration.

Then there's the dress: I had asked the designer Chaitanya Rao to make a dress for me for the Venice gig. I explained exactly what I wanted, showed him a picture of the neckline... everything. After the visa madness I found out that my flight for Venice was actually in a few HOURS - the itinerary was sent to me while I was at the visa office. So I frantically called Chetan and said "My flight is at 4 am! Can you finish it by this evening?" "Uh oh really???" ..... he hadn't even started. When I finally went to pick up what I thought was going to be a beautiful gown, it was exactly... EXACTLY what I didn't want. The shape was wrong, it was ill-fitting, I had asked him to make it in a way that would reduce my bust and instead of trying to draw your attention somewhere else, he decided to create a giant gold-sequined horizontal stripe across my chest. Even I know that horizontal stripes are a big NO NO when you're trying to slim someone down. Not only that, the neckline wasn't like the one in the picture. He insisted it was and told me to not expect it to look exactly the same as the picture because "your body doesn't look like that." I had had such a horrible day that I just started crying. Instead of being sympathetic and trying to fix as much as possible before the flight, his assistant Tina rolled her eyes and said "WHAT? There's nothing we can do now, so I don't know what to tell you." "Um... it's ALL WRONG. It's not what I asked for AT ALL." "Well we can't do anything - can I leave? Because I left a dinner party for this, and there's nothing we can do." At which point I was so fed up that I just lost it. "Um - ARE YOU A BITCH TO ALL YOUR CLIENTS, OR JUST ME? WHAT WAS THE POINT OF GETTING A DESIGNER TO MAKE MY DRESS IF IT LOOKS LIKE SHIT? I CAN WALK INTO ANY H&M AND FIND A BETTER FITTING OUTFIT MADE IN A SWEATSHOP IN CHINA."

Yeah.... that was obviously not the best tactic. I took the dress to Venice but I didn't wear it. Chetan agreed to work on the dress after I got back from Venice. He hasn't answered any of my calls.

Goodbye 20,000 rupees. It was nice knowing you.

Viviane's scooty broke down on the way back from the designer at 11 pm. What a fantastic day.


Incredibly exhausted, angry, and still unbelievably ill from the flu, I forced my anxiety ridden self to jump in an auto and go the airport at 2 am. I apathetically plopped my bag down and slid my passport across the Emirates counter without even looking at the lady. She handed me my boarding pass and I just stared at it in disbelief. "I think you made a mistake. This says Business Class." "No, no that's right. Enjoy." I was dumbstruck, thinking to myself "Hah! This day is lookin up..." While I was waiting to board, my name was called over the intercom. When I went to the counter, the lady said. "Boarding pass, please." I handed it to her. She crossed out seat 7B and wrote 2A. I didn't think anything of it until I boarded the plane and the stewardess said "Welcome to your First Class Suite". I tried to be as nonchalant as possible as I stumbled over myself to sit in a chair that was too big for me, and accidentally turned the massage feature on full blast. When the stewardess asked if I wanted champagne, I stammered over the vibrations, "Y-y-yess, n-no, w-well, maybe... y-yes...maybe later." She stared. I stared. She walked away. I closed the door and vibrated in silence. Yeah, that was smooth.

You forget how unbelievably beautiful Venice is until you go there again and you feel like you're walking through a giant film set. The cobblestone streets, the absence of motor vehicles, the gondolas, the grandeur of the duomos and piazzas - it's incredible. The food... Oh the food...

I had a day and a half to relax and unwind before rehearsals. I roamed the city, taking it all in. On Saturday I had my first rehearsal with the 13 piece Venetian string orchestra at the hotel. The conductor, Matt Dunkley, motioned for me to come to the front of the room and announced, "ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our vocalist for tomorrow evening." Again, I tried to act as nonchalant as possible but ended up giggling nervously. The Venetians looked dubious. I noticed Shekhar come in halfway through the rehearsal. He waved. I smiled and continued singing. Afterward I ducked out as quick as possible, ran up to my room, closed the door, and leaned against it for five minutes processing what had just happened.

That night we were to all have dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant in San Marco. I was told to meet downstairs at 7 pm. The dinner consisted of the conductor, Matt and his wife, Rahman, Shekhar, David Adjaye, 3 of the big guys from Swarovski, Haley Bennett, and Ryan Eggold who stars in 90210: The Next Generation. I got such a kick out of that, I can't even tell you. A ridiculous multi-course meal featuring beef carpaccio, an assortment of fish, mussels, squid, langoustine, soft shell crab, risotto... and the list goes on and on.

The actual performance? It went really well. I was incredibly uncomfortable meeting everyone, posing for pics, and I couldn't even have wine because I had to sing. The room was lit beautifully, the stage area was beautiful, and I had a mic stand so I didn't have to worry about failing to project. I sand the two arias, then Rahman spoke a bit about the music from the film and did a small demonstration on the piano, and then as an encore I was asked to sing one of the arias again. It was perfect. Haley and David approached me and gushed over my singing. It was surreal.

I spent the rest of the evening relaxed and content. I said thank you to everyone and walked back to the hotel with a smile on my face.

Photos:
Press Photos: Courtesy of www.swarovski.com
Bauer Palladio Hotel & Spa Photos: Courtesy of www.bauerpalladio.it
Piazza San Marco