Pingla, India

 

We visited the village of Pingla for a weekend side trip while in Kolkata. They are known for a story telling painting tradition, with a focus on scrolls, relating local, national, and international happenings in addition to mythology. All paints are made from natural sources and they sing the story of the painting. (There are also a few other photos from the trip out and back.)

 

Kolkata, India (Part 1)

 

The first month of time in India was spent up in the northwest state of West Bengal, with our home base as Kolkata. It's India's third largest metropolitan area (~14mil.) and is considered by many to be the intellectual, artistic and cultural capital. I absolutely loved exploring this city.

 

Wooden Doll Village Festival • with Debalina, Arpan & Pritam

Wooden Doll Village Festival • with Debalina, Arpan & Pritam

Less than 12hours after arriving to India, my family and I were heading north out of Kolkata towards Natungram, a small village known for their wooden doll carving tradition. It was our first time in the country and just about everything would be new — including two of the three people I was to be playing with.

Natungram, India

 

For our very first days in India, we traveled ~5hrs north from Kolkata to the village of Natungram to play a festival celebrating their wooden doll carving tradition. We also made stops in Shantiniketan and the Tepantar Theatre at Satkahania village along the way.

 

Got an Old Upright in the AirBnB • with Michael Biggins

Got an Old Upright in the AirBnB • with Michael Biggins

Michael and I met at my first few jam session down in Glasgow. His rhythm, harmony, and left hand bass saved the day for me, and we planned to get together after the holidays. Luckily, my AirBnB came with an upright piano that was relatively in tune—5 stars for amenities.

Edinburgh, Scotland

 

For the last two weeks of December, our home base was Glasgow, but we couldn't resist a couple trips to the romantic city of Edinburgh, just 1hr away by train.

 

I'm Not Fed Up with the Pacific Ocean • with Éamonn Coyne

I'm Not Fed Up with the Pacific Ocean • with Éamonn Coyne

What do an Irishman and an American play for a collaboration in Scotland? The answer is simple, a Swedish tune. Just before the Christmas holiday, on our one overlapping day, I reunited with an old friend in Edinburgh.