2010-May-On A Roll: Sweden, Latvia, Germany

it seems ages ago, but in fact it was just a week since we left london by train for stockholm, avoiding the heathrow airport closure

here’s rajen and deva, surfing the net for alternative travel arrangements...

meanwhile we had time to hang out – deva and sakha discussing sound issues

eventually we made it to stockholm and it was really worth the effort!

we were given such a warm and loving welcome in the beautiful philharmonic hall

... people seemed really pleased to see us – the birds, too...

... phew ... we made it ...!

...and it was all due to this guy, mikael karlholm, who organised our visit.

micky moves so fast it’s difficult to get a good photo..here’s the best we have, so you get the idea...thanks micky!

deva levitates on stage, floating on her magic swedish mantric carpet...

and magic happens...

next day we said goodbye to sweden and flew to riga - the capitol of latvia

we arrived in a heat wave

such an atmospheric old town

riga has a pretty heavy political history and as a consequence has many heroes –
i assume this is one of them

my hero

...on a sightseeing stroll...

...of riga...

as for manose, he couldn’t resist...

...joining in...

music, the universal language

this is the congress hall, where we played to a full house of over 1000 people

it was a great night – we’d heard that latvian people are a little reticent when it comes to singing – and it was true, it took a while, especially for the men to join fully, but by the end of the evening our voices were open and we melted together, into ‘oneness’

back stage, deva chats with vija vetra (vijaya)
vijaya is a renowned classical indian dancer, born in latvia.
believe it or not, she is almost 88 years old and has been performing for 65 years!
such a bright spark – full of energy with many experiences to share
deva especially enjoyed her company

who can resist singing with deva?!

...so...bye bye riga – see you next time!

we had to leave for germany, and the rainbow spirit festival and another kind of celebration