"Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been " (first line of lyrics)
"In an interview he gave to William S. Burroughs in 1975, Page mentioned that at the time the song was composed, none of the band members had ever been to Kashmir." (wiki)
You can travel to Kashmir via BroadbandTVTravel Channel on YouTube. There is a 10 part playlist that opens a window into a simple and productive culture in the lake city of Srinagar. Transportation of merchants and farmers on wooden boats called shikara. I was very interested in the video showing the production of silk from butterfly larvae, saffron, wool from Tibetan goats called shatoosh. Hand weaved fabrics that are dyed using ancestral recipes. Beautiful and intricately adorned paper mache that is not the kind you learn in kindergarden.....Silk and wool carpet weaver families that take up to four years to complete a carpet. All hand made. It was a romantic sort of series of videos...
On the reality side of Kasmir... violence and conflict since the British left in 1947 leaving with a separation of India and Pakistan labeled "The Partition" resulting in a run a muck of refugees trying to find their favored sides killing millions. A different kind of hand made artistry occurs.
Thanks for viewing my blog. Susan (Bluezy)
No comments:
Post a Comment