3 unedited field recordings taken in various places in Northern India during a three month long journey in the summer of 2007. Kutin and Lercher, accompanied by Barbara Wilding, were carrying out field recordings for their soundethnological project giza í ruh .

dawn at reewalsar lake

30 August 2007, 5:30 am. Rewalsar Lake is a mid altitude lake located in the Mandi district, 24 km from Mandi. Its elevation is about 1,360 m above sea level.

The lake is shaped like a square with a shoreline of about 735 metres in length and is surrounded by mountains on the northern side which rise to 1,700 metres. It is held as a sacred spot for Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists alike. Legend has it that the great teacher Padmasambhava (Guru Rimpoche) used his enormous power to take flight to Tibet from Rewalsar. In Rewalsar, his spirit is said to reside in the tiny island of floating reed that drifts over the water. There are three Buddhist monasteries, one Sikh temple and three Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva and to the sage Lomas.

The recording was taken at dawn. Besides the wildlife, fish, birds, insects, dogs, you can also hear the different acoustic signals from the temples (gongs, bells, Sikh prayers) and the echo created by the mountains.

Recorded by Peter Kutin to DAT (Tascam DAP 1) with a matched Oktava MK012 stereo pair in AB formation.

mandala puja at lamayuru gompa

4 August 2007, 10:00 am. Lamayuru is a Tibetan Buddhist Gompa (monastery) in Kargil District, Western Ladakh, situated on the Srinagar - Kargil - Leh road 15km east of the Fotu La, at a height of 3510 metres.

Founded in the 11th century by the Indian scholar Mahasiddhacarya Naropa following many years of meditation (allegedly on the site of a dried-up lake), Lamayuru is the one of the largest and also one of the oldest gompas in Ladakh with a population of around 150 permament resident monks . It has in the past housed up to 400 monks, many of which are now based in gompas in surrounding villages. Lamayuru is host to two annual masked dance festivals in the second and fifth months of the Tibetan lunar calendar, when all the monks from these surrounding gompas gather together to pray.

On the recording one can hear a puja (buddhist-prayer) while a sand mandala is created (ruttling sounds).

Recorded by Peter Kutin and Daniel Lercher to DAT (Tascam DAP 1) with a matched Oktava MK012 stereo pair in AB formation.

streetparade at pharaganj, main bazaar, new delhi
                            

27 September 2007, afternoon. Paharganj (literally 'hilly neighbourhood') is a neighbourhood of New Delhi, located just west of the New Delhi Railway Station. It is one of the three administrative subdivisions of the Central Delhi district in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Besides numerous shops the main bazaar offers internet cafes, cheap hotels, guest houses and restaurants, hence the nickname "backpacker ghetto". During the day It is filled up with people, rhikshas, cows and dogs .

This recording captures a parade which was going on there one day but nobody seemed to know the reason for the parade.        

Recorded by Peter Kutin with an Edirol R9 and binaural Soundman microphones (MKII). Headphone listening recommended.

dawn at reewalsar lake 7:32 (17.2mb)

mandala puja at lamayuru gompa 10:00 (23mb)

streetparade at pharaganj, main bazaar, new delhi 4:02 (9.24mb)