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Announcer
Support for this program made possible by the Kodosky Foundation. (soft flamenco music) So Flamenco India is a innovative musical journey into the Indian roots of Spain's gypsy flamenco. So flamenco is actually a fusion of cultures and musical styles, which happened in South of Spain, starting in the late 14th Century when the Romani people arrived from India. The Romani people are known commonly as gypsies and that term gypsy came about because when the Romani people arrived in Europe, the Europeans didn't know who they were.
So Flamenco India really is, innovative project for me and it's a project that connects me, not just to Romani people in Europe or Spain, but also all the way back to India. We want to bring awareness to the general public all around the world, internationally, on who the Romani people are and the roots of Flamenco music. (soft flamenco music) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (singing in foreign language) (crowd cheering and clapping) So eventually we somehow got in touch online and I told him about this project I'm working on and I actually wasn't sure if he would say yes or not. He's a very deep person.
He thinks very deeply. But he has a certain side to him, which is very, kind of joyful and innocent in some way. And I feel like that's the place where we connect. (drum-heavy flamenco music) (singing) (singing in foreign language) (crowd cheering and clapping) It's just something which has naturally happened for me.
It's not something, I woke up one morning and said, oh I'm gonna create Flamenco India or become a musician for that matter. I've been on stage since I was five and it's been just a natural ongoing process of just learning from different, whether it's musicians or learning just from life itself. As a little kid, my uncle had a band and I would play and he would take me on stage and just kinda put me somewhere to play a drum or something. So really, it starts with family.
When I was back home, it was my parents about two years ago and I was sitting there playing my oud and my mom came into the room and she asked me, she said "so where does all this come from, "where does these melodies "and compositions come from for you?" And I said, "I don't really know. "I have no clue, it just happens, you know." And she said, "well I know." And I said, " you do?" And she said, "well I also have that within me." And so I guess what she was saying is that, it comes from deep within. I don't know, it's a genetic thing or a very deep spiritual thing. Whatever it is, it's definitely something I'm not thinking about and doing, it's not something I've got certain approach to it or anything.
It's always just been there. I don't even know how to explain that. It's just part of my life. It's just, it's become my life.
(upbeat flamenco music) (singing in foreign language) (crowd cheering) You're not gonna find this music in India or Spain. It's not just about some sort of entertainment. It's to help people find a liberation within themselves because freedom, at the end, is not anything outside of us. Ultimately, it's coming from within us.
(crowd cheering) (upbeat flamenco music) -
Announcer
Support for this program made possible by the Kodosky Foundation. (soft whistle)
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