Source: The Miami Herald
Vishes Swaroop sat, legs folded, distant look of concentration on his face as his hands beat out a complicated series of rhythms on the ancient Indian drum known as a tabla.
Swaroop, with about 20 other Indian youths and five adults, performed during the Festival of Music of India on Feb. 10, part of a series of free events at the South Florida Hindu Temple in Southwest Ranches during Hindu Heritage Month.
First on stage were the children younger than 10, followed by a group of teens who played the various Indian drums. Then came Ganavya Doraiswamy, of Davie, a 15-year-old playing an ancient form of bell music known as Jala Tarang, or water waves.
The skill of hitting water-filled bowls with a bamboo stick is dying out in India, said music instructor and professional musician Sandeep Munshi, while introducing Ganavya and her brother, Vignesh, who accompanied her on drums.
''The degree of difficulty has discouraged many from learning this music form,'' said Munshi, who runs two music schools in Broward and one in Boynton Beach.