Dharamshala: - 5th June, 2011: Sunday evening saw the celebration of World Environment Day in a way less ubiquitous. Held on the terrace of Youngling School in Mcleodganj, Tribal Sounds for Planet Earth was a charity event that spread the message through action instead of words - with a background score of fusion music. A cohesive effort of a group of individuals working independently, the idea of Tribal Sounds was to create an evening filled with natural beauty and a curious blend of musical styles.
The music was an amalgamation of the oud, flute, tabla, djembe, Indian slide guitar, harmonium and the didgeridoo. There were slide-shows and episodes of "Planet Earth" documentary series being screened on a projector to emphasize the cause by taking the audience on a visual journey through nature.
Jay, the head organiser, was also a performer and played the didgeridoo(an Aboriginal instrument) and djembe(an African percussion instrument) along with Stefan, Prabhu (vocalist and harmonium), Brad(Indian slide guitar), Meron(oud) and Shyam (flute). Max managed the sound engineering systems for the evening and the show was co-ordinated by Xilona, who was also the art designer of the event posters. The entire evening consisted of a no-waste policy in which all the materials were recyclable, like the plates and glasses. Food and drinks were organised and made available by Jodie, the head of Mountain Cleaners.
She graced the audience with a speech about her organisation and information about the various clean ups that they manage. Tenzin Choedon, a Tibetan girl, who is environmental co-ordinator for the Clean Upper Dharamshala Project also spoke a few words about their organisation's 17th anniversary. These were the two local environmental organisations, along with the Tibetan Settlement Office, for which the funds were being raised.
Impromptu fireworks in the Daula Dhar range and spontaneous dancing in the audience made for a beautiful evening of soul-stirring music.
