I spent yesterday at the Texas Book Festival, an annual celebration of books and authors held in the grounds of the Texas State Capitol and surrounding streets in downtown Austin. Most of the day was my own but I had promised to photograph the proceedings at an event for one of our friends’ new books, “Grandfather Gandhi” by Arun Gandhi, Bethany Hegedus and Evan Turk. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, was there and proved to be every bit as interesting a speaker as you would imagine. The proceedings started with a musical performance by virtuoso sitar player Ustad Ghulam Farid Nizami accompanied and his son Fariz on tabla (drums). I don’t claim to be any expert in Indian music but it was obvious that this was a very special performance – the passion in their playing and the connection between the two musicians was beautiful to hear and watch.
For the technically inclined...