for easily around 50 minutes and
completely forgot about the trek. At
first I started noticing everything
that was happening, the vibrations,
the way he was playing, etc. after a
little when I closed my eyes, that’s
when the vibrations and impact
of the instrument hit me! I came
back longing for a didgeridoo.
Unfortunately, it was not available
in musical shops. So I started
looking for it on the internet and
figured it was available in a shop in
Paharganj. Next day I went to check
it out. They only had plastic copies
and not a real didgeridoo. There was
a hippie guy looking for a Veena in
the shop. I soon realized that he had
a huge fabric bag as if either he was
carrying a riffle or a didgeridoo.
Somehow a conversation happened
and Orlan (the hippie) agreed to
sell me his Agave didgeridoo in
exchange of a Veena.”
“Traditional d idgeridoos are made
from various types of wood which
add different nuances to the overall
sound of the instrument. However,
today there are a few different ways
to make a didgeridoo as once cannot
get naturally hollowed didges
everywhere like before. Some
makers drill a hole in a log, some
split in into 2 and hollow it and then
paste it back. These days people
are making didgeridoos out of fibre
glass, metal, agave, clay, hemp etc.
as well,” he continued.
The technique used to play this
instrument is often mistaken as
just “blowing into the log” while
there is a complete science to this.
Many people who have seen musicians
play the didgeridoos have wondered
how the player can constantly keep the
drone going without breathing! Circular
breathing as how it’s called is a special
technique used where the didgeridoo is
played with continuously vibrating lips
to produce the drone while breathing.
“It is basically breathing in through the
nose whilst simultaneously expelling
stored air out of the mouth using the
tongue and cheeks. Once mastered,
how long a player plays the didgeridoo
doesn’t matter because this technique
of breathing becomes a natural,” said
Abhinav.
Completely engulfed by the sound
and depth of the instrument, Abhinav
started crafting his own didgeridoos and
called them ‘Anandamide’ or what is
commonly known as the bliss molecule.
“For me that was the apt name for the
feeling I got from the sound and the
vibrations. Anandamide Didgeridoo is
a small effort/boutique to craft highly
resonant wind instruments with love
and passion. I craft didgeridoos from
different kinds of seasoned hardwoods
like different Indian teak woods, rose
wood, ash, eucalyptus, steam beech, etc.
I also craft lighter travelling didgeridoos
from agave. My latest has been making
a sliding wooden didgeridoos for
professional players as these slide
didgeridoos have a range of 12-8 keys
in a single instrument. It’s like having
twelve different didgeridoos in one. It
gives freedom to the player to match
the drone to the correct pitch if they are
playing with other musicians. In fact,
I am one of the only two artists in the
world to craft a double sliding wooden
didgeridoo made completely of wood,” he
laughs it off!
The didgeridoo in contemporary
times is used for a variety of
purposes besides being used
as a musical instrument. The
infamous “didgeridoo therapy
sessions” in the west is best known
for helping people cope with
snoring, obstructive sleep apnea,
strengthening the core and upper
airway muscles. These therapies
are known to cure or relieve
various joint, muscular and skeletal
related pains as well as promote
accelerated healing in various forms
of bone trauma. Many say that the
didgeridoo is also used in “chakra
healing” which helps people in
releasing energetic and emotional
stagnation in their chakras
(Sanskrit word which means wheel
like zones of energy in the body). It
is also believed that eucalyptus wood
didgeridoos are also an excellent
cure for smokers who are trying
to quit smoking. “Sounds can have
a huge impact on the state of any
being. Have you noticed how people
behave differently while listening
to different kinds of music? You will
be a certain way if you are listening
to Indian Classical Music, a certain
way when you listen to heavy metal,
etc. It’s the vibrations that affect
our body and different kinds of
vibrations have huge effects on us.”
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
19