Music Music Music

You really haven't lived until you've heard "Hotel California" belted out by a five piece band of strolling Malaysian musicians. I so regret not buying their CD. They followed it up with Tom Jones's "The Green Green Grass of Home" and Lionel Richie's "Hello" and some Cliff Richards (who's from Lucknow, who knew?) And then they did one Malaysian song. So great.

One of my favorite things here has been the music, or rather, the apparently universal appetite for it. It seems like pretty much every movie has big song and dance numbers in it (even apparently serious dramas). Musicals are on pretty much every channel, and there are several shows at night that just show the musical numbers from movies. Telegu pop music is fairly infectious--perfect pop that gets stuck in your head--and everyone seems to love it. I've heard very little classical music, and pop music seems to be enjoyed by grownups, not just kids. It's played in every store--from the upscale to the local grocery store. Hirin goes around singing constantly, and he puts music on whenever he's got a chance--pretty loud: yes, he's a teenager. Equally, Narasima (who's our age, at least) keeps his pop CDs pretty much blasting in the car whenever he's alone, and often has the music going quite loud even when we're in the car with him. I rode in an auto yesterday that had been kitted out with some major speakers. Yes, that's right, a covered scooter rickshaw, with a really loud sound system.