East and West

Swedish TV programme Fame factory and Idol had powerful effect on me. The young digital musicians composed the music, wrote the lyrics and sang with great confidence. They created their own rules, mixed various styles fearlessly and offered the best performance of their young life.
In East the Masters sang devotional songs Bahjans near the Ganges river in moonlit nights and during the month of Ramadan young musicians and singers wondered from street to street in the middle of night carrying candles sticks and music instruments .One group performed for short period of time and left to another street leaving place for another group. From midnight to sun rise they sang wonderful panegyric songs; some copied the favourite melodies and some created their own songs. They performed 29 nights in a row, audience all around. It was a jury who judged the best song for Eid festival. The winners got cash, baskets of sweets,presents and a colourful turban as a trophy. The whole project was initiated and always directed by local Mullah who was neither terrorist nor radical. He did not produce insurgents or suicide bombers. He simply acted as a producer, the Bert Karlsson of the time.