When I received the invitation by Dr Ahmad Sarmast, founder and Director of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music to participate in their Third Winter Academy I was thrilled! Well, to be totally honest, it was combined with excitement and fear to go to Kabul. However, the thought of being able to interact with and teach the students of ANIM, and after reading more about this incredible institution, I simply could not refuse this invitation. To be more specific, I was invited to teach, lead musical activities and perform in solo and chamber music.
First, a few words about the history of music in Afghanistan. Music was banned during the reign of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Instruments were destroyed and musicians were beaten among other horrific facts. Thanks to remarkable efforts of Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, in 2010, the Afghanistan National Institute of Music was created. It is the first official institution that has made music education accessible to Afghan children. Among the students, about half of the children are disadvantaged children like orphans, street vendors, and young girls that, before, did not have access to general education. At the school, they have the opportunity to study either Afghan Traditional or Western Classical Music.
Part I: Arriving in Kabul
My trip to Kabul was very long! After 14 hours on a plane, with a stop in Zurich, I had a layover of 7 hours in Dubai. Exhausted, I decided to go directly to the terminal in which my last plane to Kabul was going to leave. Unfortunately, it was a very small terminal and I experienced a lot of stares by the diverse men and covered women that were also waiting in the airport. After this long wait, I was very nervous to take my last plane especially when at least 6 or 7 persons asked me if I was sure that I wanted to actually go to Kabul! On the bus that brought the passengers to the plane, I encountered a very nice afghan military that just came back from a long training period in China. At that time, I was very skeptical about his kindness and was very scared to answer to all his questions! He wanted to know my name, where I was from, what I was doing in Kabul, how long I would stay, etc. I couldn’t tell what his real intentions were, but at the end, I was glad that I got to know him because he helped me to find my way in the Kabul airport! My last plane was epic in its own way! The last flight was supposed to last roughly 3 hours but ended up lasting another 7 hours! When the pilot tried to land in Kabul, it was impossible because of a snowstorm. After stopping in Karachi, Pakistan, to get some fuel, we were informed that we were headed back to Dubai to wait until it was possible to land in Kabul. I was horrified at that point! I was stuck in a plane full of men that definitely noticed me even though I put my scarf around my head. We were probably a maximum of five women in this plane! The thought of going back to Dubai and wait in this tiny airport made me want to just go back home! Thankfully, the weather in Afghanistan let us land in Kabul instead of returning to Dubai!
As soon as we landed in Kabul, I was impressed by the view of the beautiful mountain range covered in snow! After passing all the security checks, I was glad to find Avery Waite, the cello and bass teacher of ANIM waiting for me. My first impression of Kabul while driving to the German Guesthouse was mixed. I kept admiring the beautiful landscape of the mountains that surround the city, but the sight of poor streets and busted roads was also heartbreaking. It was very cold in Kabul and even though I was wearing three layers of clothes plus my winter coat, I was still freezing! I was instantly struck by the smell of Kabul, a mix of dust and something else that I could not determine! On a side note, there was an article in the New York Times a few days ago explaining the issue of Kabul’s pollution. The smell and pollution of Kabul was the result of the dust, the open sewers and burning dung used when people want to heat their houses with bukharies. Unfortunately, in this article (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/22/world/asia/kabuls-pollution-is-real-despite-unpleasant-exaggeration.html), they concluded that “Kabul’s atmosphere is more than twice as big a killer of civilians as the war.”
I was so happy to be able to have a day to adjust to the new time and to rest to get ready for the upcoming week! The guesthouse I was staying in was a little house nearby the Ministry of Higher Education. To access to the guesthouse, I had to go through a security fence with armed guards and walk to the back of the compound. I would then access the guesthouse that was also secured with another fence with a guard. Once settled in my room, I could not wait to go for a little walk around the guesthouse. The landscape was stunning! It was peaceful and quiet and the view of the snow covering mountains, roads, cars was just magical! The place I stayed in was very nice and comfortable. Luckily, I had access to hot water for approximately 10 minutes every day and the electricity was pretty much continuous! Even though the people that were working in the guesthouse were very kind, I was not totally free inside the house. I was asked all the time what I was doing and where I was going. They did not allow any guest to visit me, in particular men. If I would stay alone in my room with someone, they would constantly come knocked on the door to check on what we were doing. Even on the last day, they did not allow Avery Waite to come help me to carry my suitcase! The funny thing is that I probably encounter more of the religious rules in my guesthouse than in the street of Kabul!
Part II: Life in Kabul
One question that many people asked me was to describe my “life” in Kabul. Of course I had to cover my head with a scarf and was very careful to not wear anything that could be provocative for their culture. At some point, I tried to wear a dress with some boots, but in the morning, the women working at the guesthouse gave me a weird look and went to change into other clothes immediately. However, once I was at the school, I felt free to uncover my head. I did not get a chance to walk too much in the street except for my last day when I went shopping in Chicken Street. It was very secure and did not feel frightened or anything. We did encounter some kids in the street trying to sell us maps, or little gifts. They were very friendly, and probably because it was cold, there were only a few of them. Having this little interaction with them made me hope that one day they will maybe part of ANIM. The streets were very slippery and muddy especially after the snowstorm.
Driving through Kabul was also quite an adventure and I am surprised I did not get into an accident! It was such a challenge to avoid the holes in the streets plus avoid the cars coming in the opposite direction trying to do the same. Many times we would be in the main road driving in the opposite lane!
All the places in Kabul are very secure, like the guesthouse or various restaurants, by multiple security checkpoints. After a few days, I got used to the routine of waiting for a car and going through many inspections throughout the day. Even if I was aware that something can happen at any moment, I got accustomed to be careful without worrying too much about it. The only moment during my trip I was anxious was on my way to Kabul and when I was leaving Kabul. That was the only moment I was by myself without being able to communicate with ANIM’s teachers.
I was lucky enough to be able to experience the passage to 2013 in Kabul. We celebrated this New Year’s Eve at the Canadian Embassy. It was very interesting to get to meet many people living in Kabul with diverse professions. Most of them were working for embassies or NGOs. A couple of days later, Grace Lee, who worked for the Canadian Embassy, invited us to a Jambori night at the Japanese Embassy. With the teachers of the school and some of the other guests of the Winter Academy, we went with a lot of excitement and curiosity! We did not really know what to expect but we ended up spending a great evening! They cooked amazing Japanese cuisine and after that we started to play and jam on some classics pop tunes. It was a lot of fun! At some point, a Japanese doctor came to me and asked me to play for him as he was himself learning the violin. We went to a different room and I played for him the Adagio of the first Violin Sonata by Bach. I wasn’t prepared for his reaction! At the end of the movement, he was sobbing so intensely that I did not know what to do. I came across this kind of reaction in the past few years in some of the health care centers that I have been performing at. I realized at that moment how lucky I was to be a musician. Not only can I share what I love to do, but also, I have the chance to be able to see and interact with the Afghan population and be exposed to the culture. Most of the expatriates living in Kabul are confined to their embassy or their guesthouse, and because of security reasons, it is very hard for them to explore the beauty of the country they are living in.
Part III: ANIM
When I came back from Kabul, even though I stayed there for only ten days, it took me a good week to be able to get accustomed again to my “normal” life in New York and also a few weeks to be able to put words on what I have been exposed to in Afghanistan. Whenever people asked me how my trip was, it was, and still is hard to sum up my experience in a few words or even a few minutes. I was so fortunate to have shared so many amazing and unique moments with the kids, the faculty and with the other guest artists! I feel so lucky to have had such a great time and grateful that trip was uneventful and safe.
I have been so privileged to have been able to see another side of the Afghan culture, something different from what is heard on the daily news. First of all, I was surprised by the good condition of the school. It is a pretty nice building and each teacher has an assigned room. I could hardly hear people practicing or playing in the room next to the studio I was teaching in. The first impression when you come in the morning is a little bit chaotic and full of life until the first ring of the bell announcing the first period. Over the time I was at ANIM, I taught private lessons, led musical activities, coached some chamber music groups and small ensemble and help the orchestra get ready for their exciting tour to the US. I am very excited to listen to them and see them again at their Carnegie Hall concert on February 12th, 2013! There was a very nice article in the New York Times that was written a few days ago which describe the school and their tour in US. (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/02/arts/music/afghanistan-national-institute-of-music-students-to-tour-us.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130202)
All the students I encountered at ANIM were very nice and were very excited to come to their lessons. As I did in Guatemala, I tried to help them as much as I could with their basic technique and giving them some guide them to reach another level in their violin or viola playing. It was very nice to have William Harvey, the violin and viola teacher at ANIM, who gave me some goals for his students to reach at the end of the Winter Academy. Most of the older students could speak or understand English which was very helpful. With them, I was working mostly on adjusting their basic position and helping them with the process of making musical decisions. For the younger students, even though we could not communicate fully because of the lack of a common language, I succeeded to get my ideas across by singing, showing and demonstrating. I have to admit that my capacity of learning a new language is not the best and I was not able to remember a lot of words in Dari. However, I quickly understood that I needed to know at least four words that became very helpful in my teaching: Yak, Du, Sei, Char (one, two, three, four in Dari). I had a lot of fun teaching them and it also was very interesting. One of the most difficult things that came across during my teaching was to help them with their rhythm. I realized that following a regular pulse is not something they are used too. In fact, all of their songs and tunes that they grew up with are in 5/8 or 7/8.
All the students were very friendly and I was glad that I could interact with them. After a few days, I was amused to see that the students were trying to trick me into having an extra lesson and stealing someone else’s lesson. It was very cute! I was happy to give them as much lessons as my time allowed me and also how could you say no to someone so enthusiastic about having a lesson? Another thing that I would never forget is the way they addressed the teachers. I can still hear the students’ voices yelling: “Oh Teacher! Teacher! Thank you Teacher!” I was delighted to see that some of the kids had a real drive to learn and a willingness to take advantage of all the information they could gather from the guest artists. Another little anecdote during one of the lesson I taught was when I tried to adjust the bow grip of one of the violin students and trying to get him to be aware of where his bow was on the strings. For some reasons, something was not working. He then told me that he actually learned the violin at first in the Indian traditional way. I asked him to demonstrate how he would play in an Indian music style and then he started to improvise for a few minutes. I was amazed at how beautiful it was! I was wondering why he wanted to learn classical music when he could play this kind of music so easily! I am still unsure why, but listening to him definitely helped me understand where he was coming from in terms of violin playing.
One of the main musical highlights was listening to the student concert. It was so nice to see how all the students where supporting each others. The student performance included traditional instruments from Afghanistan and western instruments. It was such a touching thing to be able to see that the musical and cultural revival is definitely happening in this country. Even their orchestra includes all the instruments that are taught at ANIM: Strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, percussion, tabla, sitar, ghichak, etc. They played either traditional music or classical pieces that have been arranged for the kids with some traditional music influence. The first traditional song that I heard was sang by a little boy with a beautiful voice. The song was “Madar-e Man” which means my mother in English. I was so overwhelmed by it and could not prevent a few tears! It is hard to imagine what the children have been through before being at ANIM and also what and where this school will be going but I have hope for them to have a better future. They are under the guidance of great teachers and I deeply respect the work they have been doing. It is already a hard thing to live in a place like Kabul with so many restrictions and tensions but the amount of effort and the full commitment that the teachers are putting into this school is truly inspiring.
I definitely made some incredible connections with diverse musicians during my stay in Kabul. Among the other guest artists that were present during the time I was in Kabul were an Indian couple playing the Sitar; Murchana and Abhishek Adhikary and Umar Temor a ghichak player from Tajikistan. I had the unique opportunity to play some fusion pieces with them as well as the other western teachers and guest artists. I will always cherish the moments with them rehearsing their compositions and their songs. They were really patient and so kind to show me a bit of their musical culture. I have to admit that it was quite a challenge to learn their music, but we practiced hard and people loved it! It was such a memorable moment playing a piece that unites different musical cultures and also that unites eight different nationalities! We performed three concerts; the first one was for the students of the school which was a lot of fun. The second one was more formal and was attended mostly for the people working for embassies and NGOs. The third one was at the AFCECO orphanage. Before playing, they cooked us a delicious traditional Afghan meal. We were definitely spoiled!
Final Thoughts:
Again, I am so thankful to have had this incredible opportunity to go to Kabul for the ANIM Winter Music Academy. My only regret was to not have stayed longer! I was happy to see that with ANIM, the girls could also be part of this school. ANIM is probably one of the rare institutions in Afghanistan that is opened to girls and considers them as equals to boys. Many of those girls are very tough and have a very strong character. I have to confess that at many moments during my stay in Afghanistan I found myself thinking about the future of these children. I am hopeful for their future after seeing what is happening with ANIM but also I can’t help but being afraid for them when all the military troops will leave the country in 2014. No matter what their future will be, I am glad that for now, they have a place they can be “normal” children, enjoy a place where they can be safe, have some education, be part of this musical community and hope for a better life.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.