Happy New Year!!

We both want to wish everyone a prosperous 2006, where intentions and dreams are created and fulfilled. Be...be here...be there...be that...be this...be grateful for life...be grateful to life.
We are looking forward to this year and excited to share it all with you. Thanks for all the kind words and support that you have given us during our travels. We still have so much more video and slideshows to share with you so keep checking the site. Go on over to myspace.com and be our friend, and you can listen to our music via the links on the right. Thanks
Ben and Malcolm
KAURA

VIDEO-Pokhara, Nepal

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This is a short video offering a peak into some of the people we came across in Pokhara, a beautiful town in Nepal, used as a launching pad for treks into the Himalayas. With the mountains providing a backdrop, the town is set around a lake and is one of those places you want to take with you.

VIDEO-Bus Ride From Hell Part 2

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If you are ever in Varanasi, India and you want to go to Nepal or vice versa, TAKE THE PLANE, the 3 day bus ride from India to Nepal were by far some of the narliest travel experiences we have had. They will break even the most seasoned traveller. I was seriously ill with a stomach virus, drifting in and out of unconsciousness at various states of the trip. Shit, it was horrible.

VIDEO-Bus Musicians

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On the bus ride from Pokhara, Nepal to Kathmandu, these two young boys who coudn't have been more than 12 jumped on the bus for 5 minutes and played some very interesting Nepalese folk songs on violin-like instruments. Unfortunatley, the other people on the bus treated them like an annoyance. However, I was enchanted by there playing.

SLIDESHOW-OM around the world

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The sound OM, and the symbol that represents it are omnipresent throughout India and Nepal. OM is the original and universal sound and seed from which everything is created. It is used in most chants and mantras and is a tool for meditation. You can literally not walk for 10 feet in India without seeing the 3 like symbol on a wall, a taxi, or hanging from a rear view mirror. Here are just some of the OM's we have encountered while in India.

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VIDEO-Trekking Anapurna

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Words can't really do justice to these mountains and neither do images but hopefully we can give you just a fleeting feeling of what it was like to be at 15,000 feet above the cloudline, walking among giants. Unreal...

SLIDESHOW-Hitting the Cloudline, Himalayas

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We woke up at 5AM at Gurapani and made the hour long hike up to Poon Hill to catch one of the most awe-inspiring views of the Himalayas that you can get, short of being up on Anapurna itself. It was cold, the air was very thin, but we made it up there as the sun broke rose above the horizon. We were amidst the clouds but as the wind swepft the top layer off, we gasped as the peaks of 8 mountians exploded into our sight. It was one of the greatest moments of the trip so far and a feeling we will hold close to us forever. To the left is our trusty guide Lok.

SLIDESHOW-Beginning the Trek-Anapurna, Nepal

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We cannot describe the feeling of hiking the Anapurna trail in Nepal, one of the most amazing high altitude treks imaginable through the majestic Himalayas. I have dreamt of the day that the Anapurna mountain range would be within my eye sight...it took 28 years but we are here, and soaking up every minute of it. Our Nepalese porter/guide, Lok, is amazing, a kind soul who takes care of us like we are his children. The scenery is undoubtedly the most beautiful I have ever encountered while backpacking and is lush and green. A huge river creates mamoth waterfalls over huge boulders and a rhodedendrum forest is waiting to bloom. Song ideas are coming fast as we are coming up with soundtracks to suit this awesome landscape.
We have not encountered the Moaist insurgents yet, who have made travel here dangerous for the foreign traveller, until a recent ceasefire was arranged with the government. If it hadn't been for that we would not be in Nepal right now. We expect to encounter them on our way up to Poon Hill, where they collect a $15 "voluntary Tourist Visa" even though it is far from voluntary.

SLIDESHOW-Nepal

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We left Varanasi thinking we would have a somewhat hard 2 days of train and bus travel to Pokhara, Nepal where we would start the Anapurna trek. Unfortunately, it took 3 days and was some of the worst travel conditions yet, and I was was feeling the sickest I have felt in my life. I picked up yet another stomach bug, and when you are travelling on a rickety bus with chickens in the seat next to you, horns honking non-stop, it can make you wish you were home in a hot bath. However, you cannot, we pressed on, and we finally arrived to the glorious sight of the Anapurna range on the horizon. Unfortunatley, my iPod was stolen from me while I was passed out sick on the bus, but we are both ecstatic to be here. These photos of are our first day in Pokhara, which we love. We are headed out trekking in 2 days, which will give me a little more time to recover. Stay tuned...

VIDEO-Famous On Trains

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When we travel by train in India, we seem to attract an awful lot of curious attention. If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be a monkey at the Zoo or a Rock Star then hop on board the India Express...

Musical Gods

The sanskrit word for musician is bhagavatharm which means "thee who sings the praises of god." They are people who dance with spirit, who interpret the language of the gods and turn it into something that we can hear. They are thus given the respect that I feel musicians in the west are deserve, but are not given.
Music plays an imprtant role in Indian's spirituality and Hindu religion. Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, the eternal trinity, were the first musicians. Shiva, the cosmic dancer, worked out the infinite modes of rhythm in the process of universal creation, preservation and destruction. Brahma and Vishnu accentuated the beat with cymbals and mriganga's. Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom plays the mother of all string instruments, the Vina, while Krishna plays the flute, calling the human souls lost in Maya delusion, bacl to their true home...

VIDEO-Ganges at Dawn

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Taking a row boat at dawn down the Ganges was a magical experience and I hope this can convey some of the energy we felt through this video.

VIDEO-Musical India

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We laughed as we walked down the narrow streets here as ragas and the drone of the tambura wafted through the air, we couldn't believe our ears. We are so happy to be here as Varanasi is known as the music capital of India and offers up a smorgasboard of musical perfomances, shops, and lessons for the interested traveller. Every night we checked out a different performace, from the guitar-like sarod, to the sitar, flute, and tabla. We even managed to sneak in some lessons for ourselves in between all the yoga and meditation.