• May 29
Violinist Murari, my husband Subra and me fly out on May 29. We arrive at Frankfurt airport at 7:30 am. Our friend Sriram, a respected yoga teacher, is at the airport to receive us. We drive to their beautiful home in a village called Beerfelden. It is a pleasure to drive on the autobahn. While we were still gushing over Sriram doing 180 kms/hour in his Passat station wagon, we see another car overtaking us at 200 something!

Angelika, Sriram's wife and my friend, a German who has studied dance in Kalakshetra (in Chennai) and speaks fairly fluent Tamil welcome us to their house, along with their dog Inu and cat, Choky. After devouring delicious bread with home made jams and basil pickle, we take a refreshing walk into the woods near their house.

Sriram then drives us to Schonau, a quiet place near Heidelberg for our performance on May 31. We stay with a wonderful couple - Shanta ( a Bengali lady) and her German husband, Theo. They run a hotel and a ballet school. Shanta had prepared a special Indian meal for us. T. R. Sundaresan joins us here after conducting some mridangam classes in Stuttgart.

• May 30
We spent the day visiting Heidelberg. It is a beautiful town with a lovely castle and the river Neckar flowing gently down its length. It was sunny and warm. The cobbled streets give the city an old world charm. The place was teaming with tourists. It was a nice long walk for us - looking at all the sights and shops. There were a couple of Indian shops - one restaurant was called Raja Rani. The pubs are very fascinating. Since the sun is scarce, people make the best when it shines. Most people were sitting in the sun sipping their beer and relaxing. Heidelberg is basically a University town and we saw many students working in the local pubs. Coffee is served without milk and sugar - you have to ask for it if you want. But the milk is never warmed up. So for coffee guzzlers from Chennai this can be quite difficult! I discovered this after asking for an Expresso coffee which came in a little cup - plain decoction which tasted like 'kashaayam'!!

The place is very scenic. We took a train back to Schonau. All the instructions at the vending machines were in German and there was no one around to guide us. After much guessing and buying a ticket to some place in north Germany, we finally got our tickets and had a safe ride back to base!

• May 31
The day began with my workshop on Carnatic music. The participants sat close to each other. Love for music and an interest in most things Indian had brought them here. With my Power Point presentation. I explained to them the various facets of Carnatic music. I tuned a sloka in Mohanam raga and got them to sing along! This was a real hit. They could now understand better the concept of sruti, raga and laya. My workshop was a big success.

Sundaresan conducted his tala workshop in the afternoon. It was a sight to see the German participants sitting on the floor, keeping tala and doing 'taka dimi taka junu!!

Our concert in the evening had a good turnout. The main piece I sang was Papanasam Sivan's Janakipathe in Kharaharapriya. The applause was tremendous. We had many questions to answer informally. It was a tiring but rewarding day.

• June 1
A relaxed morning. Our friend Egon had baked some fresh rolls and served us with hot tea pot after pot-ful Shanta took us for a walk around Shonau. She is so popular here that, we suggested she run for Mayor of the town! It turned out that this was not a joke; it turned out to be a serious suggestion!! Summer is good time to visit Germany. The trees are in bloom. Roses, geraniums, rhododendrons, poppies, blossoming apple trees , berries... an endless collage of colours.

Sriram picked us up at 4pm for a drive to Stuttgart for a home concert. The concert was in a very beautiful house in Stuttgart. We had a select gathering of music lovers. Some of them had attended Sundaresan's workshop and I was amazed to see them keep the talam! This surely is a nice way to create awareness about Carnatic music in the west. Sriram translated my intros into German for this audience. Again, our programme was wonderfully well received and we left for Munich with a sense of anticipation.

• June 2
This day was exclusively for sight seeing and shopping! I discovered that shopping is not very exciting in Germany, or in Europe for that matter, as things are really expensive to us people who always convert the currency into rupees! Interestingly, we saw many famous boutiques displaying things Indian and it made us proud!

• June 3
We rehearsed in the morning. I decided to present a RTP as the piece de resistance that evening. Our concert was in the Ethnic Museum, Volkerkundemuseum. It was a beautiful place with exhibits from all over the world. The entrance had a serene Buddha welcoming everyone.

The hall was packed to capacity and even had a few people standing at the far end. The concert clicked from the first minute. The Germans are a very culture-rich people and come for concerts with an open mind to listen to other styles. They are very disciplined listeners and their intense attention inspires you to give off your best. We got back home in really high spirits.

• June 4
We took the superfast ICE (inter-city express) to Frankfurt where we had to board the flight to Helsinki. Sriram and Anjali had been really nice and helpful and made our stay in Germany full of warm memories. We arrived at Helsinki in the evening and found Jani Salo, our driver of the van to Tampere waiting for us with a smile and a board that said 'SUBRAMANIAM'. In Finnish, the J is pronounced Y. So he was Yani to us.

From here onwards the absolute professionalism of the festival hosts was simply great. Yani gave me a bag with a welcome note from the Director of the festival, detailing my schedule. There were badges we artistes had to wear, meal and coffee coupons, and the festival brochure. The drive too two hours and Jani updated me on the local news and customs. He is a guitar player and one of the nearly 200 volunteers who work for this festival. As in any other country, he is finding it difficult making a living out of music and is also training to be a psychiatric nurse! Some things are the same all over the world, right?!

We had dinner with the members of the festival committee. We then met Kerbo - she would be our guide during our stay. Unlike in Germany, most Finns speak English. Kerbo has visited India besides many other countries. She was very articulate and it was a pleasure to have her with us.

• June 5
The day began with a TV interview. There were a few questions on my workshop here. The workshop began at 10.00hrs. I employed my CD presentation and my tambura. All the participants were either musicians, singers, or choir conductors! It was easier talking to them but also challenging as they were all professionals. But I could take the liberty of explaining the intricacies of Carnatic music and they were able to follow it very well. I got them also to sing and I must say, they were quick learners. The afternoon saw Murari explain violin playing techniques in India. Sundaresan demonstrated the mridangam, kanjira , morsing and the konakkol with great aplomb.

We attended the performance of a Swedish group called THE REAL GROUP. It was amazing. They did not use any instruments but together ,the five of them, created real magic on stage, mimicking various instruments even as they sang! Incredible!! The flags of the artistes from participating countries were flying outside the main hall. My heart filled with pride to see the Indian tricolour flying high.

• June 6
We walked around and saw a little bit of Tampere in the morning. We also went to the museum. My concert was at 21.00hrs. My sound check was at 19.00hrs. There was absolute professionalism in the preparations, the systems, the lights. We started about 15 minutes late. The hall, a Old Customs House, was packed. I started with Saveri varnam and did Nanupalimpa in Mohanam as the main piece. Sundaresan played the kurraippu with kanjira, morsing and konakkol thrown in. The applause at the end of this piece was tremendous! I concluded with a javali and a tillana.

My goodness! The ovation lasted almost five minutes! It was overwhelming! They wouldn't let us leave the stage! I had to sing one more song. It was an exhilarating experience. What made it more special was that the appreciation was from a very knowledgeable gathering.

The group Tartit, from Mali that performed after us was quite robust. Their music resembled our Rajasthani folk music. While we were still there, a lady got so fascinated with my sari that she took a photo of me. And then wanted to know where the zip was! I had to show her that the sari is an unstitched garment and tell her it is worn!

• June 7
Our day of leisure in Tampere. We went sightseeing in Kerbo's car, ate doughnuts and icecream and, shopped in their supermarket. Vegetarianism is catching up among the younger generation, so we didn't have problems about the right food. But we've never eaten so much lettuce in our lives! We enjoyed Mexican enchiladas and tortillas, Felafel and Thai tofu stir-fry. There was great bonhomie in our team and everyone was game to try out new things, making me aware that my world doesn't revolve around Adyar and Mylapore alone!!

• June 8
We left Tampere early to catch our flight from Helsinki to Chennai via Frankfurt, and we were back in Chennai, midnight local time.

Finland has a population of about 5 million people. It has very severe winters and short summers. The people suffer from depression and the suicide rate is very high as the winters can be very depressing. But the country is very rich in its music and folklore, not to mention their sports. The sheer energy and enthusiasm of the people is amazing. Almost 60 choir groups participated in the Tampere competition. With the resources at hand, the festival was a perfect study in organizational efficiency. People are truly cultured. You may enter the hall only between pieces, if you are late. You cannot saunter in and out of the concert hall. Something that we can emulate here in Chennai.

It was a very satisfying trip to me personally. What is immensely gratifying is to be able to communicate Carnatic music to those who have not heard it, The bias is inherent towards vocal music because of the perceived language barrier. To be able to transcend all this and create a sense of happiness and satisfaction among the listeners is something that has to be experienced. It is a challenge and therefore an achievement something that I shall look forward to always and render as my service to this art.

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You can read more about the Tampere Festival at www.tampere.fi/festival/music.