Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  April 25, 2006
site design imagesparkle.com
April 19, 2006 Music of the Heart – Koh-Tao
image
Listening to the soothing sounds of Koh-Tao, participants were instantly lulled into inner realms of tranquility. Bun and Harish, Koh-Tao’s two members, met on the tropical island of Koh Tao, Thailand back in the ‘90s and began to create their unique harmonious blend of music with “instruments of the heart.” Using the African carimba, Tibetan bells, Native American flutes, Okinawan percussion instrument, and the Japanese Shakuhachi flute, their music transported audience around the world form the African savannah to luscious rain forests of Southeast Asia.
site design imagesparkle.com
image
Onboard from Yokohama to Sri Lanka, Bun and Harish each lead participants in a series of workshops. In Harish’s workshop, participants learned how to make lamps out of dried gourds. First participants drew their desired designed on the surface of the gourd and later used chisels and thumbtacks to puncture little holes. Flower patterns and swirls were among the most popular designs. Some created gourd lamps that that would be lit with light bulbs, while others choose to create candlelit lamps.
image
“See the gourd as your own heart, and draw with that image in mind,” instructed Harish. After two weeks of hard work and many callused fingers later, the finished lamps were decoratively placed around the stage to set the mood for Koh-Tao’s final live concert.
image
After hearing Bun play the African instrument carimba, many participants were eager to learn how to play the instrument themselves. In Bun’s workshops, they learned to delicately pluck the metal keys to produce melodious sounds reminiscent of childhood musical boxes. In the final concert, Bun invited all seventy students to join him in playing on stage.
image
To the audiences delight, Mimi Ishidate, Peace Boat communication coordinator danced in silhouette behind Koh-Tao.
image
On the eve of their departure, Koh-Tao asked participants to envision a world of peace and happiness and to express it creatively by making peace flags. On small post-card size squares of cloth, participants drew their dreams and prayers of peace with crayons and markers. “We hope that as the peace flag encircles the globe, a new world will be possible.”