AN AFTERNOON WITH
RAVI SHANKAR

Ravi Shankar's music was mystical, ethereal, rhythmic, exciting. The interplay between the drum and sitar was spellbinding. And after all these years, I still enjoy the performance on the documentary.

The audience really got into it. In 1967 Eastern music was becoming increasingly popular. George Harrison was experimenting with the sitar. The Rollings Stones were featuring sitar in some of their work. Lesser known artists were also including sitar, or mock sitar, in their work.

But four hours was a bit much even for the most devoted. After a couple of hours the crowd started thinning out. Even some of the most spaced out began to leave.

I think it might have been a mistake to schedule only Ravi Shankar for all afternoon.

COMMENTARY CONTINUED:

We got our tickets for the performances and moved on into the fairgrounds. It was even freakier than outside on the street. Beautiful people everywhere. Cops with flowers in their hats. Gigantic balloons floating overhead. Colorful banners hanging everywhere. People sitting and lying on the ground everywhere. Booths set up all over the fairgrounds selling weird stuff like crystals and peace-symbol necklaces and beads and hand made goods. Captain Beefheart bumper stickers. (Remember those? "Safe as Mother's milk.") Flutes playing everywhere, congas and bongos banging out the same rhythm all over the fairgrounds. (In fact, all over the town.) Rock stars walking around like they were just regular people and nobody bugging them for autographs or pictures. It was great.

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