Street Musicians

Today we stopped to listen to these musicians busking on the sidewalk. The man on the right is playing a homemade two-stringed pipa. The pipa, which often has four or more strings, is somewhat like a mandola. The instrument was introduced to China by Persian and Kuchan musicians and became very popular during the T'ang Dynasty. Variations of the pipa are common throughout Asia and are often used to accompany storytelling. The blind man on the left was keeping time on wood blocks and singing traditional folk songs. Kalila was captivated by the bluesy tunes that they played. She would just stare at the pipa for the longest time and then look up at me as if to say, 'What is THAT!'