LALIPOP

After going to yet another music shop that does not sell lalis, I was redirected to the Government Handicrafts Center, where lalis are, in fact, sold. Although there were no full-sized lalis in stock for me to look at, the woman who worked there, Eta, was very helpful. When I asked who supplied the Center with their lalis, she told me something that came as a complete shock: she said that it was an Indian man who made the lalis.

Considering I have yet to encounter an Indo-Fijian that crafts the Indian tabla, I was very surprised to hear that there are Indo-Fijians that craft the indigenous percussion instrument! Eta also gave me the contact information of some Fijian crafters; but the only catch is that they live in the highlands (the middle of the Viti Levu), and it would take multiple bus rides to get there. Of course, I would love to go try to find them, but I think I need to make sure I have a fully established contact, because it’s not like there would be a hotel/hostel to stay at where I’d be going!

Overall, today was a slow day; although, I did make some headway in establishing some good connections and scheduling some interviews. Tomorrow, I have an interview with Somal (the tabla player for the Laxmi Narayan Temple), and possibly one with his guru, Master Sanjesh. I was supposed to meet Somal today, but that fell through at the last minute.

Field research is very rewarding, but can definitely be rather frustrating at times. It is difficult to rely on other people (as in, to show up for an interview); furthermore, the speed of life on Fiji is tremendously slower than that of New York City. As they said, Fijians run on “coconut time.”

To be completely honest, I am very ready to leave Suva; but, I do feel like I need to conduct a couple more interviews before doing so. Also, on Friday night, there is the students that made the bampipe are giving a performance at the USP, and I do not want to miss that.

It’s not that I dislike Suva, but I feel like I have seen everything to see here; and I am just waiting around until X interview or X performance. I am also excited to see other parts of Fiji; particularly other islands where it doesn’t rain every day! All in all, I do not feel that I have overstayed my time here in Suva, but just that I am ready to explore a new part of Fiji. Hopefully, I’ll be able to leave on Saturday or Sunday for Vanua Levu, the second-largest island.