Curiousitousness: September 2003 Archives

One of the things I miss from home is the many eclectic and atmospheric markets, hemmed in from above with string and tarp, or acres of corrugated iron, and invariably crammed with everything under the sun.

From fruits and vegetables-most-curious, as tasty as they are unusual, to the "authentic" designer labels, DVDs and software at super-knockdown prices, there's something for everyone. There are invariably items of local or religious interest, and it's often possible to discover something unusual when you rummage, but somewhere along the way I managed to completely miss a whole group entirely; I mean what the hell is a singing bowl?

I came across a couple of these in a little Tibetan shop in, of all places, Covent Garden, where I was offered one of these things to "try". Okay! Er, how? Apparently my lack of cognition was expected; it turns out that these bowls, traditionally made of seven different metals to represent the major planets of the solar system, are narrowly used in meditation to achieve a state of relaxation.

Making a wine glass 'sing' - and sometimes shatter - is something many of us have tried at least once. The premise is the same here; rub the stick along the outer edge of the bowl, and in seconds the quiet scratch of wood on metal takes on an edge, and as you fall into a more natural motion (at which my accomplice becomes unable to stop with the innuendo), the bowl starts to vibrate at a frequency very much its own, resonating so heavily that the sound it makes is surprisingly loud. And you can really feel it in your chest and fingers; heck, the whole shop stopped to peer at what I was doing.

I'm not particularly into the spiritual, much as it interests me, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this simple ritual; and it was dead calming. It makes some sense that it should affect how we feel; science has demonstrated time and time again that we respond strongly to sounds, especially deep bass tones, probably an artefact of our nine months in a watery place. If I was into meditation, I'd certainly get one of these. Intriguing.

A new angle on sticky rice.