I had a very exciting day today combing through a suburb called Hawally, looking for music shops.
Naomi picked me up at 11am and we find our way to Hawally - which is not easy - it is a funny suburb tucked in between two major highways, and we both suspect it is an absolute treasure trove of fabulous shops and services. It is really the Indian and Pakistani area of Kuwait, I think, and there are areas totally dedicated to computers, jewellery, and other goods.
Now, apparently music and dancing have been banned in Kuwait in the past - I'm not sure how it stands these days - I think Kuwait is a lot more liberal than it used to be - but there are certainly not music shops on every corner. They are hard to find, even on the expat forums and search engines - I know, because I have already spent quite a bit of time searching online for pianos and musical instruments, including ukuleles. There is not a lot of stuff online here, and you certainly will not find older businesses there. It's just not done.
We had a couple of leads - Naomi had been told of a place - mysteriously called the Panasonic Centre - and I had been told about a music shop opposite the jewellery market on Ibn al Khaldoon Street, but that was about it. Being intrepid explorers the both of us, we were determined to track them down, so we parked the car and walked around, asking people. There were hardly any women around, and no westerners at all. But everyone we asked was very helpful - the men tend to be quite charming and helpful here, and will try hard to give good information.
We found one place - full of ouds, a baby grand piano (not for sale) in the window, lots of percussion instruments and some beautiful frame drums from Pakistan. I love frame drums, and would really like to spend some time learning how to play them. Might have to start one of those groups too! They had one cheap ukulele from China, for sale at 9KD (about $35) - rubbish really, but at least it is something.
Then we walked around, determined to find more. Eventually, after much asking, we found a shop in a basement - a lovely shop, once again full of ouds and percussion, but this time, the young man in the shop turned out to be the actual oud maker! His name is Youssef - he didnt speak any English, but the guy in the shop next door spoke very well, and helped us out. We asked if Youssef could possibly make us some ukuleles, and he told us to bring them in so he could see them. So next week, we're going back and taking a prototype. It would be wonderful if he could make them, but we will see next week.
Then we found a great little Indian restaurant where we had a wonderful lunch. Once again, you rarely if ever see women in thiese places, and it was probably rather a shock to have us, plus Helena, Naomi's three year old, barging in. But they really looked after us, sweeping the floor, and making sure we were ok. The food was fresh and delicious - huge plates of chicken biryani, vegetable biryani, soup and salad, plus 2 cups of tea cost us a grand total of 3.1KD - that is about $11.
At that point, we realised time was getting on, and if we didn't leave soon we'd be ensnarled in the afternoon traffic - so we left, but as we drove along we spotted another large music shop that was closing for lunch, and we know there is at least one other close by. Stay tuned for more information next week.
Comments