Hear the Pipers play...

The most beautiful moments happen between destinations. Often unhurried and then again not even wanting to be found. So we sometimes stumble, may turn into a blind alley, or sometimes even roam around aimlessly and find something precious tucked away.  One rainy morning in Edinburgh, our first complete day there we visited the castle and with this slice of history in our pockets wandered into the sprawling palace gardens. A steady drizzle accompanied us everywhere, keeping pace as we walked on. From a distance we could hear the pure sound of pipes. It isn't uncommon to see the bagpiper on a street corner playing on his pipes uncaring of tourists walking past, unoffended by their lack of interest, unimpressed by their show of support.. He plays on..
But this sounded different from the ones perviously seen and heard.

We crossed over into Castle street and there in front of us was the source of this beautiful music- What looked like about 20 pipers playing in perfect symphony was an beautiful amalgamation of the sweetest of sounds, strangely hypnotic and soothing to the senses... We stood transfixed , and if they had walked we would have followed much like the famous pied piper, legend for leading a village of children to the sweet tune of his pipes.. We were easily in their sway..

The pipes play on..

The hoardings there said we were at the 'Ceilidh Culture - Easter Fair' . The smell of coffee wafted gently through the chilly morning air. It was a beautiful day with all the drama of impending rains.
I hold my coffee in one hand and take pictures with the other. Before long I decide to test the camcoder on my new phone, the only feature of interest to me. It works beautifully.

The Drums..

They played on and on. Some lingered, some walked on. It began to rain again.  With umbrellas dotting the street, all we could hear was the music, gorgeous and strong, gentle in parts, clear in others.. When the pipes were lowered the drums played on.

The Edinburgh Castle in the background..

In the background stood the majestic Edinburgh castle. It seemed like even the castle seemed to be watching , proud of its vintage position.

Sharing a lighter moment..

It all built up into a crescendo of sounds. And then it stopped.

That look of Concentration..

Only to start once again in a few minutes. They kept beats with their feet and we could hear them count at the beginning before loosing ourselves in the music...

Clearly not to everyone's taste :)

We stayed for a while, watched  a few performances and then left...
What remains is the video in my mobile and I still play it sometimes for the sweet nostalgia of hearing the pipers play.

Meena Venkataraman

To know more about the Ceilidh culture visit  their site