Music: Garden City's world music store - Gandharva Loka

Music: Garden City's world music store - Gandharva Loka

(caption for the above picture: Kiwi Shardul Dillicar, who manages Gandharva Loka - the world music store shop owned by Vajin Armstrong, located inside the Lotus-Heart Vegetarian restaurant)

Opened in 2008, Gandharva Loka is what it calles itself "the world music store in Christchurch" providing a wide range of musical intruments sourced from around the world.

Translated as "the adobe of celestial musicians", the store is part of the Shri Chinmoy Centre in Christchurch, and is managed by a Kiwi, Shardul Dillicar who moved to the City from Auckland in 2008.

Based on the philosphy of Shri Chinmoy - an Indian guru - that music transcends the barriers of nations, nationalities and religions, Gandharva Loka chain of music stores has its roots in Europe with stores in Austria, Switzerland and Germany since 1989.

In Christchurch, the store stocks chimes and singing bowls; drums; bells, cymbals and gongs; wind instruments; stringed instruments; percussion instruments; melodic instruments; and sound therapy instruments.  

Handcrafted Native American flutes: comes in two types - plain and woodlands

Dulcetina and Harmonium; and Gongs

Quartz crystal singing bowls from America are often used for sound therapy and healing work, music production, meditation and general inspiration

Congas and Bongos from Cuba; Damroo and Dhol from India; Darbuka, Dahola, Doumbek and Djembe from Africa

Guitar and mountain dulcimer native to the Appalachian region of the United States

Shakuhachi flutes from Japan, traditionally made of bamboo and used by the monks of the Fuke Zen branch of Zen Buddhism for many centuries

Waterphone - inspired from the Tibetan water drum and the African kalimba


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