An Evening of Sevdah: Love Songs of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Last Saturday we attended a very spirited performance of traditional Bosnian love songs known as sevdalinke (songs of sevdah or love) at Seattle's Town Hall. My paternal grandfather is originally from Bosnia so I remember many of these beautiful melodies from my childhood and hearing them again brought back countless memories. Sevdalinke have elaborate harmonies, are emotionally charged and traditionally sung with passion and fervor. Their roots reach back to the times of the Ottoman Empire rule in the Balkans, beginning in the 16th century, and a combination of Ottoman, Sephardic and Slavic influences make them stand out among other types of folk music from the Balkans.

A particularly beautiful one is Emina (based on a famous poem by Aleksa Šantić) performed by a legendary singer Himzo Polovina. For a taste of modern interpretations of sevdah listen to a performance of Čudna jada od Mostara grada (Strange pain in the city of Mostar) by Mostar Sevdah Reunion or one of my favorites, Žute dunje (Yellow quinces) performed by legendary Yugoslav rock band Indexi.

Chakravorty-Bose-Knežević-Kong Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our good friends Aditi and Subhayu, who arrived from Chicago on Wednesday. After cathing up with a few other Guy Carpenter old timers over lunch, the four of us really kicked off the festivities with an amazing dinner at Campagne Restaurant (kudos to Aditi for such an excellent choice!) just off Seattle's Pike Place Market. Some of us decided to try a Prix-fixe menu as part of the ongoing Dine Around Seattle event, while others ordered à la carte but either way one couldn't go wrong in the this temple of exquisite French country fare: the escargot, bathed in an aromatic bath of parsley and garlic, the plump mussels, in a savory pool of anise-scented broth, and the seasonal fruit tart with frangipane and pistachios in a sweet pastry crust topped with Mission figs and a drizzle of honey, only to name a few. And of course, the housemade chocolate Grand Marnier truffles accompaning our check!

We spent Thanksgiving Day in a traditional Knežević-Kong fashion - playing Monopoly and preparing a huge meal. The game started off nice enough although the moment Subhayu volunteered to be the banker we should have smelled trouble! Eventually the niceties gave way to fierce competition, engineering of cunning arrangements, offers of bribes and shady deals, accusations of cheating, but all in a (mostly) friendly manner of course. Aditi convinced Subhayu to hand over some of his best properties (aaaah the things we do for love!) so he folded shortly thereafter but since I had to get back to baking I decided to let him have my place, just after negotiating a rent-free arrangement with Hoon in exchange for Park Place only to have Subhayu rescind the entire agreement after taking over! The look on Hoon's face was what sent everyone into hysterics for good ten minutes straight until we were all seriously hurting and unable to continue the game.

On Friday we decided to take full advantage of the gorgeous weather and work off the huge dinner from the day before by going for a hike up to the Rattlesnake Ledge, but not before getting a caffeine fix at Caffe Ladro. Kiki was excited to have two extra people to herd up the winding trail and a clear sunny day provided a picture perfect views as a reward for reaching the top. Later we had a well deserved rest and yummy lunch at Red Mill Burgers on the way home. The same evening we attended a much talked about performance of Clare Boothe Luce's famed 1936 comedy The Women at the ACT Theatre. It was smart, funny, witty and thoroughly enjoyable, with a stellar cast and fabulous costumes!

SAM showcases the splendid exhibition Japan Envisions the West

Japan Envisions the West: 16th–19th Century Japanese Art from Kobe City Museum
October 11, 2007–January 6, 2008 SAM Simonyi Special Exhibition Galleries
Part I (October 11–November 25) and Part II (December 1–January 6)

The exhibition Japan Envisions the West, organized by the Seattle Art Museum in collaboration with the Kobe City Museum, provides an intriguing window on the early interaction between Japan and the West during the period of the 16th to 19th centuries. The exhibition features rare and exquisite paintings, prints, maps, ceramics, lacquer ware, metal ware, glass ware, leather ware and textiles, many of which have never traveled outside of Japan before. It was fascinating to see not only how the Japanese saw Westerners but also how Japanese artists responded to and interpreted Western art and culture. The exhibit raises important contemporary questions about how we perceive people and cultures different from our own and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Seattle-Kobe sister city relationship.

Museum notes that due to their fragile nature, 44 works of art from Kobe City Museum will be taken down in late November and new works will take their place. We are very much looking forward to the exciting second half of this unique exhibition.