Prayer to the past

"The repetitive sound of prayer from India’s Bodhi Temple is imbued with a feeling of longing – a desperate desire to cling to the concrete nature of the past. Sound is often ignored in precious places of great beauty. We closed our eyes and were inspired by the sound of prayer that has reverberated around this Indian temple for centuries. 

"Significant sounds in our own lives, that form part of our archive of happiness, include the folk songs sung by our friends The Kimberleys and the sound of our children (now grown) singing and laughing. We collected these field recordings with a view to merge them with the temple prayers. The chant of the call to prayer reaches beyond the modern world into human connections from the past. We combined our source file with the folk song sung at my birthday party in our house, together with a call to the candles for the birthday girl – me! The bird song field recording was collected on an early morning walk – its timeless chant is a perfect addition to our sound piece. Our life’s purpose is linked to belief, friendship and celebration."

Thanks to The Kimberleys for the beautiful birthday gift of song.

Bodhgaya temple reimagined by Caroline Grimshaw and Stephen Mugford.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage