Dung Chen
Kathy and I walked into a small shop full of musical
instruments, including "dung" (trumpets). The largest
of the dung are called "dung chen." I found one about
10 feet long. I asked a young man in Buddhist robes to
play it for me, which he did.
I wanted to buy one, but it turns out that they are only
sold in pairs. I asked Kathy if this was some scheme to
double sales, but she said, no, these instruments were
always played in tandem and were "tuned" to be played
together.
After talking with the merchant, Kathy wangled a deal
for me. The maker of the horns would make just one
for me, which Kathy would ship from Nepal in some 6
weeks.
This was agreed-upon by all. But when Kathy went to
pick up the dung chen, there was a pair! The merchant
said they could only be made in pairs, even when asked
to make just one. So Kathy shipped one to me and one
to herself. Though built to be played together, they are
separated by 2,000 miles. Some day, I hope to reunite
this matched pair of dung chen.
Click here to hear a dung chen.
