Travel diary 2013

‘LOVE CARAVAN,’ A MISSION TO SPREAD LOVE & PEACE THRU MUSIC

By S.N. Venkatnag Sobers

At a time when people around the world are experiencing a lot of apprehension due to regular occurrence of untoward incidents such as terror attacks, violation of ceasefire or disturbance within the country, here is a team of peace-loving people from France who have been touring around the world trying to spread the message of Love and Peace through music.

Music Composer Marc Vella, a pianist, composer, writer, poet, has been touring different countries around the world along with his team to spread the message of love and peace. He has visited countries such as Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal, Italy, Syria, Lebanon, Africa, Pakistan and other countries from the past 20 years along with his piano, spreading the message of brotherhood.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Marc Vella said that he had been travelling around the world with his piano and meeting a lot of people and learning about different culture and traditions.

When asked about his ‘Love Caravan’, Marc said that he started the project 10 years back and has visited more than 20 countries, most of them being countries in distress.

“Everybody dies at some or the other time. The reason why I am travelling around the world is because I want to see different countries and learn about different traditions. This apart, I also want to spread the message of love and peace through my music,” he said.

Marc said the reason behind his decision to visit India was that he was invited by many organisations to come with his ‘Love Caravan.’ “Many oragnisations wrote to me and asked me to visit India along with my group. The response from the public has been good and encouraging. People here have understood the importance of love and affection and this is what pushes me to continue with my project,” said Marc.

The speciallity of ‘Love Caravan’ is that it has members from different age groups — from kids to elderly citizens, some are working professionals while some have been leading a retired life. So far Marc has travelled around 200,000 kms round the world with the support of his team. Many of them have come on holidays and will be returning to France once the tour is completed.

The team visits different places, mainly where the downtrodden or the neglected ones live. Marc plays his piano while others join in with different musical instruments. They sing, dance and mingle with local residents irrespective of their social status and achieve success in their effort to make new friends.

Speaking to SOM, Jean Pierre Godel, Love Caravan member and a resident of Bordeaux, said that he enjoyed every bit of the tour travelling to different places and meeting new people. Talking about the caravan, he said that since India is a conservative country where people can’t hug and kiss anyone unlike some western countries, they have decided to spread love and peace through music.

When asked why they were visiting slums and not other localities, Jean said that the team was visiting different places and the reason behind them visiting slums is that people living in these areas would have not had the opportunity to listen or see somebody play a piano. He added that they want to learn about the problems the slum-dwellers face.

The team left for India on Feb. 25, 2013 and will be returning to France on April 7, 2013. The team left Mysore for Satyamangalam in Tamil Nadu and from there, Marc has plans to visit Kerala and other places before heading back to France. Music is known to be a medium to spread love and affection. Will Marc be able to succeed in his mission? Only time will tell.