The juniors and seniors at SIG travel to Bloomington every year for a world music and arts festival called Lotus. According to the website, huge crowds of people have been descending upon Bloomington for 26 years now to “experience places far removed from their everyday routines and to broaden their worldview through the arts.” The music festival is several days long. There are a number of venues around the university where the music is played and people travel from one to another. One can stay as long as he likes in a venue or shift to another after each song.
![IMG_2849_20190927_171514[9]](http://www.ybles.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMG_2849_20190927_1715149.jpg "IMG_2849_20190927_171514[9]")
Walker and a group of his friends went to one of our favorite restaurants, Samira, for dinner. He invited Lucy, our neighbor and former SIG alum who now is a freshman at IU, to join them. The flavors of the Afghani food are truly drawn out in dishes like the Kadu Pallao (butternut squash with a special tomato sauce) and the Manto (steamed dumplings filled with cabbage, onions and cilantro). Both were served with basmati rice and a yogurt sauce.
The SIG students were in Bloomington from about 5–11 pm and then they boarded the bus for home. I’m glad Walker got to experience the festival and share about it with us.
*Although I didn’t know it when I titled this post, the festival is named for the flower and also in honor of Indiana musician Quinten Lotus Dickey (1911-1989). His spirit of open inquiry into the music of cultures other than his own—and his gifts as a musician, singer, and songwriter — inspired the founders.
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