Heritage Photos: So I'm casually walking home from mosque at 12 midnight, as you do, through a quiet, derelict, dark alley until I begin to hear some deep traditional old Pathwari folk music. I decided to walk towards it in excitement to investigate. Or rather, I was being pulled towards it as if hypnotised by the flute's fluctuating notes. This was no snake charmer though - it was stronger and more venomous. Before I could realise, it was surging inside my veins. I was losing control over my body and mind. I was now only following the direction my ears were taking me; mesmerised. Yet confused. I'm in the Western world. How can the roots of such quaint, traditional Persian indo culture travel so far? How did its vibrance pierce the the grey concrete roads of the West? Closer, I could hear more instruments; each in its own rhythem so different; yet synchronised and harmonised. The sittar was now controlling my strings. I was made to walk around, out of the alley and back on to the road to find the front gate of this Pesian Kingdom. I didn't know who's house it was or who lived their. But it didn't matter because we now had a common interest. What I do know is that the lovers of art always appreciate the appreciators. And I was now one. Me being me, as impulsive as I am, I opened the front door, entered it and headed up the stairs where the sound was being amplified from. As I opened the door they looked at me - not startled or alarmed but in excitement. They continued playing instead of stopping - as if I was an expected guest. Guest I was but not expected. Although this 'yard' was poor and run down its spirits were rich. The house 'looked' like it was dying. But it 'felt' so alive that I was rejuvenating. It was torn and old, yet its spirits were young; younger than the night even though it had only just begun. Within these Sufi people wrapped in simplicity and vibrant shawls, was this energetic spirit embodied and captivated. But such was this positivity that cannot be encapsulated. It was emitted and felt by me outside beyond those falling walls. by iismmiiley