aka The Vinyl Villain incorporating Sexy Loser
#057: The Marabar Caves– ‘Seeds That Never Grew’ (Tiki Records ’84)
The Marabar Caves are fictional caves which appear in E. M. Forster‘s 1924 novel ‘A Passage to India’ and the film of the same name. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves, as pictured above, especially the Lomas Rishi Cave, located in the Jehanabad District of Bihar, India which Forster visited during a trip to India.
The caves serve as an important plot location and motif in the story. Key features of the caves are the glass-smooth walls and a peculiar resonant echo, amplifying any sound made in the caves. The echo makes the sound “ou-boum” and that sound haunts the characters afterwards. Forster chose the caves to set a turning point in the novel, not just for the character Adela, but also for Mrs Moore, Cyril Fielding and Dr. Aziz: the caves mark a turning point in the novel and their lives. The caves are significant because they mark the hollowness in the lives of the four main characters. None of them are getting what they want and are trying to find a balance in life amid expanding chaos.
But, as so often, you knew that all along, didn’t you? What you did not know though is that, as ace and important for Indian tourism the above Marabar/Barabar Caves might possibly be, sunny Northampton has its own Marabar Caves! And you know what? If you made me choose which ones I should go and see, it wouldn’t be the Indian ones, even if you paid for the trip!
Nah, I would rather go and see one of the finest psychedelic rock bands ever to come from Northampton, only to witness their performance of what was a B-Side of a single, ‘Sally’s Place’, on Tiki records back in 1984 (that golden year):
mp3: The Marabar Caves – Seeds That Never Grew
Now, apparently The Marabar Caves are still going strong these days … new records, touring: just as you do some 42 years after your formation. I haven’t gone through all their stuff, so there might be some surprises which I haven’t found yet, but up until now nothing is nearly as good as the above, an absolute favourite of mine. If you listened closely, I bet you’ll have heard a slight “ou-boum” therein as well … just like in the bloody caves!
Hope you enjoyed it as much as me,
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 