Buying singing bowls

Over spring break my best friend came out for a visit and we headed to Nepal for the week. While there she was on a mission for her mother - to buy a set of seven nested singing bowls. Traditionally made of a copper mix these bowls are said to date back to the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni (560-480 BC). The deep and rich notes that are produced by the larger bowls are considered to be a help in relaxing, thus allowing a person to slip into a meditative state easier. After the first few days of walking around Kathmandu we were not at all sure that we would be able to find a nested set; there were plenty of places that were selling single bowls but nothing that looked like there would be large enough ones for her. Then we took a wrong turn looking for a restauraunt and stumbled across a small store full of brass and copper products, including an entire wall full of singing bowls of various sizes. Thus begins what turned into about a 45 minute experience of selecting singing bowls (and debating if seven of them would weigh too much for our luggage - not if you carry half of them on). To begin with we asked for a set of seven. The man and his assistant began sorting through piles, trying to find the right sizes, gauging how big we wanted the largest one to be. The first set was too small. The second closer. But wait, shouldn't each successive bowl actually be smaller than the one it is inside of? Can we change this one? But once it looked right we also needed to make sure that they sounded good. After all it would be a shame to carry home 20 pounds of bowls only to discover they aren't pleasing to the ear. That is where the vendor really came in, playing each bowl for us - both with a mallet and a stick; raising them up to our ear and out so that we could hear the difference and insisting we touch them to get a sense of the strong vibrations (as you can see in the video below - or here). In the end we did walk out with a set of seven - plus one for me. How could I resist after that type of shopping experience?