Setting 2014 with the Sun

The world is renewed with every rise of the sun. It is not about the year or month. Its about every moment refreshed second by second. So life is eternally new. Live every moment of it.

That's the message i got while i sat by the beach in Langkawi, watching and meditating upon the setting sun last weekend. While i get restless by 5 mins when i attempt to meditate at home....i unbelievably sat still for almost an hour and a half there simply watching the sun set at its own pace, absorbing the golden rays and purplish skies and there was no need for calming Zen music to keep my thoughts quiet...as my mind was totally merged with the soothing sound of waves splashing in rhythm with my breathing.

I was sitting there alone while hubby and the group of friends were resting on the folding beach chairs further up. After a little while, my friend comes up to where i was sitting and asks me to turn around facing my back to the sun for her to snap a shot of my silhouette. And the picture turned up so nice :)


We were lucky that despite the rainy season the weather was so good on that evening. And the sunset was simply breathtaking. While my friend's kids were running up and down the shore collecting sea shells, building sand castles and simply running to the waves i noticed their silhouette from where i was seated looked interesting....so i decided to take few shots of them. Here it is....








Once the sun went down...rising in another part of the world...i got up and walked to the waves just to wet my feet and saw that the kids were still not tired of running up and down, most likely because they were absorbing all the natural energy and feeling light and free from all the "don't touch this! Don't run! Don't scream! Don't talk! Don't Don't and Don't...." No, here they were running free....as much as they wanted...and you could see the joy in their eyes! No concrete buildings to break their runs...simply endless shores and light ...such freedom is priceless especially for children...is it not?

Then i walked back to where the rest of my friends were sitting and chatting. One of them sees me walking up and asks in amazement,
"Anuuuu....how could you sit for that long???"

And only then did i realise it myself...that i was actually sitting there for more then an hour.....so i smiled and said to her "actually it wasn't enough" :)

How can u be bored when the sun is setting...changing colours by the seconds ...dropping into the ocean inch by inch right before your gaze! The shape of the clouds changing and forming new patterns every minute...the waves getting closer to you with every splash....the reflection of the light on the sea forming a path as if it is paving a way for you to walk up to the sun...such a majestic live show going on....and how could anyone be bored looking at it! 

The world when you got there before the sun set was gone...and there was a whole new world of dark skies and colder breeze with twinkling stars in the making....it was a new world in the making right before your eyes. How often do we notice these changes....to us the world goes by clock....its 5pm.....its 6pm....its 7 pm....its 8 pm....but do we even notice whats happening during these hours on ordinary days...No, we define our day by hours ....lunch hour....tea break....after work....dinner time....tv time....bed time...and that's it....the same routine follows the following day.....timing ourselves as though we are a bomb ticking! But the sun is putting a show every morning through the day into setting again....but we don't care to notice! Not that we don't have time...coz even if we have time we rather be sulking that we are bored then to be indulged in nature.

We may not be able to watch the sunrise or sunset everyday....from where live. But we can sure catch it at least at one point of the day before we go to bed again. It makes a difference when we watch how the day is changing every second....how the clouds are moving...when the wind is blowing them away...we too are changing every second. Our life is renewed by seconds...we are growing and blooming into ourselves...unknowingly. So lets pay attention to the changes...lets watch ourselves rise and set with the sun. Lets notice the changes in our thoughts....Lets acknowledge the love we feel. Lets LIVE with every breath ....like the sun.. :)

So my resolution??? 

Is surely to watch as many sunrises/ sunsets from as many parts of the world possible this coming year! :)

So stay tuned for lots of light and colours in 2015!

I have a lot more to share about Langkawi....will do in the next posts...

Have a great year all! 


   

Dancing with destiny...

There has been a few times, when i got opportunities to dance for a piece of music i love and constantly imagined myself dancing....it all started when i was in campus, with A.R Rahman's...Taal movie song. When the movie was released i was in campus and whenever i listened to the songs i would imagine myself dancing to it on stage...or just anywhere over the hills and by the streams...simply love the songs in the movie. But i never imagined that it would really come true! Thanks to the organizers of fashion show in campus especially to a good friend Nazlin who was already in 3rd year when i was in first. One morning at my hostel bathroom, while i was brushing teeth...she walks in and spotted me in the reflection of the mirror and asks..."you can dance indian classical dance...right?" I smiled and said...yes...though i was surprised at her question since i didnt know her at all...it was the first time i saw her in the hostel. Then she asks "would you like to be part of the fashion show we organize to be staged in the Malam Anekaragam ( an annual concert in the university). I was delighted of course...especially when i was feeling miserable to be away from family for the first time in my life, any chance to dance meant BLISS :) 

So thats how i started dancing in campus. Thats when i got the opportunity to dance for the song Taal!! I loved the choreography by another senior girl who is from temple of fine arts. There were four of us doing the classical part ...and we wore plain gold lehengga suits and since then we were often referred by our close friends as the four golden girls in anekaragam :D 

Just like the taal song...there was another song i always imagined myself dancing....also A.R Rahman's music from the movie Jeans....."Anbe Anbe" sung by Hariharan. I love the beat and the lyrics too...especially with the gorgeous Aiswarya Rai dancing in the movie!! It was just so beautiful! Though again...i never thought i would get an opportunity to dance for that song too! And i did!

The crowd at DTSP USM was easily into thousands...and the stage was so huge...we have to run from one side to the other when getting in or out....What an awesome experience it was! That was surely the biggest audience I've ever had! 

Then after campus time...when i came to KL and took Odissi classes at Sutra...it was back to pure classical dances...no more movie songs or semi classical pieces...But that doesn't mean i stopped dreaming :P

About two years ago, while i was browsing through the YouTube videos of Kitaro's music i came across this piece called "Dance of Saraswati" Oh My God it was so beautiful that i thought i had wasted half my life not listening to music that beautiful! It had a very special effect on me...every time i listened to it...i closed my eyes and this time i not only imagined myself dancing...but i also imagine all the breathtaking places i visited in Europe just two years ago...the music and the places suited so well that i didn't know which was more beautiful....and of course i was dancing by the streams and over the rolling hills each time!! :P 

This time...again i NEVER thought i would be dancing for this piece of music...as i was sure...no way my dance school would use this music to dance odissi...hahhaa...and i was not in campus anymore!

But strange that every time i hear this music i so badly wanted to dance to it...it was so joyful and touched the core of my soul! Then sometime last year i decided to ask one of teachers in Sutra if she could help me choreograph for this music...just for fun of course...not to perform but just for the love of it! But then i knew it was not fair for me to ask her to do that. So i told her to just ignore my request and that maybe i just got a little emotional on that day when i was listening to the music...so then we all forgot about it....

But believe it or not....this year...just 2 weeks ago....i danced for this piece...and not only that i danced solo....but i also had to choreograph the whole 6 minutes all by myself!! I was at first reluctant...but then i thought...well for all the years ive been learning, at least i should attempt to have one piece which is originally mine! Every step to be purely my own....for a piece of music i loved most...so why not! It doesn't have to be extraordinary but let it be mine...i thought. So...yes i only had 4 days to choreograph and practice before i performed at the hotel for my secondary school Silver Jubilee celebration in Ipoh! My friends had requested that i do a opening dance because i use to dance in school events like every year..!

I was told that the platform was pretty small and a little shaky...coz it was not meant for performances...so i put in very light steps ( its hard not to stamp when you are doing Indian classical steps) and minimal jumps or runs....still it was enough!! at least enough for me! I in fact thanked Goddess Saraswati for the opportunity...(i must have unconsciously bugged Her so much :P ) and also prayed that i made no mistakes as i knew how many of my friends would be recording and uploading it on FB!!! that was a scary thought coz i have my dance and music teachers on my FB and having them watch the video will be nerve wrecking....and guess what...i remembered every step....and felt totally at easy on that little stage....no special effects or spot lights...but just me and my Goddess in Dance of Saraswati :) I was so delighted that i dedicated the dance to all my dance gurus. And since part of the music is played with the instrument Sitar....i dedicated that part of dance to my sitar master Samuel J Dass too :)  

Please excuse the first one min...where you will be hearing my good friend's voice who was recording ...she was only concerned that the audience cant see me though it was our idea to have all lights turned off till i was on stage and started dancing...hahha..

So here it is...my very simple ...yet my very own interpretation of the Dance of Saraswati....with the sun rising....lotus blooming...birds flying...rivers flowing and there we see Her dancing in joy....one with nature....one soul in ALL!

Hope you like it :)

Me in Kitaro's Dance of Saraswati

A window to a secret garden :)

Two weeks ago i was in Ipoh, and since it was school holidays we decided to take my nephew for a outing. Just a day trip somewhere around Ipoh itself. Finally decided to visit the caves at Kek Look Tong in Gunung Rapat area. I have not been there though i am from Ipoh. So it was first time for all of us except my sis in law who has been there often. I have seen pictures of some caves at Gua Tempurung Ipoh and knew it will be interesting. So i was pretty excited to go.

As we reached the entrance, the first thing that caught my attention was the hilltop where there was an opening which looked like a window. 

I was already excited to see what was beyond.....yet little did i know of the beauty hidden behind that hill! Now it makes sense why the hill decided to have a little window.....it was inviting you to see through it...reminding you to get to the other side...

So we walked through the cave....which was serene, cool and calming with the breeze breathing through the opening..There were huge statues of Buddha and  lovely little carvings on stones all along the walls of the cave. My mom and brother were saying..." if only this is made a Hindu temple to meditate...." and i laughed!! i said....why do you need a temple? just look at the cave...look at the formations which took millions of years ....drops by drops of pure water ....a temple build with such patience no man can ever attempt! So, meditate on the cave!! THIS IS the temple! what more do you need!?....and they were both smiling...i don't know if they agreed....but at least they couldn't argue.. :) 

I walked on amazed by every inch of the cave and...Yet...i still wasn't aware of the beauty that comes once you get to the end of the cave....

When you get to the end...you see an opening of the cave....with a view of a garden, lake and hills...simply breathtaking! From then on....my family could not stop me to have snacks by the gazebos on the way...no! who needs to snack when you have the hills nourishing your nerves! So i decided to walk alone while the others were resting. Best part is, though it was school holidays there were no crowd...and i was walking alone enjoying every view and stopping wherever i wanted to soak in its beauty... 

here's just a glimpse of it....

The lake filled with white and pink lotus...

 These giant leaves reminded me of Pandora in the movie Avatar, so huge you can sleep on it :)

What a beautiful day it was....as i walked out back to the car park....i turned to look at the window on the hilltop and smiled....coz now i know what you could see through it. I did wish i was able to hike up to the window and actually see the whole view from above...but somethings are meant to be left to your imaginations...and thats what makes nature even more beautiful! 

So, if you are in Ipoh and have no idea what to do next....remember to visit this secret garden..:)