Swara CAC Sitar Camp 2015

Heard of the Gurukul system of education in ancient India, whereby the Guru/Master and their students live in the same house, away from their family members? These residential schools are usually the home of the guru or a ashram located close to nature and away from noise and distractions. The students/ shisyas of this system are subjected to a very strict discipline and will be placed directly under the supervision of their gurus all day.

Now, can you imagine such an experience of learning HERE in the midst of chaotic KL? Sounds too good to be true? Believe it or not, that's exactly how it was at the 4 days Sitar Camp conducted by Maestro Samuel J Dass at Swara Community Arts Center last week.  

One of the participants checking in at Swara CAC for the camp

Day one, after everyone checked in and brought in their sitars, mats, pillow and bags and got settled down, we sat down to listen to master sharing some theory, interesting stories and facts about origins of ragas and the characteristics of northern Indian music compared to Carnatic of south. As always, his stories are mixed with humour and fun that keeps us giggling throughout the session. He also  played a few divine pieces whenever the story required an example of a certain raga. After this introductory session, since we had two non Swara students as participants of the camp, we took some time to mingle and get to know each other. Then, we had dinner together, chatted about music, art and everything related to it with master, also with lots of laughters before we went to bed totally looking forward to the first lesson in the morning.

  

Day one, we were all up by 5am for the morning session! Though we were only required to wake up by 5.30, we were just too excited to sleep anymore :) We were so eager to learn the Rag Charukesi which he was going to complete within the 3 days. So, we took a bath, got dressed and went down to have a light breakfast before we started the session.   

What we see before the sun :)

Learning rag Charukesi

The morning session goes from 7am to 12 Noon with a break of an hour from 9 to 10 am. Sitting on the floor cross legged and playing continuously for so many hours was the most challenging part for most of us. Yet, it just didn't seem so long as we kept learning every line of the beautiful rag  and were determined to get every note right before the session ends! We were all so focused on the strings, that we lost any sense of time!

At 12 noon, master says...."OK, now you can all go have lunch" and that's when we realise how long we have been sitting and playing and also that we are pretty hungry and tired :) So, off we go to the dining tables at the backyard to have our delicious vegetarian and non vegetarian lunch prepared with love by master Samuel's sisters, mom and also the cook! Believe me, the magic of music is all soaked in the food they prepare! its that good! :) 

After lunch...we have a break till 3pm, so we rest, practice, chat, read or simply walk around the beautiful garden outside. Then, we are all ready for the next session which goes on from 3pm to 6pm. The afternoon session is to learn sitar maintenance, from changing the strings which included how to make the loops with the strings before you attach them to the sitar, how to tie the strings to place the frets (which was pretty challenging!), how to do jawari which is a technique to file the bridge of the sitar to get the tone right, how to use all kinds of tools and stuffs to repair a sitar! Master will first demonstrate how its done on one of the sitars of the participants which is in need of repair, and then he lets us take turns to try it ourselves. Gosh that's when I wished I could just stick to playing it...hehe :) it requires lots of practice and patience just like playing it! 

Master showing us how to do the JAWARI (Shaping the bridge so its curve and shape fits just right under the strings, so the tone produced is in perfect pitch)

Above pictures are tools used for polishing, drilling and repairing the sitar and were all amused at how pretty and interesting they looked!

So by 6pm, we all kind of looked like zombies (including master of course :D ) then its time for TEA!! we have some light snacks and tea and have a quick shower before we sit again for the eve session from 7 to 8pm.

Here again we learn more theory and concepts of western music. Master played the guitar and keyboard to demonstrate the different kinds of western music like jazz, blues, rock and roll, samba and also how the concept of "harmony" in western music works while its difficult to be applied in indian classical music due to the extremely complicated notes Indian classical music is made of.      

And after another blissful hour of awesome music, we are allowed to have dinner. After dinner, we rested and played relaxing games like checkers and simply had fun sharing stories and experiences both about music and other fun things with lots of laughters. 

Then at 10pm, we watched movies about music like, The Red Violin and 1900. They were both really very interesting but unfortunately some of us were so tired and sleepy by then, we decided to go to bed especially because we had to wake up at 5.30 am again :)

So that's how the 3 days went! breathing in music day in and out,   waking up to music and going to bed with it, felt like it was all happening in another realm! Hearing the twinkling sound of sitar especially from 10 of us all day was like a therapy! Hearts at its natural state mingling and connecting effortlessly, feeling so much joy and love. The two girls who we only met at the camp for the first time, seemed like we had been best friends for years! While we shared the joy of music, the rest simply fell into place! 

Fourth day, after the morning session when we completed the rag charukesi we were all hurting with sore fingers from learning the technique of how to pull the strings. After 3 days of playing for hours, our fingers were burning already. But it was ALL so WORTH it for the divine raga we learnt! We were all totally satisfied!

After lunch, we decided to put up the Christmas tree and decorate it during the break time. While some put on the music and danced while the rest were doing the deco I was taking pictures of them all of course....couldnt miss a moment!

We coudnt help lighting up the sitar too 



Try and spot the trumpet amongst the deco :)



Up went the star

After the Christmas tree was done, we also celebrated one of the participants birthday with a simple birthday cake and with master playing happy birthday on the sitar. He also changed the bridge of her sitar and tuned it as a birthday gift :)

After that we all showered and dressed up for the presentation of certificate of attendance, dinner and closing of the camp.

With such inspiring and sweet moments, the four days came to an end when we had a little closing ceremony with master and our tabla player Dhivager accompanying him for a few more blissfully beautiful ragas including raag charukesi :) 



And of course we had to place the certificate high up with the star of the Christmas tree :)

Then we all had dinner and packed our stuffs to leave.

So, whatever I shared here, pictures and words will only be able to give anyone who reads it a rough idea of how the camp was. But for those of us who were there and experienced it, its altogether different, no way we could relate the moments in words or pictures.

When you have been living only to wake up to alarm clocks which gets you dragging yourself out of bed to get to work and dreading the whole day, impatiently waiting to come home to the comfort of your own space, an experience of waking before the alarm and to rush out with excitement and to be inspired a whole day and to go to bed with music still playing in your head and heart is beyond possible in the world we live today!

So, here I wish to thank Swara Community Arts Center and Master Samuel J Dass for giving us a surreal experience of an ancient gurukul with all its magic! Thank you will sure not be enough!

We are truly looking forward to more of such magical moments with Swara CAC!

Just sharing Swara CAC's profile below:

Do have a look, and join us!! :) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SruenL5h7gQ

When the MOON calls :)

Hubby and friends planned a gathering in Cameron Highlands and decided to go on 2nd week of November. But since one of our friend's birthday fell on the 3rd week, we all changed the plan and went on 3rd weekend instead, so we could celebrate her birthday while we were there. So that's how we ended up going on the 3rd week of November instead of 2nd week. And 4 of us were there a day earlier since the rest could not take leave and could only come the following day. So, the four of us decided to check into the cottage house early on Thursday afternoon. Since the others were only coming the next day, we thought we would cook some simple meal in the cottage and relax instead of driving out to the town. Since we brought the electrical steamboat set along and bought some fresh vegetables at Cameron Highlands and also packed other food stuff which we could grill or boil, we decided to have a simple steamboat meal at the garden of the cottage though we were hoping it would not rain as it has been pouring everyday and it was also raining all the way from KL to Cameron!

By 8pm, weather was breezy and cold but it wasn't raining. So we set up the garden table to get started with our steamboat meal. Once all food and utensils were ready, we sat around the table, we plugged in the stove and started making the soup and also threw a few sausages on the grill pan. As we sat there waiting for the soup to boil, i looked up at the sky, and that's when i noticed a bright light behind the trees. As it wasn't clear from where i was sitting, i got up and walked to the front portion of the cottage garden to have a look and then realised that the light was actually a full moon coming up the sky. I was delighted and quickly ran into the house to get my new camera and set it up to attempt a few good shots of the full moon. 

Until that moment, i had absolutely no idea that it was full moon on that day. I took a few shots every few minutes to get different views as the moon moved upwards. Honestly it was my first time looking at a full moon that huge and bright! I was pretty happy how the pictures turned up though i am still learning how to do the manual settings, and i couldn't take too long or i would miss the moon! So i just did the best i could and here it is ...

 

When i saw the light behind the trees from the garden at the cottage

And the moon started rising to the top of the trees

When i got home after the trip and as i was looking through the pictures i snapped, i was pretty delighted to have had the chance to catch such a beautiful moonlight in such a beautiful place ...and it was all coincidence...or was it?? 

If we had stuck to the original plans of making the trip on 2nd week, then i would have missed the moon....or if we decided to have a steamboat inside the cottage as it was more convenient that way, also i would have missed the moon.. Or even if i sat facing the opposite side of the garden...i would have missed the moon! If it had continued to rain....i would have missed the moon...if the clouds formed at that hour...also i would have missed the moon...so...how many things has to be right just to catch that few moments of light? Coincidence? Or meant to be? It depends on what we believe and how we see it. Here's what i see ..

I believe life brings you what you love in the most mysterious ways...and sometimes it is amazing how much trouble it takes to give you what you love. I sure love nature and i love watching the moon even through the congested concrete walls of KL, i always try to catch the full moon whenever possible....so what if the moon decided to give me satisfying treat? What if it had planned this whole trip to give that joy? Otherwise, why was the trip postponed to the week ahead...why did we decide to cook instead of going out...why did we cook out in the cold night knowing it might rain any time instead of staying warm indoors and save the hassle of setting up the stove and food outside...why did i choose to sit facing the direction where the moon was rising...above all, why should we sit there just in time as the moon was rising...if it had been just half and hour later...i would have missed the huge moon behind the trees....how can there be so many coincidence? :)

Though it may sound strange to some of you, i do believe the moon decided i should see her that night...and it happened :) Nothing was planned and yet everything was perfect...the time, the position, the sky, the weather...the place and the camera...all in union for a divine moment with the mysterious full moon!

Just like that, if only we let nature plan our lives, you will be amazed at what it could bring you. Say i planned to catch the moonlight during this holiday...could it have happened the same way then? How often people hike up hills to catch the sunrise and come down disappointed for missing it either because it got cloudy or they were too late, or camera didnt work or it rained or whatever weird reasons...but if you take notice of life...everything that happens perfectly happens when you did not plan it or did not expect it even...nature loves surprises! It gives you what you want if you trust it! So let life work for you...dont stress about it...let it be...let it go...let it happen...and you will have the best....ALWAYS! 

Wishing you all a fullmoon moment....just stay calm...and wait for it !! 

:)   

Does it make sense??

We have absolutely NO choice about when we should come into this world...from a single cell into a living breathing person with about 37 trillion cells which does ALL the growing by itself,  and we are pushed into life WITHOUT our consent, and then we are expected to learn how to cope with life ourselves and take responsibility for anything that happens to us till we leave this world ....now, does that make any sense to you!? What kind of arrangement is that? No matter how many scientists get together and work for another million years will not be able explain why this is happening..

While the Universe has been created approximately 14 billion years ago....we human beings are only given less then 100 years each to experience and discover ALL that has been happening and by the time we grow out of childhood and even start wondering, we are done with life halfway!! Then we are expected to carry forward our search into the next life....(that is if you believe in reincarnation of course, otherwise you are done...you leave without knowing head or tail about life) Does that make any sense to you?? Even a thousand yogis may not be able justify this system. They may create a theory for everything but the question remains....WHY?? 

Why put human beings on Earth if everything we do is ruining the system? We have abused Earth with pollution and have ruined nature in every way! If Earth can do better without us...why put us here!? We say, the universe is realising ITself through us, without us theres no one to see it, admire it or love it! Fine, then what? Destroy it?? If nature had such intelligence to create a living being just to be able to see itself through our senses....then why did it not pack us ALL with the sense of love to keep Earth safe and not be so greedy and selfish? Why not create a more responsible species? Why create such morons who will build their "Homes" by destroying nature!! 

Does that make sense to you?

So, my point is...nothing about life really makes sense...it is just there to be loved, experienced and lived as it is. The whole beauty is in the LIVING it ALL. So we need to stop trying to find meaning to everything about life. We are wasting precious time by creating theories after theories about life. Stop following systems and theories and simply live life as it is! Whatever comes naturally is the only SENSE i can think of. And what comes naturally is LOVE. We are so concerned about meanings and theories that we forget to LOVE! People are more comfortable saying they hate someone compared to saying they love someone?? Why? Because they have theories like...you will get hurt when you love. But then how healthy do you feel by hating someone??? 

It is our nature to love! When we forget that, usually we are in trouble. We make our lives more miserable with all the hatred we carry. Give LOVE a chance!  After all life doesn't make any sense..why are we SO serious about everything! We are not going to be here forever....while we are here lets make this place a little more joyful, and lets leave life a little more colourful then it was before we came into the picture...at least then, it might make some sense :) 

When joy is possible :)

Most people are looking for joy as though it is a hidden treasure and meant to be never found. They think its impossible to find joy in the world full of miseries. When you tell them joy is possible...they come up with a thousand reasons to prove you wrong...like.."you have no idea what i am going through" being the most popular respond. Yes of course..but then i too can say the same thing to you cant i? So, how is it possible for some to stay joyful while others are dragging not only themselves but everyone on their way, through hell. 

First of all stop assuming that those who stay joyful have no problems in their lives...don't be surprised if they have bigger problems then you have. 

Then, observe and learn from them, stop questioning everything and just pay attention to what they do.

Stop assuming that people who are joyful are just pretending while they are suffering alone! Not everyone is as miserable as you think they are.......some have simply transcended misery!!

JOY for real is POSSIBLE!! First you have to BELIEVE! 

Then you have to let JOY HAPPEN to you. Stop chasing after it, stop being so restless. Let life happen....give it a chance and you will be surprised at what speed it brings you JOY!

If you have no idea what i am talking about then do these:

Think of everything you love..no matter what is going on in your life at this very moment. Let it be and just day dream of everything you love....icecream..chocolates..sarees...books...lipstick....kids...music...movies...flowers....whatever it is...as long as you absolutely LOVE it! Not just like it but LOVE it to the core!! Whatever it is for you...whether or not you are having it now, just feel it and enjoy the feeling!  

Train yourself to talk about everything you love when you are having a conversation with friends or family instead of all the miseries you are going through. 

Pay attention to everything you love while you are going through your daily routine. For example If you happen to see someone wearing your favourite color at work...admire it. Love it and feel it!

If you keep doing this....after sometime it becomes a habit. And you will suddenly find everything around you cheerful. Then, suddenly something you love comes to you like magic. For those of you who have read The Secret...this is not new...but just reading isn't enough...do it! It worked for me! it will work for you! 

Just let go and trust life...

When i learnt how to let go and surrender to the moment, life brought me to places i never imagined i would reach! And i don't mean physically...but through the journey within me.  

To the realms where JOY is POSSIBLE! When nothing on the outside can touch it...where you are dancing with life! Where you could feel life breathing through you!! 

Everything i love happening at once..and leaving me breathless each time! Such joy cannot be chased after ...it happens of its own accord. Just like how you cant force a bud to bloom...nature has a way to make things happen. And it does it beautifully! If only we stop getting in its way....

 

Where there is ART...

Where there is ART there is MAGIC :)

The whole of September 2015 was filled with everything i LOVE! Both MUSIC and DANCE...and shows by the best of the best not just in the country but internationally!! What a blessing it was to witness two major events of the year ...happening on the same weekend. While i have friends and family on both sides, which makes it even more special! Being involved and working with such artistes is always inspiring.

While newspapers and people were grumbling about the haze and the heat ....we at Swara Community Arts Center and Sutra Dance Academy were all breathing in ART and nothing but ART :) And we had no chance to even notice the weather!! 

Sutra Dance Academy presented an Odissi dance performance titled GANJAM with live music by musicians from Odisha India. And Swara Community Art Center had a LIVE recording session of the fusion concert by the band, SwaraAsia, East Meets West. Both world class!! Too much magic to handle in one weekend! 

I will of course write about both the shows in detail and share photographs soon.

For now, i am still soaking in all the magical moments and am lost for words!! So, once i am settled ...i will get to it ok?! SOON! :)

Checkmates!

Ever been in a situation when you cant move either way!?

Well, unlike in the chess game, we cant just end it there and start over. Life simply goes on with the checkmates! Is that not interesting!?

But these checkmates made me realise something amazing and here i wish to share it with you all.

Though from the out it looks like we are trapped in a certain situation, what really happens is, we move on within. 

Every checkmate in life is a turning point within because when you cant change something on the outside...you naturally start changing within. I guess that's part of the master plan!

And when we start changing within, we find a new path and then we are free to move again...only till another checkmate happens of course! But life is fair, it puts you through a series of simpler situations first to train you to look within for the smaller paths and waits patiently to give you the ultimate checkmate where it might seem almost impossible to find a way out. But since you are a little trained by now, you don't panic and just continue looking within for some light to be shed on the path waiting for you to be discovered. 

You of course will have to grope in darkness for a little while, bump into walls and fall and rise a few times before you identify the right path. It could be scary at some points but knowing that the path is there for sure, gives you the courage to keep looking. But the trick is to keep moving, no matter how dark or scary it gets! And the signs of getting nearer to your path will be when you start seeing colours on your way, when you start feeling lighter and when you start feeling so joyous that it becomes impossible to cry over anything. Then you know you are getting there....

So, if you feel like you are trapped in any situation at any point of your life, REMEMBER to LOOK WITHIN ! Remember the other dimensions of life which most of us forget to look at. We are so absorbed with everything outside that we miss the unlimited paths running within us. 

SwarAsia

What does MUSIC mean to you?

Is it something that keeps your mind occupied so it doesn't go wondering? Or is it something that keeps you off some unwanted thoughts maybe? Or could it be something to keep the environment you live in a little lively??

Before i tell you what SwarAsia is, i first wish to share with you what MUSIC is to ME :) 

MUSIC to me is a shortcut to my soul. All my life i have done a lot of chantings, prayers and rituals as means of communicating with my soul...but none of it got me as close to it as music does effortlessly! When you learn how to meditate, people teach you all sorts of methods...breathe this way, keep your attention at a certain point, clear your mind....float in a bubble of love ...smile..listen to chantings...and the list goes on and on...but honestly, every time i tried any of these methods i only got bored! I am not saying they don't work! Maybe it works for someone else! But it sure didn't work with me! 

So, after a few attempts, i told myself to stop forcing myself to meditate and just take life easy as it comes! Of course all the Osho's books i read lately helped in making the decision. So i stopped trying to meditate and simply went on with life. No more chantings or rituals but simply living my days with all that i love in peace and joy. 

And once i was calm and settled, a lot of things started happening ...a lot of good things of course! And one of it was MUSIC! I was introduced to the Sitar Maestro Samuel J Dass himself by my good friend Joethi from campus. I registered for his beginners classes a year ago and it will be quite impossible to explain how much life has changed eversince i touched the divine instrument!

I will never forget the first ever piece i heard him play in my first class. The hindustani classical tune called Charukesi which is his own composition! Though I've been wanting to share this experience for a year now, i kept postponing it coz i wasn't sure if i could truly do justice to the music by explaining precisely how it made me feel! Words always fail miserably when you want to explain MUSIC!

The twinkling sound of the strings, when played with SUCH perfection, tunes right into your heart and resonates with your soul, awakening every nerve and gets it dancing with the rhythm of LIFE! I sat there spellbound while my soul had taken flight to realms i never dreamed of reaching through meditation! 

Believe me, i cant recall what else happened within this ONE year I've been learning and listening to this blissful live music! The usual ups and downs have been there but i was not at all affected by any of it. I feel such JOY within me that nothing on the outside is able to ruin it! 

Everything i look at, seems different, it has MUSIC in it! The flowers, the butterflies, the rain, sunshine and everyone around me is now dancing with the music. SO JOYOUS! BLISSFUL!

Is it not true when they say, MUSIC has a spiritual connection to your soul! We have seen it over and over in the history of humankind...from Beatles to Michael Jackson...how people are drawn by the power of music. When Michael Jackson passed away, the WHOLE world stood still for weeks! Wars in middle east didn't matter to the news channels...for they were talking about Michael Jackson! We all cried as though we lost a close friend...we all felt our hearts aching to hear him sing just ONE more time! Now, why does this happen? How would life be different without Michael Jackson? Its surely the unexplainable connection of music with the human soul. 

I wonder if probably the very FIRST BEATs of our heart is the base to all musical experiences that comes later in life. The first thing we hear when in the womb is the beats in rhythm. So, of course we must recognize our being through music! That is why it brings such joy! When we hear the beats, we must remember our being in the womb! The magic of life itself is reminded!  

Eversince i got in touch with MUSIC, life has taken completely a new dimension...right into the core of my soul...where everything is colourful, bright and JOYFUL! Joy is our natural state of being and music gets you there effortlessly! While LOVE is the secret to joy, joy is the final state of being. 

So, when you fall in LOVE with MUSIC ...it sure spells BLISS!

When you fall in love with music...you cant help falling in love with the whole universe! 

Well, i can go on and on about MUSIC but, maybe i will save it for the next posts and get to SwarAsia now! 

SwarAsia is a band put together and led by Maestro Samuel J Dass and their first show called EAST MEETS WEST, a fusion music odyssey will be held at PJ Civic Centre this Sunday, 6th September. A combination of instruments like, Sitar, Rebab, Guitar, Violin, Flute, Tabla, Cajon, Thavil and also vocals make this concert a truly unique experience. How instruments originating from different parts of the world rhymes when put together is surely amazing especially when it is done by an extraordinary musician. 

So, if you are in KL this weekend, DON'T MISS the opportunity to experience this magical journey! You can get your invitations by calling the numbers given in the poster above. Hope to see you there!

No recordings does justice to MUSIC. You have to hear it live to feel it! And such opportunities are so rare that we cant afford to miss it :)

If you have friends who love music, then feel free to share this post with them. Just spread the joy of music as much as you can. I have learnt a shortcut to reach to my soul and i wish to share the joy with the whole world :) 

What would you see in heaven?

I see people trying so hard to accumulate points so they would in the end be granted a place in heaven. Feed the poor....rescue a dog....plant a tree....visit the old folks and so on. While these are all good deeds which we should all do, its also important to know why we are doing it. If the idea is to book a place in heaven, we will surely not enjoy the moments of it. We are forcing ourselves to do good so we get a reward..then how can we experience the joy of doing such things. When our mind is set on a "HEAVEN" which we believe is somewhere above the clouds, beyond our imagination, would we not miss the twinkle in the eyes of a child receiving a gift from our hands? Would we not miss the magical moment when the bond between the giver and the receiver is created!? 

When you feel every moment from your heart and soul, heaven is there...When you feel your heart skip a beat whenever you hear your favourite music...heaven is there. When you taste your favourite food and feel how delicious it is ....heaven is there....when you see a stranger's baby smile at you and find yourself smiling at them...heaven is there...when you see your doggies running to you joyfully even if you only left them for an hour...heaven is there....when you watch the raindrops dripping from a flower of a plant you planted yourself ....heaven is there! When you hear the birds chirping away at dawn...heaven is there....When you see your children splashing water on each other and laughing...heaven is there....

I can go on and on forever...as there are no boundaries, limits or time for heaven...heaven is in every moment you breathe consciously. When you are no longer hypnotized by whatever the system made you to believe. When you are awake...you see heaven everywhere! You cant miss it from the moment you spot the first one! You will be overwhelmed by the heavens ....and you will laugh at yourself to have been missing it all for so long. 

Discover the heavens right here! Wherever we are...right now! Breathe consciously! Feel the moment! Feel the joy! Do whatever that brings you that joy. Cant help quoting RUMI here :-

" CLOSE YOUR EYES.

FALL IN LOVE.

STAY THERE." 

Stop chasing after heaven like its is somewhere else and just settle down to what you are doing and you will see heaven in every moment! It is ALL here! Not above...not below....simply HERE!! 

If we cant SEE it HERE...how can we SEE it at all...

WHY IS BUDDHA LAUGHING?

The Indian rishis and yogis have always mentioned that what we hear in the highest realms of meditation is a neverending laugh! And i am beginning to see why :) 

We are given ONE precious life to experience the 14 BILLION years old universe and what do we do??

We worry about the most insignificant things in life like...what my friends would think of me if i did this or that...what my family would say if i decided on this or that? I need to please EVERY other person in my life...even my neighbour who i only say "hi" to like once in a month maybe...so no...i will not try anything out of the ordinary...i will follow EVERY rule the society has set ....i will LIVE to fit into it and NEVER step out!

Then while fitting into this so called "system" we make ourselves miserable by fighting every instinct that proposes something out of the ordinary. "Go dance!" "No i am a super goody traditional wife and daughter in law...."i don't dance" "GO ON A HOLIDAY"! " NO!! I am the most responsible parent in the world who must ruin all my happiness so the rest in the family are happy! "GO PLAY IN THE RAIN! " NO every health article says....the rain water will make you sick!" GO DISCOVER YOUR PASSION" NO WAY! my society believes you must ONLY do whatever that brings you money! Passion is for another life! 

Yeah....these are the kinds of contradictory moments people go through all their lives...and then suddenly when something triggers their sleeping heads, they suddenly see that there is no "other life"....we are to experience life right NOW....and they panic!! Then they start doing the weirdest things...they run up and down chasing all the left out moments and cram it into their remaining lifetime. Seriously! why?? I don't blame most of them because our social system is such....brainwashed and so absorbed in it that its pretty hard to see life beyond it. 

Just imagine...we are merely infesting a rock floating in space...in a space SO vast beyond any measures of science! A beautiful form of life happening right before our eyes! We don't even know the end of it...too huge....too amazing...too far...infinite! And all we care about is what ...my neighbour might think of me! Now...why wouldn't Buddha laugh!? 

The universe without us...will go on! Only that there will be no one to talk about the beauty anymore! The universe without us in fact will be better off...and yet we live in a dream where we rule the world! But the amazing fact is....being so small...yet we have this consciousness that can experience the entire universe right from where we are!! Tell me, if theres a more exciting experience of life than getting to know the universe ourselves! We are now learning that it is possible for ALL human beings to experience it...and not like what most people think that only the yogis or rishis are able to see it....no! we are all capable...only problem is we don't even try!

Knowing life has got NOTHING to do with religion. We came before any religion ....life came first! So Life knows better. Dive into life. Live it! Love it! feel it! Touch it! Smell it! And above all...STAY ALIVE in it!  

Go by chapters :)

Its not the first time people have asked me, "How do you have the patience to read books that are almost a thousand pages long!" My answer has always been this "I just go chapter by chapter".

When you keep count of the pages, you would feel like you have a long way to go but when you focus on the chapters you get to the end before you know it! Thats the trick! My aim is not to get to the end of the book as quickly as possible. I just get indulged in each chapter and take in whatever that happens in those pages. I am never eager to know what happens in the end. I am more interested to know how it gets to the end page by page...chapter by chapter. 

Its quite interesting how the mind works with the same total no of pages having different effect on us just by way we approach it! Life itself is just like that! All we need to do is to be in the present and enjoy and do our best day to day...moment to moment..and one day we will get to the end feeling joyful and surprised at how beautiful the journey was. Otherwise, if we are obsessed about what comes next and how it ends ...we are going to miss life happening right now.

This is why i have NEVER approached an astrologist or bothered to follow numerology or palmistry or whatsoever! First of all it spoils the fun by telling us how our life will be! Secondly, i dont trust the accuracy of any readers. I wouldnt want my life to be misread by someone who missed certain nos or calculations! No way! I always loved to see my life unfold day by day with all the little surprises and hidden agendas that keeps me grinning all day! 

Also when it pushes me downhill and gets me rolling helplessly till i hit the bottom, at least i wasnt already expecting it!! It just happens while i am dancing through life like nothing will EVER go wrong! Then i gather my strength to climb the hill again...this time i know where i tripped! So i stay alert but i still dance my way up!

A whole life story is made of short chapters and every chapter is made of a few pages and every page is made of a few sentences...and every sentence is made of a few words! Stay focused on every word....and you will get to the end without any stress! Otherwise you will be drained by the time you get to it. Why be torn between the end and now, when you can just be in the now! Let it be! Whatever it is! And LIVE every word! In the end the chapters will be complete and the book will be done! Surely! 

So dare read books of a thousand page! Go by the chapters and enjoy the pages! And when you get to the very LAST page you will feel such satisfaction for having been through every line with ease and joy! You will never forget the experience....just like life! Live it all! 

See you in the next chapter!! :) 

  

Oh My India!

Last weekend i got this wonderful opportunity to be with SWARA Community Arts Center at Publika, Solaris Dutamas for a show organised by Prevail Productions and this time i was doing what i love most....yes, taking pictures! Since Swara's photographer guy was not available for the weekend i just came in to help take a few pictures for our documentation. I was absolutely delighted as i always felt theres something about taking pictures of dance and dancers or any kind of performances on the whole which is totally satisfying. For instance you catch a move which otherwise might only last a few seconds in life...you get to freeze their beautiful expressions to be admired again and again. Sometimes you in fact get to see a lot more in a picture then in life! But only problem was, at the moment i have a simple Canon powershot camera which though is good for zooming in 30X, it is not able to freeze movements clearly as the features of this camera isn't really meant for sports or movement. Still, since we had no choice and all we needed was some pics for the records i agreed to do my best.  

This show had 10 different genres of indian traditional dance, 9 of it being classical and one folk. Truly amazing performance from all dancers! And i was pretty satisfied with the shots i managed to take! I was so happy to know that everyone in Swara liked my pictures a lot  So, i will let my pics say the rest :)

This one is my fav pic of this amazing dance called Yakshagana, originating from Karnataka, India. as i was helping her, i was amazed at the number of accessories it required, it was all so heavy and took 3 hours to get dress with make up done!

As i was helping her getting dressed up, i told her that no Odissi or Bharathanatyam dancers should ever complain about having to wear too much for performances :) 

And here she is after 3 hours with her amazing performance

Below is the popular dance genre called Kathakali, a dance form of the Malayalees from Kerala, India performed by Geetha Shankaran Lam 

Below is a picture of the awesome Kathak dancer, Nitin Shirale. I am sure you can see how graceful he is from this shot, every turn and every pose is picture perfect though he swirls like a tornado! Truly breathtaking moves and grace. This is the third time i watched him perform and i am falling in love with Kathak already! 

Here's our very elegant and graceful bharathanatyam dancer, Neha Mondal Chakravathy. She does the most aggressive Shiva thandavas with such lightness, almost floating around the stage, simply beautiful!

The emcee explaining about the folk and classical dances with the folk dancers 

Joyous and fun to watch :) 

Below is Geetha Shankaran's son performing Odissi!

Here's the entire team!

I always loved photography but somehow never took it seriously. This recent opportunity and the feedback from Swara members, family and friends made me realise that i should take it further :) 

Big thanks to my sitar master Samuel J Dass who trusted me with my tiny camera for such a huge and important show!! It was quite funny to be standing next to the"canggih manggih" (Malaysian term for professional/ Hi Tech)  camera persons with their huge cameras balanced on tripod taking pictures and video!! One of the photographers actually smiles at me, looks at my cam and says "that's nice" which clearly sounded like... "what are you trying to do with the toy, lady" hehehhe....but well, you just wait OK?? ;)  

The Master Plan

How often do we pause to wonder "how did i get to this point?" to realise that we did not plan it to be what it is currently. While we planned something else, with some idea about how we want to go about life and what we want to do, let it be work or family, something interferes here and there, blocks your route, puts the lights out, gets you groping in darkness, bump into walls till we find an outlet somewhere desperately and take the chance (mostly because there's no other choice!). 

Then on this new route we find some light again so we keep going in that route though it might seem blurry, but we are once again stopped! and the whole process repeats itself leaving us exhausted beyond our limits. We drop! and pick ourselves up even if its with the last ounce of courage that's left. Again groping in darkness to find another door, this time the light gets a little brighter. 

So we keep going almost believing that this will be the final route only to be blocked again! The interesting thing is, by now we have become immune to these obstacles that even the boulders on our path begin to look like little pebbles....we have gained that much strength with all the work out we got on the way. So, we stop calmly at the boulders, knowing that something or someone will soon remove it....for that's how its has been all the way, and we wait patiently instead of knocking our heads on it, unnecessarily. Soon enough, the boulders magically roll away, leaving the path free and bright for us to continue. This time we take the route knowing there will be more boulders, and yet we are not distressed by it as we also know that they too will be removed :)

It is at this point, we gain the presence of mind to pause and think about where we are! And we are surprised that we just love the place and couldn't have planned it ourselves to get there! And we wonder in amazement..."How did that happen?" 

Well if you could draw a map of these series of routes, diversions, obstacles and blackouts in our life, we will SEE that they fit perfectly into a MASTER PLAN.  

We are meant to get there but since we did not have the wisdom to find our path in early stages, we keep resisting and trying to adamantly stay on a less difficult route. But no one escapes the Master Plan.

LIFE is WHOLE, there are no individual life as it seems to be. The system is WHOLE. Every ant needs to be in its place for the system to work. The universe cant afford to let us choose our paths. Or it will be in total chaos. So, all we need to do is to learn how to fit into this master plan. The best way to avoid much injuries would be to let ourselves flow in with it. By being joyful despite the chaos of the moments. By making every point of our life a memorable one. By enjoying the simple pleasures. By knowing that the "bad" people in our lives are put there to divert our routes and emotions. By learning as much as we can from every situation. By not repeating the same mistakes. By trusting the Master Plan who always knows better! 

When we practice these things, life instantly gets lighter...this is what the scriptures refer to as SURRENDER. Leave it to the Master Plan. Stop resisting and hurting unnecessarily. 

LET GO! and DANCE with LIFE :)