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 !! 

:)