Sadhana 2016 DAY 1

Sadhana 2016, Day 1, was my first time on stage with my Bhairavi :)

Who is Bhairavi? My sitar of course :) Two years ago when i got my brand new sitar from Calcutta, India, especially chosen, tested and brought to Malaysia by my guru himself, i fell in love with her. And, knowing she is going to be my best friend for life...i named her Bhairavi! Why Bhairavi and not any other raag? Because that was the first raag i heard my guru play life in a concert titled PRANAM and i was moved to the core by it. Of course he played the other raags first and Bhairavi comes as the finale. Yet...there was something about this raag that got to my soul. Especially that particular piece which i had been listening over and over in one of his youtube videos and the difference it made when you hear it LIFE...the echoes, the vibrations, the energy and magic of it!! It was an experience i will never forget. That is why i decided to name her Bhairavi! 

As i went on for the weekly classes, i had no such goal or ambition to perform in shows. I just loved learning the notes...i just love the sound that comes each time i pluck the strings. Even the first notes and fingering exercises got me excited...haha! i would practice it as though they were some masterpieces. I would even record and listen to the simple Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni ..over and over...simply because i was so amused that it was ME making those sounds... :) And that's what kept me going, not caring how long i might take to learn a whole song in a particular raag. I never even thought about it. Because it was so joyous all the way! It was like..who cares what i might play in five years...when every note is so beautiful!!

And today, after exactly two years...i have learnt one whole song ( about 6 mins long) in raag Bhairavi and will be performing this Sunday in Swara CAC's Students concert, Sadhana 2016. While rehearsing with my group today, i was in the verge of tears as it was so joyous to be able to play the raag myself..especially such a beautiful composition and it seems more like a miracle that i am going to perform with them. 

Last Sunday, my group played raag Yaman (picture above) and surprisingly i did not feel nervous on stage though it was my FIRST sitar performance. With all the spotlights, the people and the mics attached, i somehow felt calm. Just before the curtain went up, i told my Bhairavi..."never mind whose watching or listening, its just about you and me here...so stay with me please!" and know what? she did!! :) 

So, here's another round of rehearsals going on till this Sunday and i pray, once again she stays with me through the notes of Raag Bhairavi!

 

I have to mention this, when the MCs announce that the next performance is by the students of this guru, we walk in with pride, knowing we have learnt from the best of the best gurus and absolutely confident of ourselves. Performing well, will be the best guru dharchana we can offer to such dedicated master who would go all out to make sure we get EVERY note absolutely RIGHT! No compromises...and no excuses!!No matter how tiring it is for him to check each and every one of his students in EVERY class and yet he doesn't give up on us. You get it right or you dont play at all! That is how every note is learnt by every student. 

So, just saying thank you will not be enough for all the joy that is brought into our lives through music. As i said before, this performance is a dedication to our guru, master Samuel J Dass.  

We hope to give the best we can! :) And all the best to my most wonderful sitar gang who are performing this week! Love you all! 

 

The picture above snapped by my friend Usha with her HP...she was upset it turned out dark....but i so love it.  Because i wasn't aware she was taking this picture...and i am looking somewhere beyond this world...I've no idea what was on my mind...i cant recall this moment...and it only seems like it all happened in another realm :)

So, hope to see you this Sunday at Temple of Fine Arts, 6PM!!

SADHANA 2016

SADHANA 2016, what is it?

Its when every beat, every step, every note and every move which has been instilled painstakingly into our nerves by the gurus, finally takes a form, that can be related to the audience.

What you will watch or hear in this show, is something that grew inch by inch into the souls of the performers. It is not something that happens overnight. Not even over months, but years!  Its a flow of two way energy, between the guru and student that finally merges at a point, mixed with dedication and love, and takes on a new life.

With every note you learn, you get a little closer to the tune and with every step you learn, you get a little closer to the dance. Every class will only seem like...one step or one note that you cant relate as a whole, but as you keep practicing and adding on the next note and step, it begins to make sense. Then you begin to see the magic, and that keeps you going, and suddenly after years of these little steps, you suddenly find yourself dancing, singing or playing a song. Usually you are surprised at the outcome. You finally see, what has been happening in every class from the first day. You now now how to put it together. Its then not called steps anymore, but DANCE. Not notes, but MUSIC.  

And SADHANA 2016 is another step closer to magic, because whatever that has been happening on different days, different times, different disciplines, with different gurus and students who have been teaching (or screaming, precisely :)) and learning various forms of ART, slowly growing together under one roof but not really taking notice of each other, but suddenly comes to life as whole group of performers who now recognize one another and are connected through the arts. 

Taking into consideration that this is all happening in Kuala Lumpur, these students and their parents who are living somewhere amidst the concrete jungle, and in times when people think money is the most important thing in life and everything else is secondary, its pretty amazing how such shows are still possible. The reason could only be that we are still human beings and are still connected to the divine nature. We cant help it. No matter how hectic life is, no matter how busy, how far we live, how expensive it is, our hearts cant help seeking whats REAL! And that is why, parents can go to such extend to take the time for their children to be involved in such shows. That's is also why students are able to take the stress of painful practices and yet go on learning joyfully.

So, this July the proud gurus of Swara Community Arts Center in PJ are waiting to see their students on stage and so are their families and friends. Yes, its going to be ALL STUDENTS this time while the gurus sit back and relax?? Ermm no i don't think so, most of them are more nervous than when they are performing themselves. Hahaha, but that's only because they want to see the best of their students!

So, come join us, support and bless our first times on stage. Lets celebrate ARTS with a passion that never fades. ARTS keep life aglow and shining within the souls of performers and audience creating a connection that takes you into the other realms.

See you at TEMPLE OF FINE ARTS, Brickfields this 17th and 24th July, 6PM!

SITAR GROUP

Bharathanatyam

Kurati Kummi-Children

Bharathanatyam Adults

Children-Odissi

Children and adult-TABLA

Bharathanatyam-ADULTS

Odissi-ADULTS

And with many more performances!

SADHANA 2016 

above all is a dedication to our beloved gurus of 

Swara Community Arts Center.

Samuel J Dass, Prakash Kandasamy, Neha Mondal Chakravarti, Vathana Chandrasegaran, Nitin Shirale, Eliezer Enan, Pangasaasanii Gowrisan , Sangeetha Irene & Maheeswari

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Performances

Sitar

Tabla

Guitar

Violin

Veena

Vocal

Odissi

Kathak

Bharathanatyam 

Bollywood

 call 016-6820919 for invites

Cosmic Injustice?

While reading this book about experiences of a guy with nature, i came across this term which caught my attention and made me sit wondering about a lot of things for a few minutes...

"COSMIC INJUSTICE" ....yes think about it for a bit before you read on. :)

Another paragraph which made more sense to what i was wondering about:-

"What is it about our species that allows us to watch sitcoms and argue over sports while cultures and creatures and those things meek and green and good are chopped, shot, and burned from the world for a buck? Why is it that we so revere compassionate, heroic characters in literature and theory but practice such arrant apathy?"

Just think about it, this world is made of a million things, all alive in its own way but with ONLY one form of life that does not live according to its natural ways...HUMAN BEINGS...all animals live in their own ways according to the characteristics of the species it belongs to, they eat the same time type of food, built nests the same way, live in the same habitat. We don't see vegetarian lions, or meat eating goat, all hyenas laugh the same way, all cuckoos sing the same tune. They simply stick to their nature. They don't act differently. 

Same goes to all kinds of plants, roses are roses, lilies are lilies, they don't cross their boundaries, all permanently stuck in its only reality, no way out. If you are a rose, no matter how beautiful you are, you will just be a rose forever! you will not explore or experience the nature of Lotus, of being soaked in mud and to bloom with the sun! No such thing is allowed. Nature has decided the fate and that's the END!
 
But HUMAN BEINGS!  You can be anything you want to be! You are planted with PASSION in your heart, that one thing other life forms are not packed with! They merely live to spend their lifetime. Trapped in their own ways of life. They cant get out of it! They dont experience ecstasy! But we are allowed to go beyond! And to rejoice in every moment lived with passion! Most people are trapped just like the roses and lotuses, though beautiful, it is still a prison. Why stay trapped when we are allowed to explore! Theres SO much to experience! Endless!! and the good news is we are allowed to! Then why stay trapped!? I don't get it! I seriously don't! 

And then, locking ourselves in our own prisons, we say "Life is unfair" hello!! If only you can hear life screaming at us "Get out of your head!! get into your soul!! IT IS ALL THERE!! 

Just think, why would nature create a species only to let it suffer! If we were to only breed and die like all other animals and plants then why give us sixth sense, why let us feel what the others don't, why make us see what others don't, why such variety among the same species, some are yogis, some are scientist, some are artists. Why give us the brains that can build rockets, and to explore the space. Why let us discover electricity if its going to pollute the environment? Why allow such criminals who kill animals for money, why create the villains!! Why not create a standard human being who acts exactly the same, lovable, just eating, breeding and lazing around like animals!? Wouldn't planet Earth be safer that way, no one to destroy the amazon, no one killing the elephants for ivory, no one killing sharks for its fin! SIMPLE! is it not? And we think nature is so dumb to have created a species who can be self destructive. And we have this group of people who are trying to save the planet! Hello again! We are the last thing nature can count on to save itself! So stop being such a hero!

We cant reverse the technology...we cant even live without a mobile phone. We cant imagine a world without electricity. We need the taps and running water, we need the heaters, we need the vehicles. No matter how much we love nature, its impossible to reverse everything that has been created.

My question is, why do we think nature was not aware of what is was getting into by creating us. It seems to me, more like it has put us here for a reason. We may not live to see it, but it is sure getting somewhere. At the rate science is going now, imagine the world 50 years from now! Do you seriously believe, planting a thousand trees a year is going to change that??

I don't think so. I think it is going where it wants to go, we may call it destructive, but probably it is not! What if it is building an entire new world with a different kind of species with higher intelligence?! Who can adopt to places further away from planet earth? People are breaking records in sports every year, what exactly is the limit, we don't know! So , what if nature does want us to go beyond our limits to a place destined, which only nature herself would know. What if Earth is just a training ground?? :)

The universe cant be wrong, it is too systematic to make such foolish mistakes...it could have killed us all in a blink if it wanted to. But no, its waiting, ever patiently for it to happen naturally. WHY?

It is not a Cosmic Injustice! It is destiny, not only of human beings but of the universe. We are just playing parts! No one is a saint, no one is a hero, no one is a sinner, no one criminal! Everyone is simply doing their part, like it or not! And without realising, we are helping the universe reach its destiny! That's what we are! A tool!

Or at least that's what i think we are :) :) 
 

Warrior Princess

When I spotted this book in the shelves of MPH bookstore, I just walked straight to the counter with it to pay while Nantha was looking at me in disbelief....."huh! You got your book already" hahaha yeah...coz I usually go through every book in the shelves before I find the one I really like. But hey, check out this synopsis and tell me if you would bother looking for a better one.

"Warrior Princess is the funny and inspirational memoir of Mindy Budgor , a young entrepreneur tired of having a job to have a job, who decides to make changes in her life. While waiting for her business school applications to go through, she decides to volunteer in Africa, helping build schools and hospitals in the Maasai Mara. When living and working with the Maasai, Mindy asks the chief why there are no women warriors. He responds simply and derisively: because women are not strong enough or brave enough.

Mindy immediately realizes her calling and thus begins her adventure to become the first female Maasai warrior. As a result of this training and advocacy, the Maasai in Loita, Kenya, are leading the charge to change tribal law to allow women to become Maasai warriors. Mindy as a tribe member is ready to return to stand with her fellow warriors against whatever opposition they might face. Be it lions, or elephants, or western influence."

"Do you want to be a doctor or teacher"? Was the only options given to me when I was a child. And I honestly grew up having no idea that a lady can be anything but a doctor or a teacher....Hahahaha...imagine your parents asking you "do you want to go live in a jungle and learn the way of life?" How it would excite the spirits of a child!! 

We tend to limit our vision about life into a set of routine so it looks systematic and smooth. But then LIFE is WILD. That's why we face so many obstacles on the way. Life gets bored with routine. It loves spontaneity...it loves surprises....it loves changes! No two rocks are identical...every wave in a ocean is different in its strength, no two leaves are exactly the same size or colour...every stream changes its path as the water keeps flowing over the rocks, the whole universe keeps creating new life and yet we human beings belief in so called "systems" which keeps us trapped ...with our spirits screaming from within. We so adamantly try to stay in our so called safe zone. 

Life keeps throwing rocks at us so we will move but we hold on to the "normal",  crying and screaming but refusing to let go. Then life has no choice but to drag us forcefully and throw us in the middle of some unknown path where everything looks new....the people, the environment, the mood, all new. We stand up feeling lost for a while. And then we begin to SEE what we have been missing while we were in our "safe zone".

Then, we start walking in our brand new world step by step, learning and unlearning along the way. Then we SEE the dance of life. Then....we HEAR the music.....then we EXPERIENCE the love. For the first time....we feel ALIVE!! For the first time we feel the JOY! For the first time, we feel HUMAN! Then we say thank you a million times for every rock that hit us every teardrop we shed, every painful moment we went through for without them we will never reach!

So, let your soul guide you to your destiny, just hang in there light and easy so you can be drifted effortlessly. Stop clinging on to something so tight that life has to tear you apart before it could get you going. Let go....trust the flow....and go with it. And enjoy the process, at every point, find the joy in being right where you are! stop chasing....stop resisting! And watch what happens!! 

A Sudden Clash of Thunder

I usually have a pencil and ruler with me while reading such books, just to mark words i might want to share or read again later. Usually it is like a few lines after every few page which catches my attention but with this book, i ended up having to underline something in almost every other page!! I almost gave up underlining them, as the whole book was filled with eye opening messages and breathtaking words, i couldn't decide which not to mark! 

It was not A sudden clash of thunder but a series of thunder clashing over and over!

All my life, what i heard about meditation is, to quiet the mind, to drop the mind, to stop the mind, to be against the mind in order to find peace. And every time anyone tries to meditate their first complaints would include..."My mind wont stop thinking" and they get frustrated after trying forcefully to stop these thoughts from flooding their head. The more they try, the more difficult it becomes. And the whole effort of "finding peace" becomes a burden. Its almost like we were better off NOT trying to meditate. Well i am glad i didn't go that far, i never forced myself to meditate, i somehow felt that it will happen when i am ready and forcing will not help. But until i read this book i had no idea that the WHOLE approach to drop the mind is wrong! Before i tell you why please read this part from the book which left me speechless!

"No-mind is not against mind; no-mind is beyond mind. No-mind does not come by killing and destroying the mind. No mind comes when you have understood the mind totally that thinking is no longer needed- your understanding has replaced it

If i  am to explain the above message in my own words, i would say its just like cooking :) why? If you really know cooking, then you would love cooking without a recipe, you just throw in a little bit of this and that and you will find yourself getting the ingredients needed automatically. Your hand simply moves to the shelves and grabs the spices needed, you don't stop to think...what next? You don't think how many spoons of this or that? Have you noticed that most people who can cook well will never measure the salt or spices using the spoons...they just sprinkle or pour in the right amount without measuring. Because you have understood the recipe so well you don't need to think...it comes naturally. Its less stressful and it becomes a joy to cook. But to those who can't cook. They will need to think of the dish at least a day ahead and then keeping the recipe with them while cooking. They are stressed about following the instructions, one spoon or quarter spoon...have i added too much salt or too little spice, have i missed out any ingredient. Your mind goes on and on worrying about cooking...and most of the times the dish doesn't turn up as it should be. And that's frustrating.  

So just like that, we need to understand the mind first before we even sit to meditate. If we have no idea what the mind is, then how can we go beyond! 

How do we understand the mind? Simply follow Osho's words. Just watch it. Watch the thoughts that pops up, let it be...let it happen...let it go as much as it wants. Stop forcing yourself to stop these thoughts...and gradually it will slow down by itself. Here's the part that explains it beautifully:-

"When something happens without any violence it has a beauty of its own, it has a natural growth. You can force a flower and open it by force, you can pull the petals of a bud and open it by force-but you have destroyed the beauty of the flower. Now it is almost dead. It cannot stand your violence. The petals will be hanging loose, limp, dying. When the bud opens by its own energy, when it opens of its own accord, then those petals are alive."

And another very important fact to take note is, people tend to feel guilty about certain thoughts that comes to them. They cant help having a certain thought which maybe considered "immoral" and they will feel bad for having such thoughts and feel they are not fit to be  called "Pure" but the good news here is, our thoughts are not our true selves. Thoughts can be provoked by a million things we see, hear and experience but what we are at the core remains untouched. But we tend to identify ourselves based on our thoughts which is only on the surface of it...go deeper and we will see the real person! Here's a part that explains it:-

"And nothing is wrong-even if immoral thoughts, so called immoral thoughts, pass through your mind, let them pass; nothing is wrong. You remain detached. No harm is being done. It is just fiction; you are seeing an inner movie. Allow it its own way and it will lead you, by and by, to the state of no-mind. Watching ultimately culminates in no-mind"

That's good news, isn't it?? :) Ive read about watching the mind in many other books of Osho and have been doing just that for sometime. It is a slower process but it works wonders! You become a lot more relaxed, joyous and light. What happened to me is, the less i bothered about the thoughts that comes to my mind, the less the confusion about everything that happens daily got, and in that way, i safe my energy to do the things i love and i am able to go on day to day...moment to moment joyously. Let thought be thoughts. Let it not touch what we are within. What we are within is LOVE and nothing but LOVE...lets get there :) 

THE EMPTY BOAT

Just finished reading this book and as always its been another unlearning process with Osho. While we think its important to learn about life, OSHO makes you realise again and again that all you need to do is "Unlearn" because we all come into life as natural beings with all that we need to be happy for the rest of our life but unfortunately we are distracted by the so called "learning" process which shapes us into everything but our nature!

This is book is mainly his interpretations of Taoist message of self-realization through the stories of the chinese mystic, Chuang Tzu.

3000 years ago, these messages has been available and yet human kind have been missing it again and again, centuries after centuries, and we have gone so far with the mind that its almost impossible to see how simple life is when its natural. Nothing is natural anymore. And i am not not talking about technology...let technology be there. I love the technology but the problem is, we have completely forgotten our nature. Once we are reminded of our true self, technology will get us even further! But we are stuck somewhere in our own web struggling to free ourselves. 

Such books are alarm clocks that screams life into our deadly routine! Waking us up to life as it is! And we begin to see for the first time. Whether we are the richest person around or a beggar on the streets, we all have one natural cycle to complete..it is called LIFE and DEATH. No matter which part of the world, no matter what the weather, no matter who is ruling, no matter what society believes, no matter what race you belong to, male or female ...everything maybe different from one person to another,  and yet we share the same cycle of LIFE and DEATH. No one escapes this basic quality of life. And how we deal with LIFE determines how we would face DEATH. 

We have such precious moments in hand and we go on waiting to live as though we have a part two coming up! What is it you want to do? DO IT NOW! LIVE IT NOW! stop wasting precious moments getting angry about things you cant change! For every one thing in your life which you cant change, you will have 10 other things which you can! So, focus on what you can change, and enjoy it! 

Life is too beautiful to be regretted for a few things that may have gone wrong. Theres so much to experience, so much to love, so much to learn, so much to see, so much to know!!

If you are still not convinced, try doing something you always loved but never did, for the first time! Anything! baking, sewing, reading, travelling, dancing, singing, painting, writing, wearing a saree, swimming, organizing a party, shopping, gardening or just whatever that you love! See how you feel about it...feel the energy it gives, feel the love growing with it. We are born to live, otherwise why are we here??? Nature couldn't have wasted so much time and effort creating something so amazingly beautiful to simply let us suffer through life! No, we are meant to live it all! Its our birthright! No one should be blamed if we don't live it but ourselves...no matter what the excuse we come up with, it is always US who has to decide! NO one else can breathe for you. We breathe, and live for ourselves!

So, start living today! Discover yourself! Live it and LOVE IT!  

"ENDLESS LOVE"

Love is the language of the soul. That's one reason why we are never able to express it through words. You can try saying over and over "I love you" and yet feel like it's just not enough. 

All parents would understand this when they look at their babies and try to say how much they love them and then decide to just hug them tight, for that will convey their love better than words. 

Most lovers go on saying, "i love you" like a hundred times a day...why so many times?...is it not enough to say it just once? Is it not understood if you say it once? They say it over and over simply because it just doesnt seem enough! Coz you can never be satisfied with words, simply because.....

Magic can only be conveyed by magic. 

Thats why people try all other ways, like giving flowers and gifts or taking them to beautiful places of nature to watch the sunset or a waterfall or to sit by candle lights and so on. They try to create something as magical as the feeling they have for someone. 

For me, the one thing i find to be closest to the feeling of love is music. I hardly remember any words my mother said to me when i was a child, but amazingly i still remember the lyrics and tune of the songs she used to sing as a lullaby every night when i was just about 4 years old! And whenever i happen to hear those songs on radio or tv now, i could so feel the love that comes with it! Music knows an amazing way to capture your love and mood which you can retrieve anytime you want...no matter after how many years! It simply brings you back to the moment when you first heard it and makes you feel everything again!! You just have to close your eyes ,listen to it and travel back to the moment and experience it over and over again! The best time machine ever :)

So, if you want to experience such magic with your loved ones and wish to keep all the love you have stored so you could experience it again and again for life, simply add on the music to every moment of your life! Keep it recorded in music and it will last a life time! 

This year, we at Swara CAC are celebrating LOVE on Valentines Day with MUSIC. There will be no need for words nor roses coz with such magical musicians, you will be drawn right into your soul from where you will be able to convey your love not only to the person you brought along but to the entire universe and also feel all the love pouring back into you! It will be an experience you will cherish for life! believe me! you cant afford to miss this!  

Come experience the LOVE with us! And you will remember the moments FOREVER 

"Endless Love"

Featuring Maestro Samuel J Dass (SITAR) & Maestro Prakash Kandasamy (Tabla)

Venue: Kanagasabai Hall, Temple of Fine Arts, KL

DATE: 14 FEBRUARY 2016

TIME:  5PM to 7PM

Entrance by minimum donation of RM150.00

Exclusively for 130 people only!