Sare Jahan Se Achcha – Choreographic excellence

Choreographic excellence – a presentation that stirred patriotic fervour touching the emotional strings of the audience.

The poem composed by Mohammed Iqbal was presented originally set in tune by Pandit Ravishankar in 1950’s. The music in this presentation with all the elements of recitation, background score, effective sounds with instruments and voice, vocal renditions etc was a treat that explicated the visual concepts so very adeptly. The amalgamation of all these sound elements enhanced the presentation effectively.

My mind was just freshly out of the knowledge-ridden Natya Sastra Workshop conducted by the scholar Dr. Pappu Venugopal Rao where he enumerated the aspects and ingredients of a Nataka. Sare Jahan Se Achcha included almost of them the most primary being “entertainment” which was the reason why Natya was created. A roopaka must be endowed with heroic characters, bhavas, rasas, must be a popular or known story etc is how the Natya Sastra prescribes and I was so happy to notice all these aspects in abundance in the presentation. This only goes to show that we have managed to retain our traditions over generations.

The lyrics are soul stirring, highly engaging and instantaneously the proud patriot in you emerges. It was the integration of the different styles and movements representing the regions of India that kept the audience enraptured specially the lines “ Mazhab nahi sikhataa, aapas mein bair karna” where in a dramatic entry the dancers used the martial art forms to delineate communal clashes then leading to learnings of religions and restoring peace. Mention must be made of the dramatic and extremely stunning performance of the Kerala Boat race as part of the beauty of regional flavours.

The choreography by the veteran guru Maya Rao was classic in its approach and gave me a truly refreshed feeling. Choreographers must question their aim to bask in the glory of mediocrity!!

The usage of a multi-media presentation on the cyclorama added to the presentation though I would have thought back projection would have been better without the dancers shadow images disturbing the beautiful visuals of our country. The participating dancers could certainly do with some hardcore practice. Tushar Bhat and Maddhu Natraj carried the entire show on their slender shoulders exhibiting maturity and ease in their performance. Janardhan Urs struck the eye of the audience with his powerful martial movements.

The show was a part of the festival RANG TARANG – organised by the Karnataka Sangeet Nritya Academy.

Usha Rk

Arts Consultant

 

 

An evening of Spiritual Vivacity – Seshadri Iyengar performs

Seshadri Iyengar – an evening of spiritual vivacity.

A Dancer who has evolved over years of performing and practising, Dr. Seshadri Iyengar gave a riveting performance as part of the MES Kalavedi Dance Festival. A compact two hour performance was largely dedicated to the most loved god – Krsna. Any performance that is well planned and conceptually interesting and fresh can only keep us glued to our seats till the very end. Seshadri Iyengar’s vivacious Nritta, thought provoking elaborations and Bhavas are clearly a result of his hard work and toil.

Movements and fresco type postures seamlessly woven in the Ananda Nartana Ganapathy was an ideal opening for the evening’s recital. The choreography of the not – so – often viewed bhajan dedicated to Lord Padmanabha in raga Tilang set to adi talam was by Dr. Padma Subramanium. Seshadri’s portrayal of the lord reclining on the Seshashayana was picturesque and descriptive.

The Charukesi Varnam composed by Lalgudi Jayaraman was the mainstay of the evening. The Jathi patterns breathtaking and scintillating made the Varnam extremely vigorous and energetic. The abhinaya delineation was of high order elevating the expression of Shrungara to a spiritual level. As a male dancer Seshadri chose to address the execution of shrungara as an expression of unification with the ultimate. His dialogue with Krsna in the charanams of the varnam were refreshing and different. His seeking union with the lord through the beautiful similes that have been enumerated in the composition by Lalgudi Jayaraman were executed with discernment. The recitation of the Jathi’s by Lakshmi Ravi was superlative.

Two short elegant padams, one a composition of Bharatiyar – Chinanan chiru kiliye and Kadagola Tarenna were part of the abhinaya segment. The description of emotions of a mother as she is completely enamoured by her child was subtle yet heart wrenching.

The concluding Thillana in kadanakuthuhala Ragam included largely the classic choreography of Late Guru Sarasa. The simplistic yet archetypal Korvais were reminiscent of the archaic including some very charming movements and adavus.

A word of caution to dancers is the designing of lighting for the performance. Lighting must essentially enhance the effects of the theme or content at the same time must render complete visibility of the dancer his or her  movements, costume, alankaras, Nritta and abhinaya etc. Not at any time must the light on the face be in shadow or darkness.

An overdose of Krsna but given that he is one of the most charming and entertaining gods, the evening whizzed past quickly and captivating the audience thoroughly.

Usha Rk

My relationship with the arts, lures me back again

Till almost 35 years of my life, classical dance and music played a very important and large role. Not only had I taken my childhood learning of dance to the next level by working hard on learning from various maestros of different banis (schools or styles) to enable me to write about the art form and present research papers but to create themes and inturn festival of dance with a difference.

In this journey, music too slowly crept in and I was organising some of the greatest greats of the classical music world. Carnatic and Hindustani both styles occupied an equal space in my life. Though I must confess that my love for Hindustani was a wee bit more.

The who’s who of  the dance and music world worked with me in complete cooperation. This was probable the most enjoyable time of my life, though financially and personally god was not very kind to me.

The the next 12 years saw me in a different world altogether, I had moved to Mumbai and  I worked with mass entertainers popular performers from the film and television world. Some how Classical Music and Dance moved away from my life. I accepted the situation with some apprehension but soon learnt to love the work and genres I was working with.

In 2006 I moved back to Bangalore and  strangely my tryst with dance was renewed. Mentally I was not prepared to get back to this world, but physically the opportunities were constantly surrounding me. I kept running away from it, got back to media consultancy convincing my self that this is what I am happy and meant to do.

2008/09 were years of tumult and upheaval in my health life, nearly knocked the door of death and swung back to life feeling grateful to god for this new life.

Am I understanding the messages he is sending? the SMS’s are coming in fast and furious, to live a life of contribution.

2008/09 saw me contributing to Sridevi Veda Vidyalamu – a school in AP teaching vedic texts to young boys (from age 5-20). Financially the lord had blessed me with sufficiency, so the time had come for me to share for the causes I strongly believed in. The same year I indulged in the Vaidika celebrations at Thiruvaiyaru – the birth place of the saint poet Thyagaraja. Along with this I helped some music and dance performers too. It was the 25 years celebrations of Sandhya and Kiran that brought me back on stage moderating their morning panel discussion and being the compere for the evening dance performance.

All I am trying to say is that THE MESSAGE WAS LOUD AND CLEAR. I am meant to be in this world.

In 2010 I contributed a large amount to the Thyagabrahma Trust and this was truly satisfying.

A friend reminded me that some time ago I had wanted to keep away from all this and was so happy with doing non artistic work. It kindled in me various emotions, why was I saying or thinking such things, when the message is loud and clear.

I decided to go with the flow of his messages.

2011 has been fantastic so far, worked on Vani Ganapathy’s website, helped coordinate a couple of shows for her, and most importantly decided to earmark a decent amount of my earnings towards support of Dance activities. My contributions  were to Veena Murthy Vijay’s Samanvay Kuchipudi festival, Lalitha Srinivasan’s Nupura Nitya Nritya festival and now for the Dance workshop by Dr. Yamini Krishnamurthy organised by Poornima Ashok and Poornima Gururaj.

Is it not astounding that one returns to or does only what one is ordained to do. Its been a thought provoking process and ofcouse extremely rewarding.

“Angikam bhuvanam yasya , Vachikam sarva vangmayam, Aharyam chandra taradi, tam vande satvikam shivam.”

Politics – just any where any time any way….any how!!!!!!!

Politics originally meant the art and science of administration of Government!!!!!!!! Well now the meaning has changed, politics has earned a generic status for trouble making, creating complications, mis-behaviour and etc. Earlier the synonms for politics were artfulness, finesse, craft, savior-faire, etc and the atonyms were bad behaviour, impoliteness and rudeness…………

In the past month or so, my interactions with many of my dear friends of many years from field of dance have left me completely bewildered. The decorum with which dancers and dance associates of yester years conducted themselves has vanished or rather has become scarce. Every performer behaves with an agressiveness that borders on negativity, an attitude that is most certainly required but not in the measures currently seen, criticising other peformers that closes the door to learning, becoming opinionated to an extent of losing subjectivity………..

Where are those heavenly, gracious, well groomed, classy, well mannered, respectful, well spoken, well turned out dancers?

It is not as though there never existed some amount of gossip or back biting etc, but it happened with a discreteness that did not end up making ones image ugly.

times have changed and todays generation is like this!!!!! say current artists, but there is no harm in adapting some good qualities that existed and made them look and feel so very good?????

I wish teachers inculcated even these qualities along with the imparting of knowledge to their students, may be we would see some traces of the legends in this generation.

Long live Dance Art

Jan is the month for awards

Every Jan the national awards are announced, the padma awards, the sangeet natak akademi awards etc. Some names are pleasant surprises, some are WOW ones, some are ‘thank god, better late than never’, some are the shock varieties and some are ‘its good and in time’ variety.

As the ‘aam’ janata, I have always wondered how the names are finalised, are they nominated by the state to centre as in the government representatives and the bureaucrats? or is there a committee full of knowledgeable and known public figures? one just never knows.

Some people start working towards the awards or rather securing the awards 6 months in advance. Does lobbying mean energy exchange (money)? or does lobbying mean just getting your friends in hi- circles to recommend you strongly, political hob-nobbing helps a great deal, so I hear.

Some of it works through committees, how does one become part of such a committee ‘the high power committee’? is it connections, domain knowledge or experience or age that makes one eligible to be on a committee? Why are the names of some committees never disclosed? is it a secrecy issue or just not wanting to be questioned on eligibility?

Nevertheless, many people end up adorning boards and committees, out of sheer luck. Being there in the right place at the right time ensures placements of these kinds.

“mera number kab aayega”???????

Woman’s day – Jab faaslo se zyaada ho hausla bulund,manzil ki oor badh chale kadam!

 

This is my ode for woman’s day. A day when I choose to share my journey through the past two years.

2008/09/10:

I invited death!!

Its been a battle for me from last year……..I chose to move from one space to another……..physically and spiritually, from the materialist world to a world of just being, to a world of surrender, to world where I could contribute all my talent and experience in the space of spirituality.

the spiritual world was no longer like going to the Himalayas and being in deep meditation, the context has changed, the perception has become different, those in the materialistic world , deeply in the throes of relationships and corporations envisaged to dip themselves in the sea of spirituality and cleanse and move continuously. This is where I saw my self contributing……..

The move was disaster…….did not work…….but the resilience and support that the universe provided to me helped me spring back to the so called materialistic world but now I was armed with the experience and strength had kept me spiritual within.

But now I enjoyed the world that I earlier came from with a renewed visual appeal.  Many feelings like those of restlessness, agitation, anger, desperation …….were mostly gone……..I did not feel them so much actively. I have become more tolerant, loving, forgiving and calm.

This was at an internal level.

But at a physical level, there was so much turmoil; the body was reacting violently to all that had happened in my life.

I was in and out of hospital like going in to my bedroom. This year saw me at the hospital nearly 8 times……..

The problems were never ending linking from one to another, if one part was taken care of the other screamed, and then another and so on…..

I encountered problems that made me study anatomy 🙂 I was looking up books and the web on how the intestines functioned, looked , what could happen to them , was the stomach singing a song of joy or anguish……i wondered how god had created all this, so per functionary, yet amazingly fantastic.

then on Christmas day I crashed at my dearest friend kanchana’s house, i had to be hospitalised, my docs were in panic, I was moved in to surgery the next evening, at 4.30 pm to be precise…….

“She is on the brink” any thing can happen said the doctor to my one and only family member my maasi (aunty).

My friends and my aunty were completely shocked and prayed for me……..

I managed to survive…….the docs put in their 200%, but in a manner that hit me psychologically.

My intestine would be placed in a bag under my skin and only my small intestines would do the work of digestion, what on earth was this? I had never heard of any thing like that before. 6 days and out of the ICU I was had a counselling session by a psychiatrist, who held my hand and took me through all my bouts of depression, sadness, the why me syndrome, crying and sobbing unstoppably.

All this was prevalent for a month or so….and then one day while I was lying on my bed I remembered, had I not been saying all the time ‘now I am ready to die, anytime, I have nothing left to do’ . Here it was, this experience was to teach me a lesson, life is a gift of god and we must respect it, cherish it, enjoy it, savour every thing in it. I got the message loud and clear……..

NEVER WILL I SAY THIS…..I WILL LIVE AS LONG AS I AM MEANT TO BE.

More on how I managed this whole colostomy and learnt to live with it…………..soon

The colostomy story:

Like they say life must go on, I had to accept the situation and live. Live not a morose and sad life but thank god for giving this life back to me and be a happy and evolved person.

I set a target for my self I had to get back to work, accept this physical condition and cope with it.

I had all the support I needed, all my reiki friends and group were constantly supporting me, my reiki master Prasad was is and will be forever the strongest support of my life. He has taken me through all this so smoothly, I couldn’t have done it with out him and the entire reiki group.

oh my dearest friend abhijit…….he stood by me too.

And can I ever forget the rock like support from kanchana my soul mate and RK my ex-husband.

every friend of mine suma/mangala/narsimhan/jaya/vani/aru all of them were there for me, while one would send me juice the other would send me food, some one sent me books to read, they all came by in turns and sat with me at the hospital and at home.

Of course my messiahs Dr. Anindita and Dr. Chandan.

All these people were my messengers of god.

Love you all

While support from my personal contacts was huge, the company i worked for stepped in and amply took care of me financially and mentally. Ravi gave me the support of a job that waited for me. Starcom held my hand constantly. My respects to you guys.

All this happened in Jan and Feb. 08. I had decided I will start working in march…….my docs asked me if I would be able to, I had not even stepped out of my house as yet, I will do that soon …..

Within a week I went down in my apartment garden for short walks, was a tough cookie to crack. It felt like the whole world was going round and i felt giddy. My aunt helped me and both of us walked like little kids who had just learnt to walk 🙂

March 1st was a Saturday, I had to start work on Monday…….my wounds had not healed completely, my whole abdomen was full of plasters and dressing, how could I go to office, what if the dressing gave trouble, what if the intestinal bag gave trouble, how would I manage all this, what should I wear? I could not wear the clothes I used earlier; I needed something loose on the abdomen. Oh god! I did not think about this one at all…….

Quick Usha come on be creative and think of some options, I just hopped into the car and went to Fab India, picked up some fabulous, bright colored gera skirts, some nice tops and there I was all set to go to office.

The plasters and dressing and bag and all of that will behave, I requested for reiki from every one.

I spoke to kanchana on Sunday and asked her if I should postpone my joining to a week later, she was furious, NO u must go tomorrow to work, even if it is for a couple of hours. Fine I will go I decided.

MARCH 3 – 8.30 AM I left home in the comforts of my Honda city. I was fully equipped, kit bag full of cotton, plasters, tapes, neutrogena hand wash, and so many things…….food that I could digest easily……biscuits/dry fruits/apple/ I was not only equipped I was virtually armed.

Guys I MADE IT………..I HUNG ON TILL 4 PM.

 Every thing behaved and I was fine.

I started working full time from Wednesday the same week!!!!!!!!!!!

I loved my self and every one around me…….I loved Starcom……I loved Prasad……………I just love!

The Journey from here on…………………..will follow

continuation to my personal experience blogs, i am right now in a waiting phase, my reverse surgery has to happen, it was supposed to be done in June, my dear Dr. Chandan felt it would be better and easier for him and me if I took a precautionary dose of Lupron that basically dries up or reduces the size of the uterus and adhesions (growths) , then it will be easier for them to remove them and reverse the colostomy…….oh wow I am actually becoming quite a knowledgeable person on all this. The net is a boon to mankind, there is so much info, educative but some times can psyche a person with the kind of info and experiences that are vividly and very lucidly written.

Nevertheless……instead of psyching u out the simple message is I had to take this injection and wait for 2 months before I went on the surgery table. So I am in waiting…………………….

But in this time when I cant shop for saris, stitch new salwars and kurtas,  or even spend long hours on the weekend at the beauty parlour/spa, which I used to enjoy so very much, I have to equip my self and yet be happy ……………..what to do?

Well, Books, TV, Computer, walks and bit of gym, cooking, housekeeping, etc kept me equipped also kept my mood swings and depressions (due to the medication) in check and control.

But you know what two things that i am really enjoying a great deal are : MOVIES AT MULTIPLEXES AND BLOGGING.

I am at the multiplex every weekend and watching the wonderful releases every week, sarkar raj, jodha akbar, aamir, jaane tu, kismet konnection………its simply fantastic. lots of popcorn and chats and ofcourse new stars and great acting / fantastic music all of this is making my heart so full of joy.

Blogging ka toh main kya kahoon, it feels so great to put down ones thoughts, whether its about something at home / office/friends/relatives/or in ones own heart. I have been getting really encouraging comments and views from lot of my friends. like my super boss Ravikiran said…some write for others to read and some write for themselves you choose……I am writing because its making me happy, helping me spend my time so creatively, who knows some time later this might just be very interesting reading for my own self, glancing through what I felt at different times.

oh god another dude who makes me feel so happy is salman khan with his 10 ka dum……..the program is rocking, nothing intellectual or mind racking, its just like some commonsense or gut feel kind of content, and the way sallu interacts with the contestants and the audience is worth commending. Rock on Sallu……aaj ke liye jab main bahut depressed ho sakti thi aap ne bachaliya….

what would i have done with out hrithik and ash’s pristine romance , rahmans soulstirring khwaja mere khwaja, govarikars fantastic expansive visuals, imraans cute looks and so very rajput like mannerisms, Sr and jr AB’s raj, rajeev khandelwals histrionics in aamir ( i was so worried he was going off tv, thank god he is on the larger screen) shahid’s superb dancing and acting konnecting with my joy ……..

this is some kismat konnection………………..wonderful hai na…..

reminds me of bhansalis famous pic khamoshi’s song: aaj main upar , aasmaan neeche, aaj main aage (zamana) mera dukh or depression ha peeche…………………!!!!!!!

be happy guys till next time:)

Will I be free?

The week bygone has been a week full of apprehension and tension, as days are passing I am getting so very impatient and intolerant of my physical status, I am waiting for the surgery to take place and be done with it once and for all.

Post December the surgery was supposed to be done 6 months later, I was eagerly waiting in June, these six months have been very tough and difficult not only physically but challenging mentally and psychologically too. When I met Dr. Chandan in June he discussed with me a number of issues that could go wrong and right for this surgery. He suggested I take a precautionary dose of lupride which would shrink the size of the uterus thereby making it easy for them to remove it and reverse the colostomy. I was so disappointed but certainly I have to cooperate with the doctors to make it easy for them and reduce chances of things going wrong. On June 15 I was administered a super strong dose of lupride , which also has some side effects as per info on the net, I had to go through this, and I knew I would.

So, the wait continues……………..two more months to go, hopefully the lupride would do its job inside and the uterus size would be reducing, the adhesions would also be shrinking, I continued going to office.

Work suddenly became exciting and lots of it happened, I started working on very cute brand Kinder Joy a kids chocolate brand, Tictac a youth brand, Peroni an Italian beer brand…………wow all international brands I loved it.

Its the end of July, I am counting days its over a month and a half, august 15 it will be exactly two months, my doctor had asked me to meet him end of July. I     called Dr Chandan and reminded him, he asked me if I was counting each day I told him I am counting every hour and minute tooo. I met him on June 30 we had a long discussion, two and a half months he said, I told him my patience was hitting rock bottom. lets meet in the first week of august and we will decide what to do.

noooooooooooooooooo, not what to do, we will decide the date i pleaded. lets see. doc is so firm always. Nevertheless I asked RK for good days astrologically to suit my horoscope or star etc. Rk was leaving for the US of A for a month to conduct some fantastic havans for Sringeri Matt. just before he left he said 25/26 aug are good days. there it goes, my mind was all set, I knew it must happen on those days.

On the 4th of Aug monday morning i sms’d doctor Chandan, u said first week of Aug when are we meeting? he laughed, may be friday he replied. ok so I connect on Thursday, I sent him an sms.

on thursday 7th aug, i sms’d him – can i come at 10.30 am tom? a very terse reply came back – YES, ok its going good usha.

on thursday evening when I came home from office, I was so restless, tense I did not know what I should do, I was going round the house and kitchen pottering around, I could not even watch tv, I kept telling my self all will be fine, don’t get tense, common usha just chill, finally I took my meal in hand and with akshay and his khatronke khiladi girls I settled to watch some tv. The program is so exciting I go engrossed in the stunts and time passed. I sent reiki requests to all my family in mum and to prasad, give the strength to hold my self.

Finally the morn came, I got ready and headed to the hospital, I reached so early, half an hour to go I took eckhart tolle’s the new earth and read some wonderful zen stories and the pages I read gave me the power to stay calm .

Doctor arrived, I went in to the consulting room, how have u been? fine but very tense doctor…………… fine so u get admitted on the 22 and we do the surgery on 25 or 26th , since u have done all the test recently u just do some routine blood tests, we will need 4 pints of blood, so get your friends or some donors in place, we will have to prepare you for the surgery, do some steam inhalations, blow a balloon say 100 times a day or breathing exercise to keep your lungs in action…………………………….

Was i dreaming? No its real, its on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so happy , that I felt I was flying.

all instructions done, the downsides things that can go wrong 5% chances all heard, so we meet again next week either 12 or 13 for more he said and stood up to leave.

tears rolling down my cheek, but a smile broke on my quiverring lips………………

Dear god,

give me strength to hold on, sustain the onslaught of allopathy, heal the slicing of the knife, shower flowers and sparks of healing on me and my heart and soul…………..

send the angels to guard me, mother me, hold my hand through this experience, and see me shining healthy and back to normal.

request to all my friends to be with me and hold my hand support me and send me lots of love.

i will definately do my next post before i get admitted in to the hospital……………………

cheers

15 days more to go…..

The week that went past had kept me on tenter hooks, I am now in full zoom……..happy and gung-ho…..my surgery date is fixed for Aug 25 at 7.30 am precisely, am all in preparation. I am blowing balloons so that my lungs get in better shape…..steam inhalations for all the tracts to be clear of any congestions, walking so my legs are not swollen and fit, eating only chapatis and subzi to keep my tummy in condition and light, all this cool for physical preparedness, but most importantly I am very very well prepared mentally,  the secret is the :

My dear friend vaidy reminded me that I had not encountered the secret and told me to buy the book immediately.

what’s more I went to crossword and bought the book pronto………

I began reading the secret in fact the secret has engulfed me and my life…..stunning book, am just reeling in the effects of the secrets.

Its just toooooo fantastic.

I have already visualised myself walking out of the hospital all fine and happening.

I am feeling so energetic and upbeat it’s not funny. I spoke to prasad this morning, I have been trying to reach him for so many days, this morning has been superb, and all is under control.

I have told all my friends about the date and time, they will surely turn up, RK (ex-husband) day and nights I will manage with the nurses, friends will drop in and out, kanchana will take charge of the money and bills……

GOD TUSSI GREAT HO

My request to the universe:

please support me, hold my hand and sail me through this sea painlessly, comfortably and with joy.

my request to all my friends:

pl pray to the power and almighty for me.

Triyambakam yajamahe, sugandhim pushtivardanam, urvarukham iva bandhanad, mrityormukshiya mamrutat.

The week went by so fast and quick, I tried to complete all the jobs on my plate to the best of my ability. Last Thursday was so very hectic and full of tension, while I was busy with work, doc calls to postpone the date, again? I did not know how to react, he said the OT at the hospital would be closed for annual maintenance!!!!!! could not have been more accurate timing, any ways we spoke for tuesday 26, I immediately called all my friends and reiki family and told them its not 25 but 26th same time same place.

the day went on and by 3 pm doc called me again, usha can we do it on wed 27, u know I want to play safe with the equipment and smells and fumigation etc. or u could check with panditji for a fresh date or else wed 27 is fine for the surgeons etc. ok I will revert I said. called RK and checked 27 is a wed and is fine for u he said, u know I was not too keen on mon25 7.30 am its rahu kaalam, he said!!!!!and tues also was not too great for u, but then if the docs want that what can we do, so I said its fine but wed is much better and suits u fine he said. Zindabad – see god does all for our good, I called doc and confirmed the date, 27wed 7.30 am at st philomenas, d ward (the room is bookd). I drew the money and handed it over to kanchana who is in charge of my hospitalisation and bills.

so here is the team:

docs: dr chandan juneja / dr shridhar pandit / dr suhashini gyanaec / dr anindita my physician

friends who will take care : Kanchana / Rk / shekhar (my brother) / suma

who will donate blood for me: shivamurthy our IT person at office / babu ( our office security person who was so keen to give me blood as his group is also B+) / bharath is my colleague swarnalatas friend / and shekhar.

every thing is set, reiki requests flying all over, support is pouring in from every every one, so many prayers, wishes, and love i am so very overwhelmed.

thanks universe, thank you god, thank you to every human being who is part of my life in any which way.

love u all

I will be admitted on monday at the hospital, tomorrow will be a sunday at home and I will key in my blog before I go in to surgery.

ciao

I am healed……………..:)

September 9, 2008 by ushark | Edit

To continue the saga…………..hahahaha , I got admitted in the hospital st.philomenas, one of bangalores oldest hospitals, opps the amitabh bachchan fame tooo. monday was full of tests, ecg, echo, blood tests, hamaeglobin, ctbt etc. tuesday dawned with liquid diet as a preparation for the surgery.

The d day is wed morning aug 27 at 7.30 am

The surgery is scheduled as follows:

1 urologist to fit in some stents

2. gynac to remove the uterus and ovaries

3. gastro surgeons to remove hernia – the new and latest entrant in the body

4. gastro surgeons to mobilise and reverse the large intestine.

5. they will then join the cut ends of the intestine

6. clean up and close the wound.

……………..more to follow 

Am Home and recovering:

hey its almost a month since i wrote anything, Oct has been unique and truly inspiring for me.

I appreciate every thing that I have got and every moment I live. Life is blooming like a flower in full bloom.

My first travel to Goa:

October is that month of the year I wait for very eagerly, we have the reiki intensive transformation workshop at GOA. I was very excited and was looking forward to going to goa, not only would I meet my guru Prasad but would meet nearly 80+ people of my reiki family and over 40+ new members who will enter this beautiful ring of light and become part of ‘the family’.

This year the intensive was truly magical, I was barely out of my surgery but participated 100% in all the exercises and meditations. We had a wonderful surprise – Karnamrita Dasi – one of the dream singers of bhajans and kirtans came to be part of our workshop along with our dearest devotional singer Sundaram. both of them made our workshop truly spritual and magical.

The magical voices – Karnamrita dasi and Sundaram

I came back to Bangalore fully recharged, calm, feeling very introspective and thinking of all the wonderful things that happened there.

Work is on………clients send messages of praise….once in a way:)

diwali is here, its gonna be a time with friends and family……….

On 8 March 2010:

 Its woman’s day, the day reminds me of my resilience of my rising like the phoenix of my being the woman with a strong resolve. A line that sums it up for me is: JAB FAASLO SE ZYAADA HO HAUSLA BULUND, TOH MANZIL KI OOOR BADH CHALE KADAM.(a brand descriptor line of the brands I work on, but just works for every one)

 

Dance – a journey of joys and tribulations

Dance – a journey of joys and tribulations.

It was a meeting of two souls who immersed themselves in the world of dance. When the eyes met little did they know that they would be spending the rest of their lives together. Art was the bonding and love laced it with dignity and beauty. Having spent over 21 years together, dancing together, teaching together, travelling together, facing tough situations together, sandhya and kiran are a couple dedicated completely to dance. They don’t know any other thing except dance.

Ankhon hi ankhon mein:

Where else?  They met at dance class! I think both of us distinctly remember the day we met each other-it was not even vaguely prophetic! I was new to Pradhan Dance Centre (Padmini Ravi’s class) and as I walked into the building, I saw Kiran perched on the balcony railing with the other male dancers from the class. He also glanced at me as I entered, after that it was business as usual- dance class! Yes, you could say that- there was certainly an immediate attraction. But more than that, Sandhya and I were very good friends for a couple of years before I proposed to her.

Marriage was not a cake walk:

No, our marriage faced a lot of opposition. It was because we decided to marry young and  our decision to take up Bharata Natyam as a career option. Maybe our elders just thought we were too immature, whatever it was, it was very rough sailing in the initial stages. It was not easy for any parent to think that their son was going to take up dancing as a career, specially as a male dancer. Very few male dancers make it to the top. But it was our immense faith in ourselves and in each other that has brought us this far, and that is extremely gratifying.

Life after marriage has been a sweet and enriching struggle. Everything was a learning experience- professional matters, personal matters, family matters, all matters! There was no beaten path to follow,(maybe that was a blessing in disguise) and life threw up new challenges minute by minute.

Dance pe chance:

It was an extremely brave decision for Kiran to take classical dance as a career. At that time, a decision of this sort was nothing short of blasphemy! People thought Kiran was insane, and me, more so, because I was supporting him in this.

Today, the general mindset has changed, and it is an accepted fact that you can make a profession out of your passion. But we were not so lucky twenty years ago.

We devised our own style of duet dancing, choreography(this term was hardly ever used those days) became of paramount importance and building our school from the scratch, really taught a lot about dance in particular, and life as a whole. Manoeuvring the “non artistic” facets of our profession like finance, administration, networking, competition etc were difficult- they continue to be difficult to this day- are things we have learnt the hard way over the years.

Waqt ke saath chale chalo:

This is a concept we have always strongly believed in- learning continuously and moving with the times. We have preferred to go with the flow and not offer resistance when not required, and always retain the passion-that is most important. We are proud of our uncompromising attitude towards quality, our ethics and principles, yet we prefer to retain the humane and sensitive side to our personality.

Equipping ourselves technically is an ongoing process and as in all arts, happens in the sleeping and waking states! Creativity never comes on demand, so we have to be sufficiently prepared and alert enough to receive it whenever it comes! Remaining in the field has not only been a conscious effort,  we would attribute it to the work done and the generous blessings of the Almighty.

Rasika the dance school came first and then followed rasika their bundle of joy.

RASIKA- the institution, was born in 1990. We started as a small one room establishment with about five students. Teaching was never a substitute to performing- we saw it primarily as a method of sharing what we knew and as we went on, we realised it was a great tool for learning too. Even today, teaching happens side by side with performing and not instead of it. Of course we have been lucky to have both going for us, and we cannot today think of a life without either of them.

Popular arts will always have mass appeal, and no classical art form can compete with popular arts in terms of numbers-as in performances or audiences. But classical arts have their own appeal and their own following and these numbers have been growing over the years, and that is very encouraging.

Our daughter rasika is 16 years old now, she too dances and we hope she will take it up as a career too.

Challenges are the spice of life:

New challenges for every new day- that is the spice of life! How boring life would be if it was perfectly beautiful! Today life is giving us a new set of opportunities, a new bunch of excited and extremely talented students and a whole new journey ahead of us. Today we have learnt to enjoy life in its simplest manifestations and to simplify life however threatening and difficult it may appear to be. We have relished every moment that gone by, with its pains and pleasures- no regrets what so ever.

Rupees and dollars adorn the kitty:

International visits began in 1993 and we have been travelling abroad frequently ever since. It was certainly very exciting- the opportunities were different, the audiences and their expectations were varied and the experiences were very memorable. Interactions with both Indians abroad and the locals there, gave us a new perspective to rethink and revisit our own traditional dance form. Money was the cherry on the cake! However, today there is an amazing array of opportunities available in India, and foreign trips are not the only way to fill the kitty.

21 years of togetherness and still going strong, Sandhya & Kiran were felicitated by Ananya, an arts organisation and tracing their journey in dance through a short recital on Feb 13, 2010.

Shahrukh is a shehanSHAH truly

The entire shahrukh episode made one feel hurt/angry/sad/frustrated and god knows what else. The channels were getting exclusives from him, the newspapers had headlines and pics of his, the sena was swaying across statements from different office bearers, the sena legal rep was in every talk show or discussion that was aired through out the weekend, Industry leaders and well known people made statements and stood by Shahrukh vocally and in spirit.

How can we subject a artist who has been serving the country and making us forget our sorrows and made us smile for over a decade to such humiliation for only saying a very harmless line “ it would have been nice to have a Pakistani player in our IPL team”?

Through all this hungama, Shahrukh spoke his mind, he was firm and assertive and NOT aggressive, he was humble and spoke from his heart. He felt for his fans and film lovers. He did not want them to be hurt while going to watch his film.

The ‘aam janta’ is with him, in every TV discussion the studio audience screamed that they had no problem with this sentence!!!!!!

Shahrukh kept all his commitments came to Bangalore to host the IIPM Quiz and he regaled the audience like never before. He humbly spoke to all the TV Star Hosts and laid bare his thoughts on the table.

PLEASE PLEASE stop doing this to people. Like Shahrukh said we all are owned by Mumbai.

Shahrukh is the ShehenSHAH , you rock!!!!!

Disruptive behavior

It has been a while since I blogged, some how just venting the rather disturbing thoughts that emerge  as a reaction to incidents that happen in the place of work was the trigger.

Yesterday has been a day of insights, most wonderful  always to meet with abhijit pradhan and of course old friends vijay and nilima.

the connections were amazing when each of us realised that we had met each other in the past at different times and spaces, marvellous time we spent discussing various topics ranging from corporate to philosophy, world happenins etc.

some the the learnings that are very valuable:

sometimes the cure becomes the disease!!!!!

most times we try to cure the symptoms not the system

follow the learnings not blindly the master.

Most disruptive behavior like insecurities  , angst etc is not completely a person thing, its the system error that needs to be looked in to.

Very thought provoking day.

A veritable treat for all Krishna lovers – Sri Krishna Tatvam

A veritable treat for all Krishna Bhaktas.

 Veda Brahmashri Samaveda Shanmukha Sarma was back in Bangalore to enthrall the discourse loving audience of Bangalore. This time the discourse series is on “Sri Krishna Tatvam”. Tatvam could be explained as philosophy and in these lecture series the Pundit is revealing layer by layer the ‘secrets’ hidden in every leela of the lord.  

 

Samaveda Shanmukha Sarma is a Vedic scholar of the highest order. His oratorical skills and mastery over the language and texts is unparalleled. It is the ability to quote extempore and create a relativity of the philosophy threading the pearls of philosophy from different times and spaces that stuns the audience who watch him in awe and wonder with out batting an eyelid.

 

 

 Samaveda Shanmukha Sarma – The messenger of Krishna

 

This 9 day lecture series is being organized by the Sreedevi Veda Vidyalayamu, Srisailam, some of whose trustees are from Bangalore and have endeavored to raise some funds for this Vedic school. The school has been doing the work of perpetuating and propagating the Vedas through the guru shishya parampara.  Vedic education needs support. Infact the principal of the school shared that running the school has not been an easy feat for them. It is with the support and donations of many philanthropic people in Bangalore that they are running the institution.

 

 The lecture series on “Sri Krishna Tatvam” was soul stirring, revealing, and a completely humbling experience. The highlight of the content was that Sri Sarma delineated the leela / pastime of lord Krishna and at every moment in the story explained to us the “learning”, why did the lord choose to do a certain act and what is it that he wanted to convey in terms of learning and understanding which is the hidden tatvam in the leela. Sarma ji’s command over the various texts, their meanings, their hidden meanings or “marmam” as he chose to term them was just captivating. Every leela that he described– the vanquishing of the asuras who try to attach him, the damodar – leela, the kaliya mardhana leela, Govardhana leela, Govinda Pattabhishekam, Rukmini Kalyanam and Kuchelopakhyanam amongst others were painted like shining jewels in front of our eyes in series of visuals. The texts he called upon by great saint authors like veda vyasa, telugu saint composer Pothana are all laden with substance at the same time in verse and metre form not forgetting the lyrical quality that almost sounds like music to the ears.

 

 The concluding day began with the Sri Krishna Rukmini Kalyanam in the Vedic style; the stage was decorated so beautifully that one felt the presence of the divine. The Lord and his consort decked and attired stunningly were placed on the swing which was also very delicately and beautifully decorated. The Kalyanam or marriage proceedings were conducted with devotion and every ceremony was executed just like in marriages conducted for us, but the with divine intervention the entire ceremony looked like a dream, right from the mangala vadyam to the chanting of the mantras and the unique ceremonies like exchanging of garlands, the holding of the sacred curtain, the tying of the mangala sutra.

 

 At every moment I felt the presence of the Lord and the rolling tears did not cease. If, just feeling his presence can be so very humbling and moving, should not every moment of our life feel like that with the presence of the lord in our soul and heart? I could clearly hear him say in my ears, ‘I am in you’.

 

 Gratefulness and humble respects to this great messenger of the lord Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma, who with his marvelous storytelling technique and his ability to visually paint the divine story and philosophy of Sri Krishna transported us mortals to the world of Vaikuntha in these 9 days. On a personal note I thank Radhakrishna for involving me in this project, letting me offer some seva by helping in organizing the event.

 

Thank you Krishna – my heartfelt gratitude for this entire experience

 

Hare krishna hare krishna , krishna krishna hare hare……….