Vijaya Dashani

It's been a challenge getting to a computer with all the students competing for time, and the yoga students have to write an essay and are using computers to research. And the power often goes off. So anyway here I am
The weekend was a busy and amazing one. As I said last time, it was the festival to honour Saraswati - the Vijaya Dashani festival. It is a time when Indians ask for blessings from Sarswati for their studies, and for celebrating the arts - therefore double importance for this community, dedicated to learning arts.
On Friday afternoon we all had to wrap up our exercise books (both my tabla book and my mridangam book) and place them on an altar which had been prepared in the schoolroom. The staff made a canopy of colourful fabris over the altar and on the altar were placed symbols of all the classes - instruments, costumes etc as well as our books. It looked very colourful and beautiful, and central was a picture of Saraswati. At 6pm there was puja (Hindu ceremony) conducted by a priest. He sat in front of the altar, and conducted ancient rituals which included lighting oil lamps and holding them in front of the altar, lighting incense,and a lot of "mudras" - hand gestures which all have meanings. He poured water and threw sprinlkes of water on the altar, as well as throwing flower petals. He blessed a banana leaf piled with dried rice, sugar palm and other things which I don't know, and we were all given a handful of this to eat. We used a paste he made to put a line on our foreheads, and a flower was given to us to put behind an ear. the altar, with the books on it, was left like this until Sun morning, with a oil lamp burning in front of it for all of that time.
On Saturday I went with 2 other students into Chengannur, a town 12 kms away, to a concert of Carnatic music - mridangam, violin, tabla, gautam (clay pot) and singing. One of the students from the US is a talented singer (classically trained) and she is learning Carnatic singing. She performed 3 songs there - her first time of performing South Indian classical singing with musicians in public. She did very well but was very critical of herself. The concert was organised by VKV's singing teacher and mridangam teacher, and they both performed - spellbinding!
Sunday was a huge day. This is the day when Saraswati comes good with the blessings. At 8am puja started, and the priest did very similar things to Friday night. The place was packed not only with students but also many people from the village, local dignitaries and apparnetly 9 different media teams (TV and newspaper) There were articles about the event in yesterday's newspapers (English and Malayalam) and on TV and all of the VKV students were mentioned by name in the English language paper.
After the main part of the puja we all had to give Dakshina to the priest. This is an offering of a betel nut leaf containing an aracanut and 1 ruppee coin. (When we first begin classes at VKV all students have to give Dakshina to their teachers of each subject - a sign of respect) after making Dakshina, the priest took the student's pointing finger and traced letters in a tray of uncooked rice - the sign of "Om", as well as some Malayalam letters. This is usually what young children do when they are beginning their education - a blessing for their schooling and initiation into literacy. So we each did this. Then the piest gave us our books back and placed a painted line on our forehead, so now we were full of knowledge.
After this we all had to give Dakshina again to our teachers. All students do this, as a sign of re-commtiing to the relationship with their teacher. So we were sent off in different places to meet our teachers. I went to teh tabla room and offered Dakshina to my tabla teacher. At the same time there were little kids from the village who are about to start learning tabla (or whatever art form) who offered Dakshina to the teacher and then had a symbolic first lesson. I was ushered into the mridangam class and offered Dakshina to my teacher along with some of his longer term local students from the village and some little kids (I was the only foreigner) Offering Dakshina to the teacher includes bending down in front of him and touching his feet - a sign of submission and total respect (and I did this) Some of the longer term local students prostrated themselves on the ground in front of the teacher with elaborate salutations. After this all of the little kids who were about to start learning were introduced to the first lesson (which I learnt last Monday) Not only did the new little kids do this - I had to do it as well - the white guy 20 - 30 years older than everyone else!
It was a big media and high society event, and the whole place had been decorated using folded banana leaves in intricate little patterns hung as streamers, decorated gateways with coconuts and bananas etc.
In the afternoon there were performances of Carnatic music (classical South Indian) with singing, traditional dance, a performance of 7 mridangam players which was spectacular, and Kathakali dance/theatre. Many of VKV's teachers performed. The program went from 2pm to about 8pm and was wonderful. It was like being at WOMAD. But we were all exhausted by the end.
This is truly where I need and want to be at the moment. It's only been a week but feels like a month. My teachers are pushing me a bit I think, so I have to spend a lot of time practising to make the next day's lesson worthwhile. My tabla teacher said to me "Don't waste your time. You are only here for 3 months and you need to get as much as you can. Practice as much as you can." And my mridangam teacher said something similar. It's full full days and my head is full of rhythms. And I love it.
Today a couple from England who were doing the Aryuvedic course left - lovely people. Already, after only a week, there are sad goodbyes. And a new guy, from Israel arrived yesterday, who will be learning Hindi and tabla. At the end of next week the intensive Yoga Teachers' course finishes. Some of them will be leaving and others staying to learn new things. So nothing is permanent, as the Buddha taught. Everything is always changing and there is no point in trying to cling to anything because it will change. Important lessons for me. But I'm loving the connections that occur as they are offerred to me. It seems only good people come to VKV.
OK, I've got a tabla class soon. I must away. (the spellcheck always turns "tabla" into "table" Most annoying
Love to all loved ones